《Sundered Warlock [DnD inspired LITRPG]》


 Chapter 0 - Prologue -

    ¡°Nooooo¡­¡± Samuel Edwin Calderon cried out the second his ears took hold of the information. Then, a moment later, his brain processed it one more time only to arrive at the same conclusion. ¡°It¡­ It can not be¡­ I¡­ I can not be a Ple¡­ cough, I mean a Commoner. A Calderon can be anything but a Commoner.¡±


    ¡°I am sorry, my boy.¡± Declared an old man who professed to long white beards and blue garments that leaned into the Wiseman line of clothing brands. Together with his pointy hat, it would be pure folly to say that the old man did not in fact portray the perfect depiction of a Wizard all stories were centered around. The same kind of stories the last thirteen generations of the Calderon Lineage had versed themselves in. ¡°If the Orb says you are without Magic, then you are without Magic.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ But I am Calderon¡­ Magic is in our blood!¡± Sam protested with all of his might as all his dreams had shattered on what should have been the greatest day of his twelve-year-old life.


    For Hells, for years Sam had even saved every penny he could from the pocket money his parents gave every month just to buy himself a Spellbook, the third most iconic item any Wizard could ever possess. He would have loved to get a Staff, but those damn sticks cost so much that even getting the lowest grade ones would beggar a dozen Commoner families, hence why saving for one''s pocket money for a Spellbook was the tradition of any Wizard wannabe.


    ¡°True¡­¡± The old wizened man said only to nonchalantly throw in a curved rebuttal of facts. ¡°Until now, that is.¡± He then added an objective observation. ¡°Perhaps the Thinning finally arrived at the Calderon Lineage?¡±


    The moment the words rushed out of the old man''s mouth, it was not just Sam who paled in response. Even adults behind him did so for they were Sam¡¯s parents. In fact, the mother instantly fainted the second the word Thinning reached her mind, all dramatic, with a hand upon her forehead while swooning to the ground. Or at least would have been to the ground were it not for the hasty grab of Sam¡¯s male parentage grabbing the woman by her waist and having her lean onto him to prevent another social disaster from being thrown onto his already suspected family jewels.


    As such, after grabbing and steadying his wife, Sam¡¯s father threw out irrefutable proof of his viral seed. ¡°Impossible!¡± He said. ¡°His brother and sister displayed early potential before even being tested by the HighTower.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps¡­ Perhaps.¡± The old man repeated as he stroked his long beard while staring at Sam¡¯s parents. A bit longer on the woman displaying her love of black colors. To his old eyes and wisdom, the Witch only appeared to have fainted. Not that he cared if she did or not. His duty was Facts and Facts spoke of a few possibilities. Staring at the man again, he spoke up. ¡°Perhaps all of the Magic went to the siblings? Perhaps this be but the first sign of the Thinning? Or perhaps it is both? Every Wizard taught in HighTower knows that Magic is a living and breathing phenomenon, and therefore always seeks to preserve itself in some way. Considering how gifted the Calderon Lineage is in Magic, it would not surprise me if your Magic genuinely chose to maximize the potential of your other offspring to preserve continuity, Young Jonathan.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ I can not refute Grand Diviner Jules.¡± Jonathan responded. ¡°Once I return to my Tower, I shall immediately investigate the possibility.¡±


    ¡°As is every Wizard''s prerogative to ensure the continued existence of Magic.¡± The old man said, but then his gaze attained a deeper meaning as he stared at Jonathan, a very gifted Wizard of the Material School. ¡°Would you like my input on the possible solution?¡±


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    ¡°Bar the usual?¡± Jonathan poised in response.


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Grand Diviner Jules nodded. ¡°I doubt marriage will be the way to go on this one.¡±


    Knowing better than to disrupt when Wizards spoke up, and being twelve years of age, Sam was more aware of what marriage constituted within the Magic Community, but the discovery of his lack of the one crucial condition only skewed him further away from said destiny.


    But then, as if having returned from the depths of Hell, Sam witnessed his Mother wake from her unconscious state, only to hammer in the truth that much deeper with a zealous tone. ¡°Of course, marriage is off the table.¡± She affirmed. ¡°No proper Witch will ever consider my boy as a prospect, much less a lifelong partner.¡± Then, for a second the woman corrected her posture and with a twirl of her left hand summoned forth a black and stylish paper fan, sporting a white landscape of hidden groves inside a vast forest, before using the said fan to blow away her despairing facial demeanor of having already foreseen her fellow Coven Sisters whispering to everything that crept and crawled of just what she had given birth to. ¡°Husband, you better have a solution soon, or you will not be receiving any further affection! You hear me? NONE!!!¡±


    ¡°Eee¡­ Cough¡­ Do not worry, my Dear Wife. No Calderon will ever be without Magic.¡± Jonathan assured his wife with a tap on her back before returning his grip on her waist. ¡°Even if they have to Sell their Souls to get it.¡±


    ¡°Hohoho¡­¡± Grand Diviner Jules laughed at the antics played out before him. Not only because Jonathan''s promise held more weight than witnessed at first glance, but also because he was already certain to which part of the HighTower the boy would be sent to. He just had to nudge the couple properly. ¡°It seems, my advice is not needed then. Still, if Young Jonathan and Lady Edwina do not mind, I might have a recommendation to offer to your youngest.¡±


    ¡°Please¡­ It would be an honor to hear Grand Diviner Jules''s wisdom.¡± Lady Edwina and Sam¡¯s mother quickly responded.


    ¡°An associate of mine has been complaining about the latest Initiates and their lack of commitment.¡± By commitment, of course, he meant their desire to put their lives on the line. ¡°Because of this lack, his Department has been rather understaffed. I imagine that a Calderan, even without your family''s iconic Silver Magic, will prove to be of superior stock once enrolled.¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡± Jonathan, versed in innuendo, narrowed his eyes at the old man. And though he could already guess, he still asked for some clarification. ¡°...is an interesting proposal. Could you be more specific about your associate?¡±


    ¡°Why, of course, I am referring to my friend Holler, Grand Magus Holler.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I had a notion that it would be him.¡± Jonathan said, yet the hand that held onto his wife''s hip only tightened, only the wife cared not one whit if her husband did for she too recognized the title and name. ¡°Will this be a private referral or a general one that you are offering?¡±


    ¡°Both.¡± Grand Diviner Jules answered before waving his old wrinkled hands in a harmless manner.


    ¡°I see¡­ Then, as the representative of House Calderon, I will take your referral and bring it back for the Elders to debate upon.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡± The old man nodded and waved his hands.


    The second he did, two white parchment and two quills manifested out of thin air before said quills began writing by themselves onto the parchment of what undoubtedly would be a general and a private referral to the Warlock Department of the HighTower, the Department responsible for all the internal and external combat-related events.


    While the parchments were writing themselves to completion, Sam felt that there might be some hope for his wizarding days. Too bad, he still lacked the knowledge that the very same Department suggested also presented itself with the highest attrition rates of all Magic wielders, even for the one dealing with combat on the regular. That those wielders had at one point been Commonors was a moot point.


    At least, it would have been prior to being told of his mundanity.

 Chapter 1

    Leaving the Grand Diviner Jules behind, and the spacious abode that he was assigned as the nominal tester of new Initiates into the HighTower, Sam¡¯s parents saw a few more candidates to be examined right outside the Diviner''s abode. Naturally, even if news soon began spreading of Sam¡¯s aptitude, they refused to display anything less than their usual at the moment.


    Having sprung from the same ideology, Sam too tried his best to seem as best as he could, yet with every step his legs took, with every parent and child that he passed by he could sense their gazes linger on him. It was as if every pair of eyes sent forth daggers to stab into his body, spirit, and soul. Frankly, by the time they left the organized assembly within the outer and lower walls of the HighTower, a Magical Tower that made one wonder how it was made in the first place due to its height and girth, Sam felt the blue Wizard Initiate Robes stick onto his skin like a second layer of cold and wet skin. Yet, even after all three of the Calderon House settled into their private carriage, Sam only managed to calm down once his ears recognized a long and drawn-out sigh of reluctance leaving his father''s mouth.


    Nonetheless, in the same instance, Sam felt his mind freeze as his father''s silver eyelids stared at him. Even worse, amidst the silence, his mother''s black eyes only made him feel even worse.


    Then, when he could barely endure any longer, another sigh was released and the feeling of suffocation vanished. ¡°Son¡­ You remember what you were taught about Warlocks?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± Sam instantly replied.


    ¡°You remember what their purpose is?¡±


    ¡°To fight, Sir!¡±


    ¡°To fight whom?¡±


    ¡°Any and all Enemies of the HighTower, Sir!¡±


    ¡°And how do they fight?¡±


    ¡°By making Contracts with Spirits, Sir!¡±


    ¡°You are not wrong there, Son. Provide more details.¡±


    ¡°Th¡­ Those who seek Power can make Contracts, also known as Pacts, with Spirits of all varieties.¡± Sam quickly iterated as he was taught. ¡°Which and what kind of Spirit determines the threshold of how much Power a Seeker can gain from the Spirit while the Price paid by the Seeker determines the threshold of the actual Power gained from the Spirit.


    The lowest Price can be anything, from supplicating to a Spirit¡¯s wants and needs to simple tasks and bonding between Mortal and Spirits as lifelong companions. The highest one, however, will always be the Seeker¡¯s Soul, and those who trade their Soul for Power are typically called Warlocks.¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°Not all who trade their Souls are grouped into the Warlock category.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because, Seekers can be differentiated into two types, those with Magic and those without.¡±Sam spelled out, yet in the same instance, his mind finally caught up to his circumstance caused by a clear lack of Magic. ¡°Those with Magic, if Contracted to a Divine Spirit, gain access to Divine Magic while those without Magic only gain the most rudimentary Magic. As such, due to the difference in Power gained and their rarity through lack of numbers, the first become Clerics, direct servants of the Divine Spirits, while genuine Warlocks become the footsoldiers meant to fight the enemies of the Divine Spirit.


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    Irrelevant of their Source of Power, the very moment a Warlock is born, they are automatically thrust into a world of Power, Magic, and Conflict, with no way out of the Conflict outside of¡­ dying in the line of their sworn duty.¡±


    ¡°Good¡­ This means you will not be unaware of what comes next.¡± Jonathan told his youngest son. ¡°As I have told the Grand Diviner, NO Calderon will be without Magic, lesser Magic or not. This means, that whether the Elders agree to send you to the Warlock Department of the HighTower or not, you are becoming a Warlock, one way or the other. Understood?¡±


    Aware that there was no talking back, Sam nodded. ¡°Yes, Father.¡±


    ¡°Good¡­ Since the Warlock Department refuses to accept anybody below the age of fifteen, for the next three years expect a complete shift to your schedule, from Spirit Instructors to¡­ ugh, can not believe I am saying this, to Weapon Masters.¡± Jonathan said with a face as if he''d just bitten into something extremely sour. ¡°Expect pain and misery as they use their brutish methods to bring your physical form up to perfection, and perfection you will need in order to compensate for your toolset without access to proper Magic. Understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Father.¡± Sam answered as, once again, that was all he could do at the moment. Not only because disobeying his Father was a definite no-go, but also because his mother''s black eyes still sent shivers down his spine, just daring him to protest. Still, a part of him protested. ¡°Father¡­ W¡­ Which Pact will I be swearing to?¡±


    ¡°An excellent question, son.¡± Jonathan pointed out. ¡°As much as I would like for you to gain a Celestial Pact, as it will definitely help greatly in sweeping away the upcoming rumors of your lack of Magic, I do not see them picking you even if I help you to personally set a meeting with one of their Angels. Moreover, I doubt setting up charities in your name will win them over.¡± Ceasing for a second, the man laid out the next best option in his opinion. ¡°The next best option would be an Elemental Pact, but I am not versed in that field, nor is your Mother. So the best option, if the Elders do allow it, will be to wait for the Initiation Ceremony once you enter the Warlock Department of the HighTower .¡±


    ¡°They will.¡± Edwina the Witch, and the person who brought Sam into the World, added. ¡°I doubt those old codgers will protest about a viable option to remove any stains upon the Calderon House.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps¡­ But I was simply listing out the options.¡± Jonathan pointed out. ¡°Even if they do not, I will be extenuating some of my time into researching Pact Magic and Spirits. Three years should be enough time to get a decent understanding to help our youngest find the best Elemental to make a Pact with.¡±


    ¡°Do not forget about the Infernal Pacts, Husband.¡± Edwina interrupted again. ¡°They rival the Celestial ones in Power.¡±


    ¡°I have not.¡± Jonathan responded courtly to the women seated beside him. ¡°Unfortunately, for all their Power, they are much more troublesome in the long run. Unless there are no other options, we can hire a good Notary in order to alleviate much of the troubles inherent to Infernal Pacts.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡± Edwina acquiesced before actually pointing out another avenue. ¡°If the Notary turns indivisible, there is another avenue of Power rivaling those of Celestial and Infernal Pacts.¡±


    Sam¡¯s eyes widened because he had not heard of such a thing. ¡°There is?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ Come, Dear. There is no need to invoke those existences.¡± Jonathan quickly pleaded.


    ¡°Oh, Husband of mine. You might be averse to them, but their Power should not be denied.¡±


    ¡°I am not questioning their Power.¡± Jonathan explained himself as he glared at his beautiful dark-haired partner in life. ¡°It is their motives that I am wary of. Every story I have heard or read about them ends in disaster and tragedy. No¡­ I will rather bear the shame of having a child lacking in Magic than have the very same son make a Pact with any of THEM!¡±


    ¡°So be it, then.¡± Edwina sighed before once again raising her black and white fan to hide the lower part of her face, the part which seemed to entertain a smirking expression.


    A smile that said, I know some things that you do not.

 Chapter 2

    The shift in curriculum was swift, and as promised, painful.


    Still, knowing full well that there was no getting out of it, the pain proved to be an excellent distraction against the hollow depths in Sam¡¯s mind, constantly reminding him of his shattered dream of being a Wizard. So much so, that Sam poured all of his existence into bettering his understanding of Spirits, Pacts, and¡­ physical combat.


    Sword, shield, spear, armor, and whatever else his instructors instructed him in, he practiced and practiced them until his body bruised and bled to gain the needed proficiency for swinging physical objects and taking hits like a caveman instead of using art that was Magic itself.


    As a result Sam¡¯s body quickly began growing and gaining shape as his muscles defined themselves in becoming steel-like, well¡­ as steel-like as simple muscles, not to mention the muscles of a child, could be. Naturally, as a result of the conditioning, Sam¡¯s appetite had grown rapidly and whatever was brought before him soon vanished in his belly. Even the Tonics,  provided by his Father and the Calderon House, which tasted terribly on the tongue and even dealt damage to his olfactory nasal cavity had been chucked down to enable his rapid growth into adulthood.


    Indeed, busy as he could and sleepy whenever he was not, the weeks and months swiftly went by and soon enough three years were left behind and that only meant one thing.


    Sam was to leave as the Elders of House Calderon had long since approved of him being sent to the HighTower and their Warlock Department.


    Not even given the chance to celebrate his upcoming Third Birth Ceremony, the one declaring him fifteen and a young adult, Sam was bid to leave the compound he¡¯d lived his whole life in.


    Still, before he left, with his Father already seated inside the carriage, he got a rather tight hug from his Mother.


    In truth, it was a rare thing for him to receive such a thing and an even rarer occasion ever since the news of his lack began spreading all over the social scene. Then, as fast as the hug ceased to be, Sam noticed his Mother bringing out a simple-looking necklace, with a dull white/silver chain holding a slightly elongated pear-like black crystal sporting white stripes that seemed to convey some kind of mystery he could not make sense of.


    ¡°There¡­ a Protection Charm to keep you safe to a degree.¡± Edwina iterated her understanding of the Charm she''d just given away. ¡°However, I suggest you do not rely on its obtuse effects as the Magic only provides a simple Guidance Spell from time to time, once a day at most. Now¡­ Go!¡±


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    ¡°Yes, Mother.¡± Sam sad and entered the carriage to seat himself on the opposite seat facing his Father.


    Once seated, Jonathan addressed the coach driver for a second, then the moment the coach started moving and making a bit of noise, he spoke to his son. ¡°Keep your Mother''s Protective Charm under your clothes and do not let anybody know you have it.¡± He said, though he knew there was more to the charm than a simple Guidance enchantment upon it, especially since the Guidance Spell inside was woven through Witch Magic. ¡°Once you gain access to some Magic, unless you use it directly in front of a decent Diviner, its presence should slip through most Magic Users¡¯ awareness.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Father.¡±


    Quickly doing as pointed out, Sam tucked the charm under the white garment protecting him from the somewhat hardened leather he was wearing on his body. That done, a silence ensued between parent and child, not that there was much to be said as most of the talkative content had already been disclosed beforehand. As such, all Sam managed to accomplish during the ride to the HighTower was glare outside the carriage window to behold the passing scenery and the ever closer Wizards Tower that pressed its existence via massive height and a massive girth, for a building made out of stone.


    Indeed, had it not been accomplished through Magic, it would have been a wonder of the world due to the sheer engineering and material demands needed to explain its existence. Since it was done through Magic, if Magic cast over many centuries, and possibly even millennia, the HighTower was just that, a large building accomplished through Magic since Magic was known for wondrous outcomes and consequences. Still, just its sight told of the prowess Magic brought into the world, even if regular Magic was more known for other stuff, stuff that had to do with large explosions.


    Either way, around the base of the Tower, existed a city, the City of Grimhold.


    Named as such after an ancient fortress that had once existed and defended these lands which had belonged to an ancient kingdom that had long since ceased to exist. So long in fact that the fortress had outlived two or three kingdoms before the Wizards took it and reshaped the fortress into their very own Tower only for the name Grimhold to resurface once a city shaped itself around the HighTower when the city swallowed the lands for miles and miles.


    Nowadays, Grimhold was and is the prime location for everything Magic related, from trinkets to Artifacts, from Scrolls to Tomes, from Magic wannabes to actual Wizards, from Bardic Colleges to Divine Temples. And within the city¡¯s depths lurked Cults that refused to cease clinging to life like properly decimated villains.


    Truly, one could say that Grimhold held almost everything it could hold, with ¡®almost¡¯ being a direct reference to a definitive lack of Nobility and Royalty since Wizards ruled supreme in this city.


    Meaning, if you had Magic, you were automatically better than 99% of the city''s inhabitants and now Sam was about to finally gain some of that recognition, even said recognition paled to what Wizards got.


    Now, he just had to not fumble at the Initiation Ceremony and get himself a prim and proper Patron, preferably one with strong Magic.

 Chapter 3

    There were multiple entrances into the HighTower.


    Each of them was centered around one aspect of the Tower''s inner machinery, and Sam, slightly behind his Father, was making his way toward the Warlock Department. The part of the HighTower responsible for all things conflict-related, whether internal or external, as Warlocks improved and strived through combat as was their duty to their Patrons Glory and HighTower who enabled the relationship in the first place.


    It was the enabling of this relationship that allowed the Tower''s continual existence to subsist for millennia, and the core of all that was the Initiation Ceremony, a Ritual of grand proportions that was set once a year, with every following ceremony being one year and one season later. Meaning, that the last ceremony happened during last Spring, the time when Spring Court Spirits preferred to come out and play out their inner natures while making the world bloom and flourish. This did not mean that, at that time, Seekers only got to Contract with Spring Court Spirits. Oh, no. Not at all. It just meant that a slight bias in the numbers of certain Pacts occurred once every four years before being reset and starting the cycle once more.


    For Sam, this meant his chance at Contracting a Spirit of Fire, Heat, Radiance, Light, War and a plethora of other categories increased while his chance at every other category remained the same.


    This was good for Sam, as Spirits of the Summer Court were known for their prestige and prowess in battle, and Sam would need every bit of advantage he could get.


    Regardless of the Pacts, being a Grand Ritual meant that Sam would be undergoing the ceremony with many other Seekers. Hundreds of Seekers potentially. However, considering the Ritual being an annual event, the more accurate number would be somewhere between fifty and a hundred Seekers. Additionally, since not every Seeker will get a chance to Contract with a Spirit, the eventual number of new Warlocks per year only ended up a third or a fourth of the number of Seekers present within the Grand Ritual.


    Spirits were picky in who they chose to Contract, after all.


    While Sam felt good about his chances, considering his youth, his background, and the preparations for the event, nothing was ever truly certain. His Wizardling legacy puffing out, like a dream not meant to be remembered, made sure that despite all the prep he had had in the last three years, his nerves could not help themselves but make his stomach flutter with butterflies. Worst of all, the more bureaucratic staff they went through the greater the tingling in his stomach became as if he was about to make a choice of no return.


    Even visiting that Grand Diviner had not made him feel this way.


    Probably because he now had more at stake than his oblivious and naive twelve-year-old self.


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    Whatever the true case turned out to be, around HighNoon, the best possible reservation for the Summer Grand Ritual, Magically speaking, had come around. That being so, Sam found himself alongside a few youths, and lots of older men and women, inside the giant Ritual Chamber.


    Before the ceremony began, however, an older and somewhat gnarly man, wearing a red robe and red pointy hat while holding an eloquent redwood staff, addressed the probable Warlock Initiates.


    ¡°Some of you may know about this and some of you may not, but I will repeat it nonetheless.¡± Wizard Hotter explained. ¡°The Initiation Ceremony will push your Souls out of your bodies and into the Spiritual Plane. As you are normally vulnerable like that, this Grand Ritual was designed to protect you as you bid your journey across the Spiritual Plane in search of a Spirit to make a Pact with.


    Know, however, that this protection will not last for longer than twelve hours, meaning right around HighMoon will be your limit.


    If you are not back by that time, the Ritual will pull you back, whether you have or have not already made a Contract by that time. If you have not, your chance for this year is over and you will need to apply once again next year, naturally provided you have not already reached your quota limit.¡±


    ¡°Now, twelve hours here in the Material Plane does not mean you get twelve hours in the Spiritual Plane since Time is much less stable there. You could get more and you could get less. Most of you will get about two to three days inside the Spiritual Plane. Use that time wisely and do not rush for the very first Spirit you encounter. Instead, evaluate it for its strengths and weaknesses before deciding if you are to make a Pact with it or try your chance with another.¡±


    Ceasing for a single second, Wizard Hotter shared a glance with the gathered youths.


    ¡°You kids should watch out for your attraction to Spirits, whether that be out of curiosity on the Spirit''s part or simply being seen as a wandering snack. Irrelevant of the cause, do not promise anything to any Spirit unless they are willing to make a Pact with you.


    I am specifically talking about the Pact you are holding in your hands right now.


    Us Wizards have gone through centuries of refinement regarding its Terms and Conditions and it will Magically stick with you during your journey, so have no fear of losing it.¡± That said, he paused one last time. ¡°Alright¡­ One last advice. Wherever you end up, after being pushed into the Spiritual Plane, avoid the Fractures you come across. Do not bother asking what a Fracture is. You will know one the second you witness one. Good, with that I have mentioned what needs to be mentioned. Now it is all about you and your actions in the Spiritual Plane.¡±


    ¡°Good Luck!¡±


    ¡°Start the Ritual.¡± Wizard Hotter announced to his colleagues, all spread out around the giant Ritual Chamber.


    Almost immediately, all of their Staffs lit on their crowns before taping their part of the Ritual to channel Magic wherever Magic ought to be. Not to power it up as that was implemented into the core structure of the Ritual since it tapped the Mana Veins beneath the HighTower. No, a Wizard''s duty was to start, maintain, and end the Ritual in all its complexity which few realized just why the Grand adjective was added to the Ritual.


    Sam knew about that as he had been taught about it, but he still failed to truly recognize the Ritual depths, even when he felt being squeezed out of his body and cast into a world of colors that made and made no sense to his Mortal Soul.


    Then, when it was over, he found himself inside a hot place, full of stones, sand, and distant mountains overlooking a harsh climate.

 Chapter 4

    ¡°STOP RUNNING, HUMAN!¡± A loud and grating voice shouted. ¡°ALL I WANT IS TO HAVE NIBBLE ON YOU!¡±


    ¡°I said, NO!¡± Samuel Edwin Calderon cried at the top of his lungs while his legs zipped across the sandy/stony ground. ¡°Leave me alone, you ugly thing.¡±


    ¡°WHO ARE YOU CALLING UGLY, HUMAN!¡± The loud and grating voice protested with all its claws, mandibles, six legs, six eyes, black chitin, and tipped tail that would just love to spear itself into something. ¡°I AM THE EPITOME OF BEAUTY! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA JUST HOW MUCH I AM DESIRED?¡±


    ¡°OH¡­ What is that?¡± Sam spontaneously shouted back. ¡°Is that a female in need of a strong and beefy SCORPION KING?¡±


    ¡°WHAT?... WHERE?¡± The Scorpion called out with obvious desire.


    ¡°Behind you!¡± Sam shouted without even looking back, but even if he had not, the lack of thudding sounds scraping after him told him all he needed to know. Undoubtedly the Scorpion Spirit had stopped to check and flex its mighty claws and spiked tail at nothing but air. Meanwhile, the little distraction afforded Sam a small bit of hope to successfully leave behind the Spirit of Earth and Poison, probably.


    Unfortunately, not even a few moments later, the Spirit bellowed out its anger. ¡°YOU DARE DECEIVE ME, HUMAN! NOW I AM GOING TO EAT YOU WHOLE INSTEAD JUST TAKING A BITE!¡±


    As if his body, or better said, his Soul, understood the task before it, Sam suddenly gained extra juice for the single purpose of running faster towards a rather rocky-looking set of stones. How and from where the juice came was set aside because all of Sam¡¯s focus went on not losing his footing.


    That was something he had trained against, but as his training had taught him, it was better to not lose his footing instead of knowing how to best recover from tripping in the first place.


    Regardless, as the thudding behind him neared, Sam hoped with all his might to find himself a decent hiding ground, preferably one small enough to fit him but not the Spirit in question because the Spirit was of the lowest class if it could not even catch an unaugmented human, a close to fifteen year old one at that. Then, as Sam inched closer and closer to the rocky grounds, a vague coldness spread from his chest, and with it, he felt this strong urge to angle his approach towards one particular side of the rocky grounds. Already on the verge of collapse, Sam simply did as the urge bid him and soon enough he found himself within an alcove of hidden cave-like indentations that led deeper into the crevices. Stuck for a second, with a clear situation of too many options to choose from, Sam simply picked one of the smaller ones and dipped inside.


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    Once inside, he had trouble making sense of his surroundings since the environment had quickly gone from super bright to super dark. As a result, multiple times Sam felt his body, his Soul, scrape and hit the tight rocky walls. Still, in his mind, taking those hits beat turning into scorpion dung, especially after Sam soon discovered a dead end.


    Not liking the fact that he had to backtrack his way back, Sam chose to follow his instructor''s advice on first resting his mind and body before diving into a situation that needed clear and fast decisions to be made.


    While stuck inside an almost completely dark environment, Sam would occasionally hear the Scorpion Spirit shout its anger into thin air, and when that was not enough, his ears noted scraping sounds as big claws tried their best against rock. When the sounds were not coming closer informed Sam which proved more resilient of the two. Thankfully, of the two it was obvious who had more patience since the Scorpion Spirit left after it had vented its feelings.


    <i>No¡­ I should not discount some kind of ploy.</i> Sam voiced in his mind or his Soul. Whichever was more appropriate. <i>Even if it was not that smart, it had intelligence to some degree. Yes¡­ Best I stay here for a while. Then, when nothing has been heard for a while, I will start searching for a way out.</i>


    <i>Yes¡­ That is what I will do.</i>


    As promised to himself, that was indeed what Sam did, or better said, he did nothing aside from pondering about his bad luck in encountering the Scorpion Spirit barely moments after arriving¡­ wherever he had arrived, to begin with.


    At first, Sam had tried being courteous, but when the Spirit kept edging on about its desires in nibbling at him, it was obvious that the Scorpion would not be the choice of the day, thus Sam had simply tried to ignore the Spirit and walk away.


    Obviously, the Spirit did not give up and that was how he ended up in his current situation.


    <i>Wait¡­ That rush of energy and that sudden urge to hide in here¡­ Could it be the protection mentioned by the Red Wizard and Mother¡¯s Protection Charm working in tandem to keep me safe? Yes¡­ That has to be it.</i>


    <i>Wait¡­ I do not know about the Ritual Protections¡­ but would this not mean that the Charm is unusable for a while? How long then? Does its recovery depend on the Material Plane or wherever I ended up in the Spiritual Plane?</i>


    <i>No¡­ No¡­ I need to stop thinking about it like that.</i> Sam shook his head left and right in an attempt to dislodge the already stuck ideology of relying on things out of his control. <i>I have been taught about situations like this. Desperate thoughts lead to desperate choices being made. I need to think differently. Yes¡­ The Charm may not work for a while, but it has accomplished its duty, so now it''s up to me to prevent being eaten by random Spirits.</i>


    <i>Yes¡­ That is it.</i>


    <i>Only now does the true seeking begin.</i>


    <i>Only now does my quest for a Patron start.</i>


    Nodding with fervor of understanding his current situation, Sam changed his mindset before quickly recalling everything he had been taught by his instructors, about bad situations and how to best overcome them. Then, after what could only be a few hours, Sam stood up and slowly made his way back out of the dark crevices he''d hidden in. Thankfully, having been within the darkness for so long, his eyesight had adjusted somewhat, so he had a much easier time leaving than entering. Yet, no matter how much Sam walked or how many bends and paths he took, he just could not seem to find his way back to the surface.


    It was as if he was stuck in a maze of some kind.