by Dakota Krout
“How did you get out? When you wanted to move, it just… stopped.” Cel seemed to take his answer at face value, which Joe appreciated.
“I built a function into all my rituals that lets me deactivate them at will. I knew it might kill me to block that attack, but I had to stop him. I can always come back; you all wouldn’t be able to.” Joe took Cel’s hand, getting pulled to his feet by what he now hoped was a friend.
“Hand me the stone, boy.” A man in white robes with black arcane characters stitched into it held out his hand.
Joe looked over at Cel. Cel nodded in approval. “He’s the Master of Enchantment. Do it.” Joe shrugged and placed the bright stone into the outstretched hand.
Peering into the stone, the man began to shiver. “So unstable, how did it even last this long? What a maniac! A Grand Radiant Core with an enchantment created to dissociate itself on impact! That reaction would have obliterated at least half the city!”
A couple students listening in fainted. Cel was pale and licked his lips with nervousness. “What… what do we do with it?”
“I’m feeding it to the Mana Engine is what I’m doing with it! Don’t get involved in conversations at this level, you milk-drinker!” The wizened old man walked over to the exposed glass of what was apparently something called a mana engine and touched the stone to the tubing. The stone stuck there, the light inside it slowly fading. “There! Give it a few minutes and all the stored power will be converted into a usable form. Might even fix the protections. Ha! With that much power it better fix the protections.”
“What do you mean?” a slightly less wrinkled mage asked him.
The white robed man folded his arms behind his back. “That fool of an Archmage diverted the power of the Mana Engine into keeping his precious accords in effect. He left the college defenseless, unprotected from the outside world. That’s the real reason he never let anyone but apprentices take missions for the army or Kingdom. He needed us here to protect him if we were attacked.” He spat to the side. “I think revenge is completely underrated; seeing him get vaporized felt amazing.”
Joe looked at the remaining mages surrounding him. “I guess the next question is… now what?”
“Now what, indeed. You have saved us from a fate that none of us wanted, freeing hundreds of nobles, mages, and travelers even if they didn’t know they were slaves. Anything you want of us, we will try to accommodate. At least, I will,” the Master of Fire spoke for the group, and those around him nodded. They seemed a bit wary of making a sweeping promise like that but seemed to feel a bit guilty about their doubt. After all, they were free now. They could tell him ‘no’ if he tried for outlandish rewards.
“In that case…” Joe thought for a moment, and the mages around him became rather tense as the silence persisted. “I could ask for money or enchantments, but the truth is, I either don’t need them or don’t know what to ask for. Instead, I’ll only ask for a few general terms. One, I’d like training as a mage, but I don’t want to be beholden to your group. Stop this ‘rogue mage’ garbage, and let people explore their powers. Next, I’d like to ask that you reduce your fees and open the college to the general public. That is for this next request: as you know, the Kingdom is at war; I’d like you to assist them however possible. More mages are needed if we are going to expand the human influence, and what we currently have simply isn’t enough to combat the Wolfman nation.” The mages grandly nodded. These were things they would have gotten around to, but as a personal request from their savior they would be able to move much faster and avoid some political bargaining on these issues.
“Also, I know that the library is desperate to expand their selection, would you be opposed to donating a copy of your research to them for safekeeping? I am certain they would be willing to place restrictions on who can access the materials.” This suggestion was met with a good deal less enthusiasm, but they didn’t say ‘no’.
“Finally…” Joe’s tone made the tension reappear. “Master of Fire?”
“Yes…?”
“I broke a promise with you. In light of the circumstances, could you please remove my warlock status?”
Your reputation with the Mage’s College has increased by 8000 points. Current standing: Extended Family.
~ Epilogue ~
When Joe first entered the common area of the guild house, a squealing form with vivid blue hair slammed into him in a full-body tackle. “You destroyed the accords! Anyone who had signed them got a notification! I hadn’t even known how restricted that made us! How did you figure it out? Did you know that there are now twelve new classes we can specialize as? Twelve! And that’s only what we know about! I’m going to learn to enchant! I got accepted right away when I told them I knew you and was part of your guild; all of us even get a discount!”
“Terra?” Joe’s mind finally caught up to the flood of words that was entering his ears. Her mouth was like a reverse black hole; instead of absorbing things, she constantly spewed noise. “Wait, everyone knows it was me?”
“There was a server-wide announcement! Have you not looked at your notifications?” Terra grinned at him, but it turned into a pout after a moment. “You didn’t yet, did you? Gah! You are famous; you must have gained, like, a bazillion fame points from this! Look at your notifications! Do it now!”
Terra’s excited chatter had drawn most of the rooms’ inhabitants to them, and they seemed to agree with her. Aten walked into the area, and upon seeing Joe, looked like he was about to kiss him. “Joe! I can’t believe it! We are now the top guild, and-”
“Quiet down!” Terra coolly interrupted him. “Joe hasn’t looked over his notifications, don’t spoil the surprise!”
Now with a pained look on his face, Aten sat down muttering darkly, “I’m gonna get voted out at this rate. Maybe he’ll let me be an officer, at least.” With all the expectant eyes on him, Joe awkwardly opened his overburdened notification screen.
Server wide announcement! Rejoice! The Mage’s College has been freed from the tyrannical slavery of the Archmage by player ‘Joe’ of the guild The Wanderers! With the defeat of the Archmage, new goods such as mana potions are available for sale at various shops. The cost of being trained in mage-based skills has been reduced by 60%, and twelve new mage-based classes are available for specialization at the Mage’s College! The guild The Wanderers has maxed out their reputation with the Kingdom of Ardania for as long as ‘Joe’ remains a member! Their guild tax to the Kingdom has been reduced by 75%. Be warned: oppose them and you oppose the crown!
Hidden quest (Legendary) completed: Unshackling Magic. You completed a quest that no one knew was a quest by destroying a contract that could not be destroyed. Not only did you defeat the Archmage, but you did not allow any other mages to perish! By completing seemingly impossible requirements and saving those that should not have survived, the rating of this quest increased from Epic to Legendary difficulty.
Rewards have increased, but you will not be able to loot the Mage’s College without breaking the law. Rewards: Exp: 20,000, 100 platinum coins, prices for skills and class training at the college are further reduced for you and players on your ‘friend’ list by 30%. Reputation with the college is locked at maximum unless you commit a high crime against them. As you completed this quest alone and the college is joining the war, you will gain 5% of all contribution points earned by the College for the war effort. This will impact your quest ‘Shatter a People’.
The ranking of your deity has increased! He has moved from ‘unknown’ to ‘pretty much unknown’. Rare knowledge, items, and locations will be 5% easier for all players to discover for two weeks!
Quest complete: Earn a god’s favor. You have found enough hidden knowledge or completed enough hidden quests to earn the favor of a deity! Reward: You have unlocked your first specialization! Reach level ten and go to a shrine dedicated to Tatum in order to see details. Reputation increase with Hidden god Tatum: 2000. Current status: Friendly.
; Title gained: The Chosen of Tatum. You are the chosen of a deity and have his blessing. When your class would show as ‘cleric’, it will now show as ‘Arch Cleric’. You have gained access to a new spell.
Spell gained: Resurrection (Novice I). This is a spell granted only to the champion of a deity, and only one follower may have this spell at a time. Increase your skill with this spell to increase its effects. Effect: Restore a fallen person to life with (24+1n)% health, mana, and stamina and return (19+1n)% of lost experience where ‘n’ equals skill level. Can be used once every 24 hours. Target must be the same level or lower than the caster. Target must be resurrected within one hour of death. Cannot be used on self.
Title gained: Anti-mage. You have killed the highest ranked mage in the Kingdom. By doing so, you have proven that you have what it takes to kill any of them. +10% spell resist. +50% intimidation bonus against mage-based classes.
Title gained: Immovable object. You have withstood spells that could shatter buildings, and weapons that can pierce steel. You did so stoically, without flinching, dodging, or dying. +80% knockback resistance. Constitution +2, strength +1.
Title removed: You have lost the title ‘Terms and Conditions’ due to using the benefit of the title.
Title removed: Warlock. You have lost the title ‘Warlock’. Charisma and shop prices have been reset.
Caution: You have at least 5 of 10 title slots filled. You can chose to replace one if needed, but be warned, gaining a mandatory negative title while all title slots are full will delete one other non-mandatory title at random. (Example: Warlock).
Joe gasped as all of the effects slammed into him at the same time. Not only did he move to level nine instantly, but he passed the ten point threshold in strength as well! His bones shifted painfully as his muscles thickened and became more supportive. Standing suddenly didn’t feel like a chore, and he felt like he could carry an entire backpack filled with wolf meat! He took a deep breath, his chest pulling air into his lungs without the strain that used to cause him to cough. Joe felt human again!
After getting to this new level, Joe had also gained five characteristic points to spend, so he quickly placed three into intelligence and two into wisdom. Closing all the screens, he looked around at the group that was waiting for him with strange smiles. Thinking of the notifications they would have seen, he whooped for joy. “This is amazing! Max reputation with Ardania and seventy-five percent less tax?”
This caused a few people to cheer, especially Aten, who was clapping and whistling into an otherwise mostly quiet room. Terra snickered and looked at Joe out of the corner of her eye. “No, yeah, we’re excited. Gotta say, whatever you just did that made all your skin slide around was a little freaky. Looked like you had worms crawling through you.”
“Oh, no! Gross. Now I need a shower.” Joe shook a bit theatrically. “I just got to ten strength and broke through a threshold.”
A few people sighed and seemed less disgusted. Aten noticed that people were starting to disperse now that the fun was over and quickly whistled to get their attention. “With the prices and new classes available at the college, we will be sponsoring anyone who wants to get a class change. Right now we only have two magic users, and we need to beef those numbers up! Those are rookie numbers! Right now, anyone who changes class is guaranteed a spot in one of the top twenty squads. I know most of you aren’t specced for it, having put points into mostly physical stats, so don’t worry about us holding it against you if you want to keep your current class!”
Only a small amount of people were interested in the class change, and most of them were very low level. Aten had them move to another room, leaving Joe to catch his breath and relax a bit. He wanted a nap, but he needed to take a moment and rethink his plans at this point. Now that new mage skills were available to him, he needed to get some training and become more powerful. Not to mention, now that he had max standing with the college, it was likely that he could find books and manuals on ritual magic that had been banned by the recently deceased Archmage.
Speaking of ritual magic… Joe checked his stat sheet and noticed that he had sixteen unused skill points. For a long moment he thought about putting them into his resurrection spell, but it was not really worth it as he could only use that spell once a day. He decided to rank it up by using it for a while so he could grasp the concepts behind it. Joe placed fourteen points into ritual magic, saving two points just in case he needed them later. After accepting the changes, his mind was flooded with new concepts and nuanced meanings of all the diagrams and spell components he had studied thus far. It felt like he had just graduated high school with an education devoted to rituals. He read the notification that appeared, followed by looking over his stat sheet and top five skills.
Skill increased: Ritual Magic (Student IX). Rejoice! You have entered the ranks of a Student in ritual magic! Based on your recent combat-aligned ritual usage, a new effect will be added to the skill! Effect: Rituals are 10% more effective against single targets. This increases to 15% if another being was forced to participate in the ritual’s creation against their will and to 20% if the target of the ritual was forced to participate in the creation of the ritual. ‘Forcing’ does not include using their genetic material to target them.
Name: Joe ‘The Chosen of Tatum’ Class: Arch Cleric (Actual: Ritualist)
Profession: Scholar (Actual: Occultist)
Level: 9 Exp: 37,978 Exp to next level: 7,022
Hit Points: 50/50 (50+(0))
Mana: 704/704 (12.5 per point of intelligence, +100% from deity, –12% from mana manipulation)
Mana regen: 8.99/sec (.25 per point of wisdom, + 9% from Coalescence)
Stamina: 50/50 (50+(0)+(0))
Characteristic: Raw score (Modifier)
Strength: 10 (1.1)
Dexterity: 12 (1.12)
Constitution: 10 (1.1)
Intelligence: 33 (1.33)
Wisdom: 32 (1.32)
Charisma: 15 (1.15)
Perception: 25 (1.25)
Luck: 15 (1.15)
Karmic Luck: +5
Top Skills
Jump (Master 0): Your ability to jump skillfully and without hurting yourself.
Jump Around (Master 0): Add your jump skill level to anything that can be ‘jumped’. Be careful not to jump to incorrect conclusions! (Current: +62)
Ritual Magic (Student IX): Ability to create, maintain, and change rituals much more efficiently than usual. -.5n% mana and component cost where ‘n’ equals skill level. Rituals are 10% more effective against single targets. This increases to 15% if another being was forced to participate in the ritual’s creation against their will and to 20% if the target of the ritual was forced to participate in the ritual. ‘Forcing’ does not include using their genetic material to target them.
Mana manipulation (Beginner IX): (-30+1n)% mana. (+1+1n)% spell efficiency where ‘n’ equals skill level. (Maximum 25% Efficiency)
Mend (Beginner VIII): Select a target to heal restoring 5n health where ‘n’ equals skill level. Mend is able to heal broken bones. Dark affinity is automatically added to the spell, and will heal dark aligned creatures twice as effectively.
Looking over the stats and skills, Joe rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He had a solid set of skills and a supportive guild, and now it was time to start putting together his own team. Though he was enjoying his time as a solo player, if he wanted to progress through the game, he needed to become more active with other players. When Joe had trained–and learned to trust–his team, he would start teaching them ritual magic and work toward building his coven. Eventually, they would be able to shape the world with Sage-tier rituals!
Joe felt a piercing gaze as he finished reading. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Tatum sitting at the table behind him, apparently unseen by the other occupants of the room. The deity winked and nodded, as if to affirm that Joe’s plans were well thought out. After pointing at their guild banner, Tatum vanished, leaving behind only the smell of old
books. Joe looked at the banner, noting that there was now a holographic royal seal seemingly floating over their coat of arms. He would need to point that out to someone.
He sighed and stood up. It was time to get to work. His goals might still be a long way off, but he was happy with his progress to this point. Besides, Joe knew that he would never stop until he had completed everything the game offered.
~ Afterword ~
Hello everyone! Thank you so much for reading my book. I hope that you loved it! If so, please leave a glowing review. The more positive reviews I have, the more likely it is that other people will read my books as well. Then when enough people are reading, I can do this full-time and write a dozen series! You can leave a review at the end of the book or just click here: https://goo.gl/ZUB7qG.
Want to read a sneak peak of the next book in the series? You can find it at the end of this book after the appendix!
I love hearing from and interacting with all you awesome readers! Come hang out with me at any of the links below!
www.DakotaKrout.com
www.Facebook.com/TheDivineDungeon
www.Patreon.com/DakotaKrout
www.Twitter.com/DakotaKrout
www.Goodreads.com/Dakota_Krout
If you haven’t read my other series, check out my author page on amazon!
www.amazon.com/Dakota-Krout/e/B01M2UQD35
If you love LitRPG and GameLit, join these awesome communities on Facebook!
www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGGroup/
www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGsociety/
~ Appendix ~
Notable Characters
Aten – The leader of The Wanderers guild.
Boris – The head librarian and the local leader of the Scholars profession.
