《Orange Days》 1: The day she became a hero and messed it up in 10 minutes. Lin was walking home. It was a thing she had done a million times. The grey clouds above were like old friends, Lin had grown up in the UK. The weather was one of those things you got used to an complained about to strangers. It was when she was crossing the street that things went differently. Lin was almost home, her local college a reasonable distance and Lin didn''t mind a good walk to get her thoughts going. She did, however, mind the strange glowing circle that exploded across the street as she was crossing. It caught her and some boy holding a map, the air of ''tourist'' so thick on him that Lin could have bottled it and sold as a brand. The boy screamed, a thick accent coming out and Lin screamed as well. Her arms flailed and Lin''s fist smacked the boy as she panicked. The boy''s head rocked back and he stumbled out the circle which tried to narrow around his form. When it wasn''t fast enough, the glowing circle turned back onto Lin. It snapped tightly around her feet and then the ground ripped open and Lin fell through a tunnel, still screaming. When the flash was gone, the boy looked up in alarm. The street was now empty besides himself and the girl''s bag. The ground where she had stood now only bore a burned circle that burned hotly. ---- H-heRoSum-m-monIng S-s-s-sUcceSsful ---- The air felt thick with heavy perfume and smells that Lin had never smelt before. The slight spice and herbal mix made her wrinkle her nose. "My dear, please take your time," a kind voice said and Lin opened one eye with great effort. An old woman smiled serenely down at her. Lin forced the other eye open and sat up abruptly. Her head swam suddenly and when she blinked again, she was on her back again. The ceiling of the room was a large arched dome with murals of warriors and people with glowy hands fighting a large shadow with many red eyes in the darkness. It was weird, the sun was right there. Why were the symbolic demons still indarknes-. Lin squinted her eyes as a rationalthought came back. Symbology, she chided herself. Demons suck and don''t get to enjoy the sun. Now, where was Jesus in this piece? There was an epic robed guy firing a laser beam from a staff, maybe that was him? Lin like the twist the artist took with the image. Very fantasy. Lin sat up slowly and looked around. About ten people were sitting on the floor next to her, Lin sat at the very far left of the line. They wore jeans, wore t-shirts, and one girl was typing furiously on an iPhone. They all looked frazzled as if they all had travelled through a very charged storm. One girl''s hair stood almost in a shocked manner. Lin gingerly touched her own head and her blonde hair was swept back. Slightly drier than she was used to but everything seemed intact. Lin jumped as the old woman from before offered her a cup. "Drink, the journey couldn''t have been easy," she smiled and Lin took the cup and water sloshed out at her shaking hands. The.. nun wore grey robes with an odd sun motif on the front, her hair was free and Lin saw that she a collection of scars on her neck and hands. "T-thank you," Lin managed to find her manners and the woman looked at with some odd expression, Lin almost swore she looked guilty. "I wasn''t expecting children," she said sadly and moved off to help another girl. Lin frowned. She wasn''t offended at the comment, anyone over the age of 60 most likely saw anyone under the age of 20 as children. Just a fact that Lin learned. Lin just didn''t expect thesadnessthat followed the words. Lin slowly pulled the cup away from her lips, the cold refreshing water dripping down the side of the clay cup. Lin''s mind was now reaching some semblance of working order. Lin didn''t know where she was. Lin didn''t know how she got inside some Sun nunnery, and she had no idea how long she had been out. Panic clawed at her throat and Lin put the cup down quickly. She stood on very shaky legs but looked around. The room was a small hall, now that Lin could see the size. It was also not a nunnery. Men bustled around with excited tones and almost sunken faces. Everyone in the room looked exhausted, like none of them had slept for days. Lin saw a door and moved towards it. She didn''t even get off the large stone altar before a wall appeared. A wall made of shimmer light. Lin ran into it and it stopped her cold. Sparks of energy travelled over her face and she had the sense of heat and pain. Lin stopped cold and the other people who looked normal all went silent at the display. A woman came over, someone different from the water woman. "Hero, please, the barrier is still up," she gestured for Lin to sit back down but Lin backed away, her eyes wide. "Let me out, let me go!" Lin demanded and the woman froze. Lin''s gaze darted about, everyone was looking at her. She was about to try the barrier again when a very old man approached the altar and touched the barrier with a single finger, the light fell and the old man gestured towards the door. "Please, I shall take you outside. We mean no harm," he bowed and turned, waving a hand at the large stone door. It opened soundlessly and the woman in front of Lin smiled, backing away so Lin had space. Lin nodded in thanks, relief flowing through her. She moved off the altar and she heard people following her, turning she saw the other normal people following, a large guy in the lead. Shaved head and camo gear made it obvious where he was when he... woke up here? Lin walked faster. Questions burned on her tongue but she would wait until she got home. Away from this place and their... wall of light. Wall of light. Light... solid light. Lin choked on her words and she almost burst into a run. -- The urge to scream was real. Lin had never experienced it before. It rose up in her chest like a wild animal trying to break free. Lin stared out over the flat planes. The castle was a giant central figure in a circular city. It was like a pie the city seemed dissected by more walls. Three rivers flowed through the city, under its large walls like long blue snakes through several sectors, each going their own way.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "The fuck?" the camo wearing man whispered. Another girl, wearing jeans and some panda hoodie, clutched at the war, muttering to herself. "I don''t have signal, where are we?" she asked aloud and another guy, wearing a leather jacket and torn jeans, gestured to the old man. "He can tell us, right?" he suggested and his voice like a dark growl. The old man, his almost bald head and comedic long beard twitched. "I can indeed. Heros of another world, welcome to Calamer, home of the late King Aumon and reigning Queen, Jelena," he gestured far and wide to the buildings. Lin felt the raw terror replaced by a sick feeling. "Another world?" she repeated and the man nodded. "You are longer home. We, the royal mage court and Royal house of priests, have summoned you all here," he explained and one of the other guys, a thin person with dark bags under his eyes, turned red. "You kidnapped us!" he accused and his pointing finger was shaking. The old man paused. "We did. We pulled you here with selfish intentions, I shall not deny this, although..." he paused as he looked over the group of 6 girls and 4 boys. "I was expecting an equal group and perhaps... I hoped for an older group, peoplewho''slives may have been less than satisfactory and would see this as an opportunity," he spoke, mostly to himself. The group shuffled and Lin gawked at the man. Her life had been great! Had. The clawing feeling came back. The panda girl shrugged. "Not wrong. I wasn''t happy but I like to have a choice," she spoke and Lin noticed that so far the group members that had spoken had all been American. Odd that. "I... " the thin guy licked his lips and stopped speaking. Even the army guy had gone quiet. The others, a perky looking girl, a slightly chubby guy, a tall muscular man, other faces. None of them denied the man''s words. Len pushed forward to stand in front of the man. "My life is good, put me back, grab someone else," Lin tried to sound pleading instead of demanding. This guy set off all the ''powerful old man'' stereotypes and Lin didn''t want to die from rudeness. The man looked pained and didn''t meet her eyes. "Please?" she whispered and the silence was her only answer. Lin screamed. ------ "-brave heroes must push the darkness back. Our kingdom is cursed and the demon blight will not end until we act or perish. Only people of my blood and my late husband can slay the demon king and bring balance to the dungeons. I cannot leave, I alone power the shield that keeps my city safe and my son..." she trailed over and the man in jacket raised a brow. "You have a son but summoned us?" he asked, a little snidely and the gleaming knights around the throne shivered ever so slightly. The queen looked down. "He is only three," she replied and Lin watched as the Earth group, as she dubbed them, all went quiet. Lin didn''t say anything. She was worried that she might be locked up when the mage almost had to put her to sleep with a spell when she didn''t stop screaming. A fuckingspell. The amazement mixed with the bubbling sick feeling in her stomach to make her bloated. She looked around the white throne room. White walls, red banners, white floor, red carpet, white throne, red queen. The army guy held his cap this side and frowned. "So you want us to... stall for time?" he translated and the queen looked at him with a sad smile. She gestured to the windows where the cities tallest buildings could barely be seen. "I''d do anything for my people. State your price and I will do it. I shall make you lords, richer than you can imagine, grant you access to knowledge that mage academies would kill for, grant you the money to run far away from here in any direction, I will get on my hands and knees and beg." The queens face cracked for just a moment, a deep look of grief and pleading before she forced composure on herself. Leather jacket guy shrugged. "Kay," he said before going quiet and the queen''s jaw dropped open. The chubby guy nodded hard. "M-me too." Lin was starting to feel a little odd as he was also American. A girl wearing tight running clothes nodded as well. "Just me run and I''ll help out. I was in a lot of debt so... I can''t go back," she shrugged and her brown hair was tied up in a pony tail. Another American. Lin swallowed a question. This spell only aimed at Americans? Lin had a fleeting image of a screaming boy on the street, his accent... Lin felt cold. The last three girls spoke up. 4 boys, 6 girls. It should have been 5 and 5. But Lin wasn''t supposed to be here. This made her stomach shrink in panic. The queen was smiling weakly, life coming back to her face, her eyes landed on Lin. She seemed to be waiting on something. Lin stared back, unsure of what was going on. The army guy cleared his throat. "She wants to know if you''ll help out," he whispered and Lin opened her mouth. Then she just nodded when her voice wouldn''t come. The queen stood and did a very low bow. Almost instantly everyone else in the room bowed as well. "Thank you, Heroes, I am forever in your debt," the queen spoke with a thick voice, barely contained emotion. Lin felt sorry for her. The woman sorta did have it tough... "But why us?" the thinguy, Lin really needed their names, asked aloud and the queen gestured to the old wizard from before. "Malavan?" she invited and the mage bowed before turning to them all. "In this world, people have a special power known as a [Class]. Each class grants a different power and gift each person that gains it. I am [Archmage], an evolution of the [Mage] class. Along with classes, there are also skills. These gifts enhance a class or a spefic thing you may be good at or practising. A mage may be a class but a mage may have a [Sword] skill or an [Ice] skill compared to a mage that may just have the [Fire] skill," Malavan explained and Lin felt another twinge of mad giggles run through her body. Classes and traits? What next? Le- "Classes and skills can level into more powerful versions of themselves," the wizard... Archmage went on. Lin felt a noise escape her. It felt like a cry now, not a laugh. Not one reacted, the Earth group was also digesting this. The thin guy was wide eyed and smiling, the chubby guy was looking like he just found the meaning of life. Lin felt like throwing up. "If everything went according to plan, then you should all have the[Hero] skill. It''s a very rare skill, one in a million people obtain it under very extreme circumstances," Malavan explained. Lin looked at her hands if they just told her they implanted a bomb under her skin. This was all moving too fast. "How do we check? Is there a phrase or something?" the thin guy almost demanded and the Archmage nodded. "Simple chant status in your mind with intent," he instructed. Everyone looked unsure but one of the girls, the small preppy one gasped. "It''s true, It has my name and everything! I even have a class, [Archer]!" she almost squealed and Lin blinked. She hesitated before thinking ''Status'' in her head, trying to imagine a screen or something. It was almost a screen but it appeared almost on her eye, the words in perfect alignment that she could read the list without having to scroll. Gweydonlin Harper HP: 30 MP: 10 Class: Wild Mage Skills: HeRo: GAin SKiLls OuTsiDe youR ClaSs. @Q%%^"!!"$ HErO? Lin barely heard as everyone agreed that they saw their screens. Malavan looked excited and another robe woman appeared at his side. A young petite woman with red hair. She approached Lin with a smile as Malavan stared at the other side of the line. "Greetings, Hero. May I inquire about your class? I can help you find the best teacher and resources to help your training," she smiled with enthusiasm and Lin smiled in return weakly "Uh... WIld Mage," she muttered and the woman froze. Smile fading. "Please, repeat that," she asked stiffly and Lin did. The woman took 5 large steps back. Her face still in terror. "Master!" she called and Malavan looked up, surprised at the woman''s calling. He shuffled over and stood before Lin. The woman leaned in and looked nervous as a rabbit. "Master, she is a wild mage," she gasped loudly and Malavan turned to her, face white. He smiled weakly after a moment. "A... powerful class, we will need to discuss this in detail. Dayla? Please take the young miss to the training room activate the anti-magic defences as best you can," he commanded and Dayla nodded, she walked around Lin in a large circle. Lin looked around, everyone was looking at her like she was on fire. It made her feel more homesick. In her mind, she touched the class and another box appeared. [Wild Mage: Every time magic is cast, there is a chance that a random effect will affect the world around the caster. The mage cannot control these effects] Lin followed Dayla in an odd mood. She closed the status screen and for a moment the word [HeRO] remained, bright orange in her vision. Lin felt warm when she looked at the colour. 2: Red lessons and Unusual Classes. Lin sat in a large room. She imagined this room was what would happen if someone like King Arthur tried to make a modern day gym. Large square cut blocks of stone sat in the corner, their edges chipped and one block was even cracked. The far side of the room was taken up by a giant round metal ring built into the floor. A small round basin held stale water to the side and a large brazier that held no flames stood against the wall were several black marks. Lin was going to take an educated guess, assuming the mage in her class title didn¡¯t mean ¡®Nerd that hit things with stick¡¯, that this was where they practised the magic of different elements. Lin guessed air magic didn¡¯t really need an object, if you felt stuck in an air funnel, it was going well. Dayla sat on the bench next to her. It was a small resting area near the room¡¯s entrance. Lin risked a glance at the woman hoping maybe the woman might have relaxed a bit. Nope, Dayla still looked like she was going to have a heart attack at any moment. Lin tried to ignore that the woman¡¯s hands were in an odd shape and sometimes little sparks flew off her fingers. ¡°I really freak you out, huh?¡± Lin rested her chin in one hand. Her unstable gibbering mind latching onto the nearest distraction. Dayla jumped at her voice and a fireball smacked into a nearby wall with a whoosh of air. Lin gasped at her first sight of magic. The air had grown almost unbearably hot before the fireball flew loose. The training hall walls rippled with a silver sheen before fading, not even a black mark left on the stone. Lin was impressed and also slightly interested If that spell didn¡¯t leave a mark, then she really wanted to know what damaged the other wall¡­ Dayla smoothed out brown robes and composed her pink face. ¡°I apologise,¡± she dipped her head at Lin before forcing her eyes to meet Lin¡¯s. ¡°Yes. You terrify me,¡± she admitted, pushing a strand of fiery red hair behind her ear. Lin frowned. ¡°What is a wild mage, what¡¯s so bad about it?¡± Lin turned so one of herlegs rested on the stone bench. Dayla looked hesitant as if this was a topic she rather anyone else dealt with. ¡°Well, I suppose there is no harm. First, you must understand how the standard classes work. As we both of the mage tree, classes that use magical energy in some manner. A [Mage] is the basic and easiest class to obtain when using magic. It grants people theability to learn, handle, and resist magic,¡± Dayla¡¯s tone turned warm and her nervousness eased as if the topic soothed her. Lin nodded as she followed. ¡°So, are people born with classes?¡± Lin asked, excited. As horrible as it was being kidnapped to a world filled with mages and demon lords, this was magic. Dayla chortled. ¡°I would hope not. No, being born with a class is very rare. Some classes appear due to being in a unique position. A prince or princess, for example, but the children would be unable to do anything needed to level such a class up until they understood what was needed. A [Brawler] or a [Farmer] would only appear after a person understood the fundamentals of such a job. The idea of anyone under the age of 10 having a class is a horrible thought. It means that they have been forced to adapt to a hard life instead of enjoying what childhood they have. Sometimes, it is sadly needed or a child accidentally becomes fixated on something and they gain a class,¡± Dayla lectured and she had also turned towards Lin, mirroring her posture so they looked like two colleagues discussing an interesting topic. ¡°So I guess a child class or a young class doesn¡¯t exist?¡± Lin thought after a second, Dayla shrugged. ¡°In the kingdoms and lands I have been, this has been the case. I won¡¯t deny there may be a child out there who has found the true joy of life and obtained a unique class. Anyway, classes grant the person more power in certain fields. A [Farmer] can gain small strength skills and vegetation quality checking. Depending on their farms, they could gain animal domesticated beast affinity or pest trapping skills. A [Farmer] class can evolve into many specific kinds such as a [Dairy Farmer], [Harvest Farmer], [Rare Fruit Farmer] and much more,¡± Dayla clapped her hands and a jug appeared. Lin blinked as she pulled two cups from empty air. She poured some delicious fruit juice. Lin accepted the offered cup with a wide smile. It was sweet. ¡°So even Farmers get a complex tree? Are they a tree?¡± Lin frowned and Dayla nodded, sipping her own cup. ¡°Trees themselves are just what we came up with to group classes that close in nature or evolve from each other. So, the [Mage] uses magic, simple. However, not all classes are created equally. Mages come in many flavours. A man who focused on pure fire spells or school of learning may become a [Mage] or they may become a [Pyromancer]. These are roughly close in strength and power. The Pyromancer gives up power in other elements to become stronger than a simple mage could ever be at the same level of experience. On the other hand, the Mage has an equal balance can easily control his path of growth and has equal strength in all elements. The Pyromancer will have an easier time growing as a class but will quickly narrow down into a niche that might have trouble when their core power fails them against some foes,¡± Dayla drained her cup and grinned.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. She was¡­ really nice. Lin felt a little sad that she had caused Dayla to act so weird before. ¡°So, stronger and narrow or balanced but broader?¡± Lin summarised and Dayla smiled. ¡°Got it in one. But with the [Wild Mage] Class, this an example of someone becoming a mage but somehow gained a flawed¡­ not that¡¯s a poor way of putting it,¡± She paused and then smiled weakly at Lin. ¡°The WIld mages of the world are like the core [Mage] class but also off-balance in some ways and extremely powerful in others. Magic grants them far more power, letting them do spells so far beyond their class, in height and range, to the point that the mage can¡¯t control what happens,¡± Daya sighed and Lin gulped her sweet juice. ¡°Might class said¡­ it said that there is a chance that everytime I cast magic, chaos can happen,¡± Lin said slowly and Daya nodded, a streak of sunlight make her hair looked like a ruby sea. ¡°Chaos, an element so out of my area of expertise that I can only give you the basic fact and some story telling,¡± Daya looked out the large arched windows that dotted the room. ¡°Chaos is a force that acts however it pleases. It infects some mages with power, however, due to its nature, it refuses to follow standard spell craft and causes spells to mutate into entirely new ones. The more one orders chaos to behave, the worst it spirals out of control, Wild Mages have caused themselves to turn to stone, sunk land masses, created volcanoes where thwere was only peaceful landscapes before,¡± Daya explained and Lin looked at her, something cold and sharp sticking in her chest. Dayla waved her hands in a soothing manner. ¡°I have also heard of some Wild Mages summoning a fortune, finding a direct path to their soulmate, banish evil with just a spark spell, blessing lands for the rest of time,¡± Dayla countered and Lin took a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯m screwed, right? I¡¯m not going to be reliable enough to help with what the Queen wants, right?¡± Lin admitted and Dayla hesitated. ¡°I would not think the Queen would leave you, even if we do not use your powers as intended, my Queen is fair, she would make your life comfortable here,¡± Dayla promised and then grinned. ¡°I let you help me in the mage wing, I kinda enjoyed explaining things to you,¡± Dayla offered. Lin thought about that. If she worked with the mages that brought her here¡­ they might reverse the ritual and send her home. If not, Dayla was shaping up to be a solid person. Lin felt her fear ease just a bit. ¡°Sure, can¡¯t hurt to give this hero thing a shot, right?¡± ---- Lin stood next to the army guy, he had taken off his jacket and Lin saw strong arms. They had all gathered into the training room, it made the place look much smaller with all the people. In the sun, his skin was darker than Lin first thought. One of his parents was from somewhere warm. He noticed her and his lips thinned before he stuck out his hand. ¡°Robert,¡± he introduced and Lin blinked before shaking the hand. It wasn¡¯t a strong grip on her end but she did her best. ¡°Lin, nice to meet you,¡± she returned the greeting and Robert nodded once. ¡°You alright? They shuffled you off pretty quickly,¡± he commented and Lin shrugged. ¡°I can blow up the planet by accident or something.¡± she grinned at Robert¡¯s frozen expression. ¡°You''re fucking with me, right?¡± he guessed and Lin shrugged. ¡°I make magic go wonky, I dunno what will happen,¡± she answered, remembering as Malavan, Dayla¡¯s teacher, had returned an hour later. Lin should have been happy the mage wing was willing to give her a chance since she had the Hero class. She didn¡¯t like how Daya narrowed her eyes at the mention of ¡®willing¡¯ part. Lin guessed she might have some old cranky mage angry at her for existing. Wild Mages had such bad rep stuck with them, Lin only been one for a day and she knew this was only the beginning of the amount she would hear on the subject. ¡°Awesome, so you''re a mage or something?¡± Robert raised one brow and Lin grinned. ¡°What about you?¡± she asked instead of answering. Robert frowned. ¡°[Berserker], it¡¯ not a pretty class if I have to guess from what the knight captain over there muttered. Guess he was hoping for some white knight, sorry to steal your sucky class medal,¡± Robert closed his eyes as he grinned. It transformed his face, which was already quite nice, into something that Lin was only going to stare at until he opened his eyes. ¡°N-no worries, happy to share,¡± Lin nodded once as the girl wearing the jogger clothes walked over. Lin could appreciate the woman¡¯s body from a distance, she looked like she was rocking triathlons on a weekly basis. ¡°Hey, Robert, shiny knight guy wants us over there,¡± she paused and then blinked only just seeing Lin on the other side of Robert. ¡°Oh hey there, Robert, don¡¯t hog the brit,¡± she smiled and Lin had to shake another firm handshake. ¡°Naomi,¡± she introduced and the man in white armour called for them again. Robert clapped Lin on her shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t blow up the world without me,¡± he said as he left. Naomi blinked and shot Lin a questioning look. ¡°I¡­ explain later, I¡¯m a weird mage,¡± Lin laughed nervously and Naomi grinned. ¡°I¡¯m something called a [Scout], so I guess if you need me to scope out places to blow up, I¡¯m your gal,¡± Naomi waved as she moved to follow Robert. Lin wasn¡¯t sure how she felt about being known as the girl who blew things up. Still, she was a lot better. She was half expecting Robert and the others to get the [Knight], [Awesome Healer], [The super gimmicky but amazing thing] classes and make fun of Lin for being some explosive mage. They all seemed¡­ nice. Lin felt another shard of panic melt away from her mind and she took a deep breath as Malavan called Lin and two others over. The thin, dark eyed, guy and a girl that Lin hadn¡¯t noticed before. She was pale like something was wrong with her. Her figure was thin and her brown hair limp. On her hand, there were small angry red holes on veins. Lin winced, she had IV drips before. Lin¡­ hoped it was IVs. Malavan looked at the three of them. ¡°You three make up the mages of the group,¡± He stroked his beard. Lin looked over her shoulder. Robert, Naomi, the cheerful archer girl and the slightly chubby guy stood around the knight captain. The guy in the leather jacket and two girls listened to the old woman Lin had seen when she had first woke up in the altar room. Her hands glowed with a white light. Healer? Leather Jacket guy seemed a bit of a hardass for being a healer¡­ Lin thought her nurse that looked after her Ward when she had ear surgery. No, leather jacket guy fit right in... ¡°I like you all to introduce yourselves,¡± Malavan instructed and went quiet. Lin looked at the gothic dark teen and the girl who was barely healthy enough to stand. ¡°Uh¡­ Lin, Wild Mage,¡± she tried to smile, Dark guy growled, moving black hair out his pale, slightly, pimply face. ¡°Arran, [Floralmancer],¡± he grunted and Lin blinked at him. She looked confused until the other girl spoke up. ¡°He mean¡¯s druid, he just doesn¡¯t want to say it because he wanted to be Necromancer,¡± she smirked and Lin tried to keep a straight face. ¡°Colette, [Summoner],¡± she nodded at Lin. Malavan looked at them all and he seemed to age 20 years. ¡°Not one of you is a direct pure mage, I¡­ have my work cut out for me,¡± he whispered and Lin tried to shoot him a winning smile. Lin didn¡¯t think it improved his mood... 3. The touch of orange Lin sat on the floor, bored out of her mind. Colette sat next to her, she seemed to fall asleep in her hands. Lin sighed as Arran went red in the face, waving his hands wildly as he tried to make something happen. Malavan explained, what seemed ages ago, that most magic users could cast a very basic spell that was innately found in their souls. Yeah, souls were a thing and it made the church altar place so much more of a place to avoid until Lin could go home. What if she sneezed on a statue and the gods in this place smited her? Lin grimaced at the thought, not so much the smiting but the idea of beings that watched them all like a soap opera. Malavan had hesitated before suggesting Arran went first. Lin guessed this was more of the Wild Mage fear thing. At least Colette was kinda nice when she was awake. Arran sagged, gasping for breath and Malavan looked stony faced. Lin had to give it to him, the man was being very patient. Lin guessed when you kidnapped people and forced them to be pawns in a war you felt a little guilty and cut them some slack¡­ Lin winced at the nasty thought and shook her head. Arran crossed his arms, his shirt advertising some band looking a little damp with sweat. ¡°I can¡¯t get this to work,¡± he admitted and Malavan stroked his beard. ¡°It can take years for an apprentice to reach an understanding of the energy one''s own body. Asking for results in a single day is cruel of me, I was hoping already having a title would make the task much simpler,¡± the man said and Arran hesitated. ¡°Any tips?¡± he scratched at his neck and Malavan hummed. ¡°I used to pretend my body was a series of canals and empty trenches, I would envision magic, glowing pure water, would travel down the dry lines. If I needed to cast magic with my hand, I would picture the river flowing down my arm,¡± Malavan offered and Lin blinked. She was expecting a ¡®figure it out yourself, it''s tradition!¡¯ speech. Arran stared down at his palm and clenched it. Lin watched as he closed his eyes and a second later his hand hissed. Arran yelped and shook his hand. Malavan gave a delighted clap. ¡°Well done! Oh well done!¡± the archmage cried and Arran held out his hand where his skin was bright red. Lin winced and stood, startling Colette out of her nap. ¡°Wh-waht? I¡¯m up, I¡¯m up,¡± she yawned and stumbled to her feet. Malavan looked at Arran¡¯s hand. ¡°Hm an ¡®Ice Snap¡¯ spell, quite good, I will say that it works better with your hand open, but I suspect you know this now,¡± Malavan smiled and Arran glared at him. ¡°Yeah, thanks,¡± he muttered and slowly opened his hand fully and Lin saw his arm shake a little as a tiny ice ball shot out his palm and feebly crashed to the floor, smashing into countless pieces. There was a beat of silence before Colette, her eyes still bleary, spoke. ¡°Performance issues are no joke, don¡¯t worry about it,¡± she clapped Arran on the shoulder. Lin bent down and picked up one the pieces, the slightly warm room already making quick work of the ice. ¡°Quite, practice is key. Now, Colette, I like you to try next,¡± Malavan said calmly while not looking in Lin¡¯s direction at all. Lin didn¡¯t let it bother her. She really tried. Walking away, she felt someone tap her shoulder. Lin spun to see Dayla¡¯s smile. ¡°How is it going?¡± she asked and Lin shrugged, her heart beating wildly as the surprise wore off. ¡°Not bad, Arran froze his hand and can hit things about a foot away. Colette is up next, not sure how long is going to take-¡± Lin was cut off as a flash followed by a swirl of smoke covered her.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Lin turned to see the smoke clearing. Colette was looking down at a small black dog. It looked up at her with the same level of excitement¡­ which was to say they both looked rather done with everything. Colette looked at Malavan. ¡°Y-yes, well done! A ¡®Summon Beast¡¯ spell, quite a bit rarer but it makes sense with your class,¡± Malavan cleared his throat and tried to sound like he wasn¡¯t caught off guard by a girl that only came up to his chest. Colette raised one hand in cheer with no energy. ¡°Woo,¡± she muttered and looked at the dog. The animal flicked one ear. ¡°Don¡¯t bark in the night and you can stay,¡± she ordered and went to a bench to lay down, the dog followed her without a sound and laid on the ground under her. ¡°It¡¯s cute, in a way,¡± Dayla suggested and Lin felt the word wasn¡¯t quite right but nothing else sprung to mind. "So if we get skills based on our class, then why did I get an ice spell? Why not a grow a bush spell or something?" Arran wondered and Malavan raised one brow. "Winter is a part of nature as well, a Druid deals with all parts of the cycle," he explained and then went quiet as his moved over Lin. Malavan turned and without looking back, spoke to them. ¡°Take a small break, we shall continue when I return,¡± his voice faded as he left the room. Lin stood there as Colette looked at her with a look. It wasn¡¯t like the girl¡¯s other looks, this one held a glimmering calculating look and some pity, Lin turned quickly to see Arran quickly avert his eyes. Lin didn¡¯t notice she was breathing a little harshly until Dayla pulled her towards a bench. ¡°It¡¯s not going to be easy, being a Wild Mage is going to take some use for the kingdom to get use to. Malavan just doesn¡¯t want to be the one that caused the kingdom to¡­¡± Dayla paused and looked embarrassed. ¡°I¡¯m no better, am I?¡± she said, more to herself. Lin felt her eyes go wet and she would not let this happen. She was a mage that wasn¡¯t going to be allowed to use magic. She was sure, almost positive, that Malavan would come back and hand her a staff, or something with build in magic or whatever, and tell her to get good with them. Lin was going to be told to sit down and behave herself because she had something wrong with her. Standing abruptly. Lin held out her hand, trying to imagine rivers traveling down her arm. Dayla stood abruptly, one hand reaching out to soothe Lin. ¡°Don¡¯t c-cast, just wait!¡± Dayla spluttered and Lin watched as Arran managed to swirl his ice ball into a slush of a snowball. Lin met Dayla¡¯s wide eyes and then grinned. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I got this,¡± she said and fire rose above her hand. Dayla reeled back as Lin watched the fireball forming begin to move oddly. ¡°Lin, watch out!¡± Dayla yelled and the fireball that was a mix of reds, oranges and yellows went pure orange as something crashed through her rivers. Lin could almost see her crystal blue magic become dyed bright orange by something beyond her understanding. The fireball expanded like balloon and pop. Lin coughed and reached down for the bench to steady herself, she missed and crashed to the floor. Her status menu went wild, flickering to life. Fireball learned! Then another window opened and Lin shut her eyes as this window went wild with orange lights. Q%D@{¡°$%^...chQW¡ê%WW...C-H-A-O-S¡­ Then another. CHAOSCHAOSCHAOSCHAOSCHAOSCHAOS Lin screamed as the status window flared the brightest light yet before it stopped suddenly. Lin opened her eyes, stars exploding in every direction, as she read the new orange window. Chaos activated! Caster is teleported to the middle floor of the nearest Dungeon! Lin looked around to see she was alone. She was alone in the tunnel that had weeds and wildflowers growing through the cracks in the path.Lin blinked and reread the screen before it blinked out of existence leaving Lin in¡­ tunnel with torches and moss growing on the bare earthen walls. The box had said dungeon¡­ Lin remembered the Queen had said something about dungeons. Her mind leapt from dot to dot as it tried to understand what was going on. Was she in the castle dungeon? That wasn¡¯t so bad¡­ Lin paused a something scraped along the wall down into the dark tunnel to her left. ¡°H-hello?¡± she called and there was silence before the darkness was broken by two dark red glowing embers. It walked forward and Lin stopped breathing as the embers were inside the eye sockets of a walking skeleton. It dragged an ax in one hand and held a shield in the other, the dirty moss covered bones creaked slightly as it moved. Lin began to crawl backward as three more sets of embers appeared in the darkness. Lin ran, she turned and ran as far as she could. The tunnels exploded with sound as the skeletons burst into a run after her, axes screaming along the ground. Lin just ran, her mind blank as any rational thought was shoved aside for the simplest thought of all Live live live live live. She ran down a flight of stairs and she never saw the skeletons paused at the top, hesitating to follow. Lin just ran. 4: Celebraations Lin hovered near the bottom of the stairs. She looked between the stairs where skeletons, walking bone monsters, and towards the hallway in front of her where a large shadow hovered at the first set of hall torches. It just stood there and waited. Lin watched it idly scratch its rear with its large claws. It wore nothing but a loincloth and a headdress but the flickering lights of the torches illuminated its scales and lizard features. It was some sort of odd dragon man or walking gator with a human jaw. Lin stared because she didn¡¯t dare move. She ran down to this floor screaming and the monster had been waiting for her, it clawed at her but seemed unable to go past the set of torches on the wall closest to the stairs. Lin had also noticed the Skeletons hadn¡¯t come down the stairs either. After a few minutes, her mind began to crank the gears of her mind that had been glued together with fear and confusion. Lin had cast magic, fact. She was something called a chaos mage, fact. Her magic had turned to chaos and transported her to a dungeon, fact, if the monsters and lack of sunlight were to be considered. That odd orange message box¡­ Lin let out a shuddering breath as the creature scraped its claw against the stone tunnel. Over and over, the scratching dug deep into Lin¡¯s ears like an itch she couldn¡¯t reach. ¡°S-stop it!¡± she said and the creature began to do it faster and faster. Lin grit her teeth and tried to cover her ears so she could think but the sound itched at her teeth and skin. ¡°Stop it!¡± she snapped out and with an accusing finger point, a bout of flame shot out the end of her finger, not even reaching the creature before dying out. The creature hissed viciously and moved quickly back down the tunnel, the hissing fading after a few seconds. Lin stared at her finger in awe, her fear momentary gone. That was the fireball spell¡­ sort of! Lin looked at her menu to see her Mp had gone done by 2. She only had 8 left in total. Lin swallowed a gulp back as she came to the conclusion that she only had 5 max fireballs to use. If¡­ and this was a strong''if'', her magic behaved. Looking around her menu, she failed to see any MP recovery tab or bar. There was no way for her to know how long it would take for her magic to return. She paused as she sat down on the last step. What if this magic system only gave so magic a day? Waste all in one attempt and that was you done for the day? Lin almost prayed for it not to be but barely remembered there were actual deities in this world supposedly. No need to call out blindly, cursing God for banging your toe off the coffee table probably did not endear you to them. Having a moment to herself, Lin decided that there was only one option available to her. She would have to escape this dungeon and return back to the city of Calamer. Or she could live here on these stairs forever until someone came to rescue her, licking wall moss to survive the coming winters and try to ignore the shambling horrors. Lin was truly blessed with options. Standing she turned to look up the stairs. The distance flickering torches of the previous floor awaited her at the end of the curving steps, only visible as a light on the walls. Lin lightly slapped her face with both hands and jogged in place to psyche herself up. ¡°Come on, you can do this, just pretend you¡¯re doing a sneaking mission or just pretend you''re in control,¡± she instructed herself and then began to climb the steps.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. --- She hit her first snag as she turned the first corner. A single skeleton stared into empty space, a rusting axe in one boney grip. Lin mentally cursed and pondered what she was exactly in control of. Something floated in her head, a long distance memory. Something about the undead and¡­ fire? They didn¡¯t like each other or something like that? Lin flexed her fingers at this thought, she could do fire. The memory niggled at her attention but Lin crept closer to the motionless skeleton until she was almost within touching distance. She rather be further back but just in case her fireball would short out again, she decided it would be best not to miss and waste MP. She was happy to see it had gone up by 1 in her pondering and sneaking time. Lin let the rivers of her magic flow down her palm and her hand glowed ominously. Lin grinned and shot her hand forward, aiming for the skull of the skeleton. Then an orange window appeared in her vision. [Chaos! Birthday Celebrations!] The fireball popped like a balloon and confetti covered the skeleton who turned to stare at Lin then at the falling pieces of colourful paper. A single birthday hat rolled and stopped against the skeleton¡¯s foot. There was an awkward pause between Lin and her soon-to-be murderer. Lin inhaled once and then turned, running back for the stairs. She wanted to scream at the unfairness and stupid chaos but she settled for puffing down the stairs, hoping the stairs held some mystical monster repellant as before. Lin now had to adjust her plan somewhat. Moss for dinner then escape¡­ --- The skeleton stared at the pieces of paper, it felt nothing. It stared at the fleeing meatbag. It felt purpose. It stared at the odd colourful hat. It felt¡­ confused. It put the hand on and felt happy. The skeleton didn¡¯t react as a window appeared with a message.
Happy Birthday! You are now [00.00.00.12] old! As being undead, you don¡¯t really age but it''s the thought that counts. Now go get your presents!
The skeleton had never seen a window before. It didn¡¯t really see, as it had no eyeballs but it felt it had never sensed a window before. It was its birthday. This was pleasing. How long did birthdays last? Was it¡¯s birthday going to be over soon? That was was worrisome. It should get its presents. Whatever they were. The meatbag from before may have them but the person had gone down the stairs¡­ It knew that it was not allowed to leave the second floor. It was created here and here it was meant to truly die. Again and again. Plundered by adventures to gain the treasures of the dungeon as the dungeon fed off the adventures life energy. This was listed in the basic monster handbook created by the dungeon core as it could not be bothered talking to all its creations. But it was its birthday. The skeleton adjusted the cherry red birthday hat and walked slowly towards the stairs. Now that it was thinking (it didn¡¯t know why it hadn''t tried this before) it had to wonder why the handbook didn¡¯t list what would happen on creature''s birthdays. Perhaps a re-read was in order, surely the loving father, Dungeon core and heart, would not forget his second level creations as it went on to form its fifth floor, right? The father would not forget it as he learned to create more interesting creatures¡­ right? Perhaps, after it got its presents, it would visit father and ask. Clearly, an update to the handbook was needed. Father would most likely listen to it. It was its birthday after all!
[Quest Gained!]
It felt¡­ excited. ---- Lin paced slightly and decided she really was beginning to get hungry. The skeletons wouldn¡¯t really help in the food department. But as she stared down the tunnel that lizard thing vanished into, she saw lush green dotting the end. Green mean life, life meant nature, nature meant food. The only thing holding Lin back was the lizard. It hasn''t reappeared but she had heard movement in the distance. She wanted to go, head strong into the hall and get it over with but she felt unsure as she stared at her hand. Lin didn¡¯t feel safe with her magic. It had failed her when she needed it. What if next time it wasn¡¯t a slow skeleton but a fast monster who she threw paper at? It would be bad. She liked having her insides on the inside. So maybe she could just slowly scout ahead, one step at a time? Then Lin could snatch what food there was and scurry back to the stairs. After all, giant lizard have to eat poor animals, those poor animals would have to eat something leafy. Ecosystems needed a basic system or it collapses in no time at all. Feeling the cool logic of science and facts helped Lin steel her nerves and she took a brave step forward into the hall. Her eyes darting for any movement, her nose twitching as she tried to smell for food like a dog. Lin was ready to fight for her share and no lizard or skeleton could stop her. She hoped. She¡­ really hoped.