The Dive: Birth of a Wordsmith

by Justin Miller

  My goal? I hadn’t really considered a long term goal. I paused, and then sat down, holding my chin in my hand as I thought. “After my binding to Rosenheim has expired, I wish to leave and experience this world. But my goal in magic.. The subject has always fascinated me. I suppose, if I had a goal, it would be to learn as many various fields of magic as I can, and master them?”

  My instructor nodded patiently. “I see. A common goal, I must say. Many mages choose to learn many schools of magic. But in doing so, they neglect what they know. Very few have ever truly mastered more than two forms of magic. But if it’s you… then maybe you can do it.”

  “Thank you, sir. Those words mean a lot coming from you.”

  “Oh, shut it. I was planning to beat you into a bleeding pulp once you passed the second stage, but I’ve got something else in mind for you. Go up to the library. Your job is to learn a new type of magic, without any help aside from the books. You’ve passed my tests.”

  Quest Updated!

  Lessons of the Earth 2 -> Path of the Archmage

  You have completed the training for your first element. Upon hearing your desire to become a master of many forms of magic, your instructor has sent you on a task to do just that. To fulfill this quest, you must reach level 30 with three different fields of magic, and reach Master level with at least 10 spells in each.

  Difficulty: B+

  Reward: Large Fame bonus, prestige with Mages’ College.

  My smile grew anew as the quest appeared. A long term quest… and one with a high difficulty.

  “I understand, sir. I’ll do my best. I do not know what hardships may await me, but I am grateful for your teachings.” I bowed my head to him and went up to the library. The minimum level I’d need to be to finish this quest is 103. But it’s unrealistic to believe that I won’t level Talent and Knowledge as well. So, most likely I’ll be over 150 by the time I finish this. Does a game like this even have a level cap? Well, first thing’s first, what type of magic do I want to use for my second school?

  I went along the shelves, freely browsing as I scanned all the different titles, or at least the ones that could still be read. Maybe I should get Denise’s opinion? I smiled at that immediately, and nodded to myself. That did give me an idea, though. A spell of communication. There might be a whisper system built into the game, or there might not. I haven’t positively identified another player yet to check. Either way, a communication spell would let me speak to the NPCs I’ve become friends with.

  Opening the Spell Creation window, I began thinking about what runes I should use. It’s difficult to decide, because runes are practically their own language. You could put in speak, speech, message, communicate, send, whisper, or any number of runes to describe sending a message.

  In the end, I opted for the Speak and Friend runes.

  Message has been added to your Spell List.

  “Message.” I attempted to cast the spell, focusing on Denise.

  Target is out of range. Spell failed.

  Shaking my head, I grumbled, opening my spell window to get the chant. “Wings of Light, signs of beginning, may my voice reach the farthest corner. Message.” I heard the briefest ring and saw a faint light around me for a moment.

  “Hello?” I spoke to the empty library.

  “Huh?! What-Jin, is that you?” I heard a startled female voice on the other end, followed by a short squeak.

  “Sorry, bad time?”

  “Oh, not at all! But, how are you.. oh right, magic. Guess your lesson today went well.”

  “I’ll be sore for a week. But I had a question for you, if you’ve got a minute?”

  “Of course! Sorry guys, I’ll be back in a bit!” I could hear her calling out to someone, and then walking a short distance. “Sorry, you got me during a run. So, what’d you need?”

  “Well, you remember how you asked me to help you decide on a path to take for when we go adventuring?”

  “Well, yeah! That’s the reason I’m out here running laps around the city!” I could just hear the laugh at the end of that.

  “Your turn. My path as a mage requires me to pick multiple types of magic. So far, I’ve started to learn earth, but my teacher told me to learn another one. I wanted to hear your opinion before I made a decision.”

  There was a pause, and I heard her stutter for a second before she got her voice under control.

  “Y-you really want to know my thoughts on it?”

  “Of course. Out of everyone I’ve met since coming here, I value your opinion most.”

  “W-well.. If I’m shooting my bow, and you’re casting… maybe something to keep the monsters from getting to us? Like… oh! Maybe you can learn how to summon?”

  I nodded silently, momentarily forgetting that she couldn’t see, and she must have taken my silence as hesitation. “Or, you know! Something else would work too..”

  “No, sorry, no. That was a really good idea. Still getting used to this spell. Forgot you couldn’t see me nod.” That got a laugh out of her, and I watched as my mana crept down to the halfway point. “So… summoning.. I think that would be pretty interesting. Thanks, this was a big help.”

  “Oh, you’re welcome! Glad I could help you with this. You going to be home tonight?” She asked that last part in almost a whisper, and I could barely hear her.

  “Yeah. I’ll have to go back in the morning, but until then I’m free.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ve got mage classes in this world, and scholar classes in my own. How am I not sick of reading yet?”

  She laughed at my remark, “No clue, I don’t think I could do it. If I had come from a world where I lived in books, I’d want to get as far away from them as I could.”

  “Well, once I find a basic summoning book, I’ll head back to the inn. See you there.”

  “Yeah.. see you.” She spoke quietly again, and I couldn’t quite make out what she said next as I ended the spell. Cool. Now I have this spell in my arsenal.

  Moving back among the bookshelves, I now knew what I was looking for. Sadly, I didn’t know WHERE it was. Should I make another spell for searching? No.. I want to do this myself.

  Diligently, I scoured the library, looking at every book I could see and even climbing a few shelves when I thought I saw something that might be what I wanted. In the end, something caught my eye, and I reached up to grab it. ‘The Calling of the Lost’. I hadn’t seen any books labeled ‘Summoning for Dummies’, so this was as close as I could get.

  When I went over to the table to read, I opened the book and found that the entire thing was written in runes! My Magical Knowledge was getting a workout just working through the first couple pages, and even then there were words that I couldn’t make out.

  ‘To call a being to’... that looks like a mix between aid and work, so maybe serve? ‘serve you, you must’ that looks kind of like engrave, but twisted at the top. Judging by the context, mark? ‘mark an enemy in battle. After you’ is that an inverted finish? Maybe.. ‘defeat them, there is a’ okay… I don’t know what that one is… let’s just see what the rest is and maybe I’ll get it. ‘that they will be’ something something ‘in your’ service? Looks like the serve rune from earlier. ‘service. After that, you must simply perform the spell of calling, and they will appear before you.’

  It took me a bit, but I was able to piece together the paragraph into ‘To call a being to serve you, you must mark an enemy in battle. After you defeat them, there is a chance that they will be magically bound in your service. After that, you must simply perform the spell of calling, and they will appear before you.’

  Magical Knowledge has increased to 8

  After that message appeared, all the runes I had guessed were suddenly clear to me. The next few pages were likewise easy to read. It detailed two spells. The first of which is the Binding, and the second is the Calling. After the caster places the Binding on a ta
rget, and then vanquishes them in battle, they can attempt to use the Calling to summon them. Creatures summoned by the Calling have only as much free will as their summoner allows, and success depends upon proficiency with the two spells.

  Alternatively, the Binding may be placed on a willing target, bypassing the need to defeat them in battle. In such a case, the spell used to summon them isn’t the Calling, but the Summons. The Summons can be applied to objects as well.

  Through your research, you have acquired new spells!

  Binding has been added to your Spell list.

  Calling has been added to your Spell list.

  Summons has been added to your Spell list.

  Magical Knowledge has increased to 9

  New Talent Unlocked!

  Summoning Magic- A magic which allows you to call upon man and monster alike to aid you in battle.

  I grinned as the windows appeared. Okay, a third method of learning spells. Research works too. So, I can create new spells with the Spell Creation or personal methods, and can research existing spells.

  As promised, as soon as I had the spells, I closed and returned the book and then left for the inn. As I was walking, I took a glance at my and Denise’s character information, to check our progress.

  Name: Jin

  Race: Human

  Title: None

  Fame: 0

  Gild: 10

  Level: 19

  Health: 125

  Mana: 300

  Strength: 20

  Agility: 13

  Endurance: 15

  Wisdom: 40

  Intelligence: 60

  Luck: 5

  Attack: 10 + 7.5

  Defense: 10 + 9.75

  Talents: Magical Talent 5, Magical Knowledge 9, Navigation 1, Earth Magic 3, Summoning Magic 1

  Name: Denise

  Race: Human

  Title: Innkeeper

  Fame: 30

  Gild: ???

  Level: 19

  Health: 175

  Mana: 0

  Strength: 25

  Agility: 66 + 3

  Endurance: 28

  Wisdom: 11

  Intelligence: 12

  Luck: 7

  Attack: 15 + 54

  Defense: 15 + 52

  Talents: Merchant 1, Archery 8, Reflex 5, Speed 5

  My time in Rosenheim was almost half over, and I was already level 19. Part of me wondered if that meant that monsters had high levels as well, or if it didn’t matter either way. At this point, I don’t have any attack spells. I’ve got to learn at least one reliable attack spell before I even think about fighting monsters. Otherwise, I’ll be the one that’s a burden for Denise.

  When I got back to the inn, my worries began dissolving. By now, I was just letting myself into the apartment in the back, feeling as if it was my second home. There were times I even felt more comfortable here than in my real home. And waiting for me, was Denise standing in the kitchen, having just finished what looked--and smelled-- like a well cooked chicken. But that wasn’t what caught my eye. No, what really caught my eye was the white silk dress she was wearing that was practically transparent. She knew I was coming back, right? There’s no way she didn’t… Could she be wearing that for me?

  Now, keep in mind I’ve never had any luck with women. I’m your typical book nerd. And not a romance novel nerd even, so girls don’t exactly flock to my door. Right now… this is probably the closest I’ve been to an intimate relationship. Yup. Me, standing here, completely red, unable to move or think.

  She must have heard me come in, because after a while, she turned around with a shy smile and--yep, the front is just as see-through-- looked up to me. “Hey, uhm.. you’re home.”

  “Uh, yeah.. you look…”

  “Too much?” She asked, blushing as she glanced down to her outfit… or lack thereof.

  “D-definitely not.” I stuttered a bit as I tried to assure her that no, it was not too much. The only way that outfit would look better is if it was on the floor. Of course, I DO have enough decency to not say any of this.

  “Good.. I was hoping you’d like it.”

  “Oh.. I most definitely like it. You don’t have anything to worry about there.” I gave her a warm smile, and the tension in her shoulders eased. “What’s the occasion?”

  “Well.. in less than three weeks we’ll be travelling the world together. I thought.. well you know.. you like me, right?” She somehow managed to be perfectly blunt while attempting to dodge the question.

  “Huh? What do you mean? Of course I do!” The answer came before I could muster enough willpower to stop it. But it seemed to be the right answer, because it got a bright smile in return. “I wouldn’t have asked you to join me if I didn’t. I uh.. take it… you like me too?” The fact that this was an NPC, and genuine feelings like this shouldn’t be possible were, quite likely, the furthest thing from my mind. All I saw was a beautiful woman standing practically naked in front of me, confessing herself to me.

  “Yeah… I do. So… I don’t want you to sleep on the couch tonight, okay?” My confusion must have shown on my face because she quickly backtracked, “Oh god no, I’m not kicking you out or anything! I want you to... “ She tried to force the words out, finally saying in rapid speech, “Iwantyoutosleepwithme!” After that she brought her hands up and covered her face to hide a blush that rivaled my own.

  “Wow..” Was really all I could say. I mean honestly, what else do you say at times like this? I didn’t even begin to expect that things like this could happen here.

  “I knew it… too much, right?” Her voice was small, like she was on the verge of tears, thinking she had been rejected after exposing her heart.

  “No, god no! I just meant wow… I’ve… never had a girl confess to me like that before. And I’d love to.” I smiled to her, and she let her eyes peek out from between her fingers. “After all, I didn’t want to tell you this, but that couch is pretty lumpy.”

  That got a small giggle from her, “It is not!” She turned around quickly, but not fast enough to hide the grin which threatened to split her face in half. “Thank you.”

  “Thank me? What on earth could you possibly be thanking me for?” I walked up to her, being very careful with how I handled this, and wrapped my arms around her from behind. “You have been the one going out of your way to help me. You even agreed to leave the city with me for an adventure when we’ve barely met, and helped pay for my tuition. If anything, I should be the one bowing at your feet to praise you.”

  She tried. I had to give her credit, she tried not to laugh. But it eventually came out, “Oh, now that would be a sight. But seriously. You’re helping me live out my dream too, you know? Thanks to you and that foreigner magic, I’ve already improved more in the last week than I ever thought I would.”

  “Well, both of our dreams will be coming true. You know, since I got here, I don’t think I’ve met a single foreigner? At least not one that I knew was one.”

  “Well, you know that old guy I had running the inn for a couple days? He was one.”

  “Really? Didn’t seem the type. My point is, I’ve not been around them, but I really don’t feel like I’m missing anything. Where I come from, people in other realms like this are often thought of as limited creatures. Remember that guy you told me about the first day who ran around asking everyone for a quest?” When she nodded I continued. “Most of the realms we have visited, doing something like that would be common, and the people would respond with various tasks. They’d never be able to hold a real conversation, or express their own thoughts, or have their own dreams. But you… you are definitely not a simple creature.”