With that, he and the two instructors he called swiftly ran into the woods to retrieve their wayward charges.
The water and light adepts guide the children further along the scant trail, keeping a sharp eye out for more Deadmen. The children though frightened are distracted by the boxes they can use to tell them about this new world.
when used on things lithe trees or the ground, it doesn''t reveal much information other than the name or known use but they soon discover how to use it on themselves, which Leon does.
|
Leon Wolfman
|
|
Level
|
1
|
Active Title
|
Champion of Chaos
|
|
Health
|
561
|
|
Mana
|
561
|
|
Stamina
|
561
|
|
Strength
|
51
|
Intelligence
|
51
|
|
Dexterity
|
51
|
Agility
|
51
|
|
Wisdom
|
51
|
Constitution
|
51
|
|
Unused Skill points
|
55
|
Experience
|
24%
|
|
Skills and Abilities
|
|
Language
|
Having spoken with a god, Able to speak all languages of the world
|
MAX
|
|
Divine Champion
|
+40 points to each stat
|
--
|
|
Divine Purpose
|
+25% experience gain
|
--
|
|
Otherworldly Traveler
|
+50 bonus points
|
--
|
|
|
|
|
Divine Analyze
|
To ask, Steal or Divine from the very world, its knowledge
|
MAX
|
|
Student
|
Accelerated learning in areas design for teaching or in the presence of a master.
|
Level 75
|
Uh, neat.
Ch 5 - Deal Breaker
Leon and most of the class find the information provided by the boxes easy enough to understand. Some consider themselves to be gamers and even those that don''t live in a society where simple exposure fills in the gaps.
Poking about the box does nothing, but eventually,Rainie Summers informs the class they just have to think about what they want it to do. An avid gamer, Leon isn''t surprised he''s one of the first to figure something like that out.
This world may not be a game, Bobby Mindal''s death should have cleared that up for everyone, but, there is no denying these info boxes are definitelygamelike.
As Bahai and Moorzuprodthe children to move faster, Leonnotices River Aldrich pick up Bobby''s shield. They were close and everyone knew it was only a matter of time before he would have asked her out. The tears in her eyes were haunting to the rest of the students, most of which gave her space. Peace, her sister, and Rielly her best friend walked with her speaking too low for Leon to hear. Harrold,a good friend of Bobby''s, walks quietly behind them, head down and lost in his own thoughts.
Thinking of River and Bobby''s loss made Leon want to spend his time with Samantha, so he started to walk towards her. She was walking with and holding tightly to Billy. His two goons, Graham Smith and Markus Wheeler, were also close by. Leon felt his previous animosity towards them disappearin light of all they have been through in the last hour. The dirtylooks Graham throws him as he walks over brings it all back though.
"Sam, can we talk?" He asks while throwing a look at Billy, to indicate he meansin private.
"There''s nothing to talk about, leave me alone loser!"
The shock of her response caught him so off guard, it actually took a few seconds to process what she had said. The big grin on Billy''s face seems inappropriate considering the death of one of their classmates, but he was always one to find his amusement wherever he could.
"...Wha, what''s going on?" Leon asks her, ignoring the idiot smile on his rival. "Didn''t you tell him we were together now, why are you even hanging around with him! what is even going on!?" His finger juts out at Billy, but he still manages to keep his voice low, not quite forgetting their circumstance.
"Hehehe." Billy and his friends laugh at Leon. Grahams ''whata loser'' comment, just loud enough to reach his ears.
Billy is about to inform Leon of ''what is even going on'', and with great relish, but he is cut off by Samantha. She stops and faces Leon causing the other student to walk around them. Given their predicament, most of the others aren''t even interested in their drama.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
"Look, Leon, it was a stupid prank. Billy told me to get you to ask me out so he could rub it in your face in frontof everyone when he flipped it on you. I didn''t really want to do it, but it was harmless, so I didn''t care. I''m sorry, but I just don''t like you like that, and honestly, you should have figured that out before now."
Leon was speechless. he glanced over her shoulder at Billy, who was miffed at having his big reveal stolen. But that didn''t stop themalicious grin from staying on his face. Not knowing what else to say, Samantha turns and grabs Billy''s arm, dragging him away. Graham walks up to stupified Leon and pokes him in the chest, hard.
"Stay away from Sam, if you know what good for you, loser!"
That helps snaps Leon back to reality. "So you can have a better shot at her!?" He throws at Graham. "Just because Billy''s an idiot, doesn''t mean the rest of us don''t have eyes! Fuck off!"
The look on Graham''s face eases his heart ever so slightly. His obvious desire for Sam had been obvious to the rest of the class for ages, to all but Billy apparently. He scrambles away with a frightened look on this face.
Leon looks at Marcus, but the athletic boy just shrugs and walks away. For him, bullying Leon was never personal and oddly enough, Leon knows that.
Rather than think of the pain in his chest, Leon drudges after the remaining students. The forest still filled with the yells of the missing 8 students, and the battle cries of Jharak. Even has he follows one of his missing classmates stumble back onto the path, the deadman following him is quickly dispatched by shards of Bahai''s ice glowing with Moorzu''s holy energy.
Leon barely notices.
-----------------------------
Ohm Icuraruns through the Deadwood forest cursing the scatterbrained children. Spikes of rock and mounds of earth kill and incapacitate the Deadmen, while he tries to keep the children in his sights. He wishes he could just kill the brats or at the very least forcibly drag them back to the path. But the contract mark sends a warning the moment he is about to try. ''No deliberate harm, my ass! My inability to harm them is going to get them killed.'' A deadman lurches around a deadwood tree and almost manages to latch on to Ohm Icura. An Earth spike pins it to a tree as he continues to follow the brats. ''And me with them'' hegrumbles.
-----------
Samantha walks with Billy, listening to his complaints about her ruining his big reveal to Leon. It''s true she never liked Leon, but before coming to this world she also never felt any animosity towards him either. It was all she could do to speak to him without attacking him, verbally or otherwise.
She had only agreed to billy''s plan because she was indifferent to other people''s feelings, but ever since meeting Light, the god of order, she has gone from indifferent to indignant. How dare other''s believe their feelings are more important than hers? She glances at Graham and Markus. Markus is as stoic as ever, while Graham quickly glances away, still believing none can see the feelings he wears on his sleeve. Well good,she thinks, you never know when you might need another pawn.
------------
Chaos lingers in the void. Unlike the rest of his pantheon, Chaos was content with the undecorated space. Peering deeply into the nothing revealed bits of the hidden chaos underneath, this god''s preferred form of meditation.
A source of recently acquired power suddenly becomes a fraction of what it was. If Chaos had eyes, they would have narrowed. It happened rarely, but every now and then, there was someone who thought they could cheat a god.
Ch 6 - First lesson
A few hours of walking find the children finally exiting the territory of the forest. While the attacks from the Deadmen grew infrequent enough they no longer feared for their lives, they did not grow so infrequent that any dared fall behind.
Withing the last hour Ohm Icura and Jharak managed to return with 6 of the children who ran into the forest. Ohm Icura would normally have been quite vexed, but through no fault of his own, the death of one of the children had netted him one the god tier items. He would have been happier if the bow had been from the earth god, Sod, but everything is food to the hungry beast.
As to the lost artifact, there were many guilds that would be happy to accept a quest to find a god tier item, despite the danger of the Deadwoods. The alliance would have it, eventually.
Away from the forest, a large encampment awaited the weary party. High-level guards on the perimeter welcomed the instructors and eyed the student with curiosity and disdain. Inside, the students were immediately descended on by slaves task with treating wounds as well as providing food and refreshment. Had they thought to ask, the slaves would have provided much more than that.
The children were left largely to their own thoughts while the instructor met to discuss the results of their mission so far.
"Well, this as turnedout to not be quite the waste of time I feared it would be." Ohm Icurabegan, setting the god-tier bow on the table, around which they sat.
"Agreed," Jharak said. "A shame about the loss of life, though. They''re only children, by the standards of their world, and if the oracles are to be believed."
"Maybe, but this is their world now, better they get used to the reality if they are to adjust successfully. And as callous as it sounds, the tragic event may further guaranteethe alliance more of the god-tier items. They can''t possibly be qualified to use them anyway. It would have been different had we gained the warriors we thought were coming, but..."
"The loss of life is always tragic, but as they are not yet believers in the Lady of light, it could have been worse." DeaconMoorzupointed out piously.
The others ignored the deacon with studied practice, has they had had time to grow used to his religious fervoron the trip here.
"What now?" asked Navier, running a hand through golden hair hemmed in by sharply pointed ears.
"Now we rest after that unexpected bit of excitement,but someone should makesure the children don''t get themselves into trouble and a basic bit of instructioncould go a long way." Chimed in Bihai.
"Yes!" Moorzuthumped the table with his fist, " the sooner these pagans are taught the glory of lady light..."
"Jharak, see to it!" Ohm Icurasaid, cutting off the deacon. He was, after all, a knight, and the physical exertion of the fight would have affected him far less than the rest of them.
"Excellent! The best time to beat weak bodies into shape is alway ''now''." Jharak agreed with unbridled enthusiasm.
The others glanced at each other, undecided if Ohm Icura had done the children a favor or not.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
--------------------
After finishing their early midday meal, the children had been left to their own devices. None had been brave enough to wander about, given their experience in this world so far. The wandering guards also gave off an air of power and intimidation that didn''t lend itself to the spirit of exploration.
Leon took his mind off of Samantha by exploring the boxes and the information provided. He had not yet dared to try and use the bonus points, despite having a generally good idea of what they would do. Some of the others had invested them, however, and they could be picked out by the look of wonder on their faces as they did standing jumps higher than their own heads, or moved their own limbs so fast as to almost creating after images.
Before they could fully gain the confidence to explore their newfound strength, Jharak appeared in front of them as if by magic.
"All right, you rabbits! You have the honor of first being taught by me, the level 68 Knight of fire, Jharak Yoor! Much like my master before me, I do not repeat myself, so little rabbits, use your ears!"
Jharak then explained how to use the analysis command, and though the children had figured that one out, they dared not interrupt. Quickly enough, Jharak hit on information the children couldn''t yet know.
"Be careful where you invest your bonus points. This applies only to bonus points and not the points from enchanted gear OR from natural level growth. Points given to dexterity will increase your stamina regeneration, BUT, it will negatively affect your magic AND health regeneration. The same goes for the other two regeneration stats, wisdom, and constitution."
Some of the students who had already used their bonus points were aghast, but, even if they had known, it wasn''t as though they could avoid the penalty. it applied to everyone and everything.
Jermain Scott raised his hand and asked, "How much is the decrease to the other regen stats, sir?"
"The total of bonus points in regeneration stats 1 and 2, as a percentage of one''s total bonus points, determines how much regeneration stat 3 is negatively affected." Jharak replied, sounding as though he was quoting from something."
While not the most helpful explanation, some of the students got it, and some didn''t, largely depending on their understanding of oral math. True to his word, Jharak, had no interest in further explainingthe nuance of how regeneration worked. Assuming he understood it himself.
At the end of Jharaks lesson, Leon did understand a few things. One was that the reason the students couldn''t see Jharaks status was, despite their divine level analysis, Jharak was still too high a level and many enchanted items existed to make such skills unreliable at best. At least when facing other intelligent beings. Leon tried to scan him anyway.
This world was called Lacaos, there were not one, but two holy empires, both to the far north that were at war with each other and the alliance. The alliance had in fact been formed to defend a host of smaller nations against the armies of the former Casteria Holy empire, now the Xabroc and Druk Liuma holy empires.
One point in strength, intelligence or agility will raise health, mana, and stamina by 10 points each, however, One point from an enchanted item would only raise them by five. Enchanted items did, however, effect regeneration fully.
There was a host of other information on how one''s status numbers actually interacted with each other, but in the end, Leon decided to sum it up with, big numbers good, bigger numbers gooder.
Ch 7 - Backup weapon
After the initial explanation, Jharakfinally got to information Leon found far more useful than the things he could have figured out on his own.
"Magic power isn''t something you''ll see in your status, neither is affinity. One will tell you whether or not you should become a mage and the other tells you what element you''re best suited to work with, regardless of your job."
"I, myself, the legendary Jharak, knight of fire, have low magic power, but..." Jharak holds up his short sword and the blade in suddenly coated in flames. Some of the children gasp, but Leon could see that coming from a mile away, not that foreknowledge stop the display from being any less impressive.
"This weapon, " continues Jharak, "is enchanted to call fire, which I can then control with my high affinity for fire." He swings the blade, sending the fire into the air in the shape of a large bird. "You all will be tested for magic power and affinity when we reach the academy."
With the children suitable awed, Jharak causes the flaming manifestation to explode. The student and not a few servants and slaves, jump in fright.
"Hahaha, you should see your faces!" Jharak laughs uproariously.
"Well, that''s about all the real magic I can do. But even if the mageist mage that ever magedturns out to be one of you, you''re still weeks, if not months away from learning even the simplest of spell formulas."
"Now, follow me," Jharak says, turning and walking away.
First, he takes the children to an area set aside with 15 empty tents. "Pick one, then leave your belongings here. Don''t worry, anyone who wants to keep their hands attached won''t touch anything."
Most of the children don''t have anything to store. They weren''t transported with anything but the lint in their pockets. The weapons and gear some have would have been taken forcefully already if the instructors wanted, so those who have received such things pick a tent and leave their belonging on a bedroll.
Three of the 29 would be champions are dead or missing so Leon and one other student ends up with a tent to themselves, with one left empty. Few of the students want to be alone, but one boy and girl are left over. Leon''s desire for privacy far outweighs any thrill that would come from sharing a tent with one of the female students. JazzyEmmete doesn''t seem too upset over the arrangement though. Like Leon, she prefers her own company.
Next, the instructor leads the children to a field set aside for training the guards.
"The fact that none of you have so much as a belt knife, tells me what kind of world you come from, but here, if you wish to live to see the sun, it would be wise to carry these with you at all times."
Handing each of the teens a small, sharp dagger with a leather sheath, he makes sure they are securelytied to belt loops or around a waist before moving on. "Those are more tools than weapon, but they''ll do when the ale is in the dust."If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
"Now given the lack of weapons, your poor movement, and the fact that the short walk through the woods makes all you breath heavier than a goblin in a brothel, I''m assuming none of you know how to fight." Jharak gestures to an array of wooden weapons laid out at the edge of the field.
"Even mages know how to use at least one real weapon for emergencies, and believe me, there will always be emergencies. Find whatever weapon speaks to you most, then we''ll start the fun part."
Leon heads to the various training weapons slowly but is soon passed by boys and some girls who don''t want a chance to lose their preferred pick. ''Typical school mentality'' he thinks, but even if all the children chose the same weapon, there is no chance of running out. Training weapons, especially wooden ones, are not meant to last, they are meant to teach and as such naturally acquire a short life span.
Leons analysis reveals nothing special at all about the weapons so he goes about picking some of them up, and seeing if, as instructor Jharak says, any speaks to him.
Small training dagger, nope. Short sword, not bad, but..., 2 handed swords, hell no. no to the axes, not liking the halberds. oddly enough, not hating the spears, seems like the type of thing to enemies away, far, far away. But honestly, I''m going to do everything possible to become a mage, no way I go to a new world with magic just to swing around a weapon my old world already has.
Leon goes through the vast selection multiple times, eliminating weapons until he finds himself holding a 6-foot staff. The design is simple and he figures it can''t be too hard to learn, but more importantly, I can swing a magic staff in an emergency much like a regular staff, no? Well if not, I''m still fine with this."
Soon enough all the children have chosen a weapon, and it''s time to begin their first lesson. Leon is paired with a guard who briefly explains some points of the weapon with disinterest.
"Xestu staff, use for leaving bruise on the enemy." The guard who had not given his name seemed unimpressed with the non-lethality of Leon''s choice. Nonetheless, he demonstrated some positions of the weapon and instructedLeon to memorize them.
"High guard, powerful attacks from above. Low guard, sweep the legs or thrust to the chin or strong swing to those coming from your back. Mid guard, versatile and should be how you meet your enemy. False-sword threatens thrust to the face, but nothing stopping you from just beating them with your weapon, heh. Next is..."
10 guards and stances design to allow one to fight at long and short range were demonstrated, then his trainer simply called them out, forcing Leon to transition from one to the other. Compared to the sword swings and spear thrust the other children were doing, Leon''s lesson looked tame by comparison. Whatever, I want to summon fireballs not run around with giant metal knives anyway, Leon pouted silently.
The lesson went on for hours until dinner was served. By then the children were thoroughly exhausted, most having rarely expended so much energy before. Jharak disappeared after handing them over to their trainers but reappeared with the other instructors shortly after dinner.
Some of the children, tired but well-fed, were about to retire early, but Ohm Icura had other plans. Leading the student back to the training field, he informed them their training had just begun.
"Choose your weapons and assemble before me." The earth instructor said impatiently. Once that was finished he informed the children of their next training exercise.
"To help accelerate your learning of the basics, we will have you face each other in the honor circle. The rules are simple, two trainees enter, one leave on their back. Today, we shall choose your opponent for you, but normally the circle is used when one is challenged. Any questions?"
Penny Wilmore, normally one of the quiet kids, therefore it was a testament to how tired she was to speak out.
"Do we have to?"
Ch 8 - Honor Circle
Despite not seeming to favor any one child over the other, Ohm Icura still chose to pit the weakest looking boy against one of the stronger females, Jazzie Emmete. Jazz had chosen a long handled war hammermuch like the item she receivedfrom the earth god. Damian Danton had also chosen to stick with the weapon type receivedfrom the fire god, Curbu. He did, however, choose to add a shield to his other arm, to compliment the short sword.
Ohm Icura and Deacon Moorzu took the time to explain that it was impossible for the children to hurt each other, at least permanently. Moorzu would heal them after each match so they were encouraged to give it their all. They still weren''t expecting much more than timid swings before the children begged to leave the circle.
They were therefore surprised when Jazz and Damian went at each other with the expected lack of skill, but the unexpectedabundance of ferocity.
Neitherchild had learned enough to display any technique, but neither hesitated at Jharaks shouted "Attack!".
For their own reasons, both student''s had always had to deal with bullies of their own growing up. But neitherhad to deal with the same ones twice. Jazzie''s size meant being picked on by both boys and girls growing up, while Damian''s meant being picked on by boys while being ignored by girls.
In the honor circle, Damian dodged Jazzie''s hammer swings while trying to get close enough to do damage with the sword. However, despite the weight of the long hammer, he found his opponentmoving far more nimbly than she had any right to. Even if he got past the head of the hammer, Jazz wasn''t above using the shaft or lashing out with a foot. The attacks he was forced to take on the shield numbed his arm, further slowing its use.
Finally, the match ended when Damian sacrificeshis shield arm to deliver a blow to the back of Jazz''s head in a spinning move that had far more luck than skill. The girl wasn''t knocked out, but the position she was left in on the floor forced Ohm Icurato declare Damian the winner.
"As you can see children half the fight is less how sharp your claws are, and more how willing you are to use them," Jharak exclaimed before pointing out the next two combatants. Damian and Jazz in the meanwhile were treated with holy light by the deacon.
None of the following fights displayed nearly as much spirit as the first, but that but that much,at least was the expected norm for the instructors.
Leons turn came and he found himself paired with Jermain Scott, the class genius. The boy had a spear and was positioned low to the ground. Whether or not he actually knew how to use the weapon, the stance looked intimidating.
Leon had long since determined he wasn''t interested in winning or losing, he just wanted to get this over with, with as little pain as possible so he could explore whatever the info boxes were willing to tell him.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
At the commencementof the fight, Jermain exploded forward, deciding his 7-foot spear gave him an edge over Leons 6-foot staff. Leon couldn''t disagree and dodged as Jermain''s spear occupied the space he had just vacated.
Frantically scrambling backward while knocking the spear away with his own staff, kept him safe for a while, but it wasn''t going to win the match. Winning wasn''t as important as avoiding the pain of the spear, but the first was the best way to avoid the second.
After a while, Leon was confident he had found Jermain''s rhythm, and even when the other boy tried to change it up, he somehow managed to keep up, but he was still on the defensive. Finally, after another missed thrust by Jermain, Leon did something neither was expecting. Without thinking he ran towards the other boy, forcing him to back up to keep the spear in play.
Leon was too close and with the mid staff stance he had been taught, harried Jermain with both sides of his staff. Taking a page out of Jazz''s book, Leon lashed out with a kick that caught his opponent off guard and knocks him on his back.
Jermain manages to hold onto his spear but from his position on the ground, it''s impossible to protect against Leons attacks. Finally, he''s forced to concede when his weapon is knocked out of reach and the staff is pressed against his throat.
The fight was sloppy and both boys have bruises, but the instructors are pleased and so they are allowed to be healed by the deacon. The other fights finish just as the sun is setting.
Before being sent to bed, the children are shown separate barrels of water and given cloth to wipe themselves down. The girls and boys treat it like a school locker, doing their best to ignore the servants and guards. Given the deaths of their classmates and the busy day they''ve had, the children hardly have the strength to take any interest in each other as well.
A wave of exhaustion hits Leon has he laid in his bedroll, but he still takes some time to go over the info boxes. The sparring match gave himsome experience. That plus what he''s earned through the day just from learning about this world brings his total up to 73%.
The analysis skill hasn''t shown him anything spectacular about this world yet. Other than some strangely named plants, there really hasn''t been much to see, he supposes. However, now that he''s alone he can finally check the best for last. Holding up is hand he uses analyze on the ring tattoo.
|
Dimensional Ring
|
|
Soulbound
|
God-tier
|
+25% Dark Affinity
|
0%unlocked
|
|
Grows with the amount of mana it is fed
Current slots: 1
|
Somewhat underwhelmed, Leon wonders about the stats of everyone else''s weapons. Do they grow too? first thing first, he needs to figure out how to feed this thing mana.
Suddenly the noise from outside, various clinks of the guard''s equipment and noise from the forest, even the very wind, disappears. The change is so abrupt, Leon wonders if the camp is under attack for a moment. Sitting up, he is startled by the little girl standing in the entryway of his tent.
She wears a dark purple victorian dress that seems designed to be as creepy as possible. Or perhaps that is just her bone white face, with eyes that are not there, just black space. Before Leon can react, the girl speaks.
"Why have you betrayed me?" She asks, with what seems like genuine sorrow.
Ch 9 - Avatar of Chaos
"Who are you!?"
Leon is startled, having seen no children around the encampment.
The little girl tilts her head, "That''s a question, people of this world don''t ask nearly so much as you might think. You''re adapting slowly."
It takes a second for the child''swords to work their way through Leon''s mind put when they do, he finally
|
Avatar of Chaos
|
|
Level
|
1
|
Active Title
|
World Stepper
|
|
Health
|
132
|
|
Mana
|
132
|
|
Stamina
|
132
|
|
Strength
|
12
|
Intelligence
|
12
|
|
Dexterity
|
12
|
Agility
|
12
|
|
Wisdom
|
12
|
Constitution
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
With that, it all falls into place. Leon, desperate to appease the angry god, says whatever comes to mind.
|
Leon Wolfman
|
|
Level
|
1Stolen novel; please report.
|
Active Title
|
Servant of Chaos
|
|
Health
|
341
|
|
Mana
|
341
|
|
Stamina
|
341
|
|
Strength
|
31
|
Intelligence
|
31
|
|
Dexterity
|
31
|
Agility
|
31
|
|
Wisdom
|
31
|
Constitution
|
31
|
|
Unused Skill points
|
55
|
Experience
|
99%
|
|
Skills and Abilities
|
|
Language
|
Having spoken with a god, Able to speak all languages of the world
|
MAX
|
|
Godly Champion
|
+20 points to each stat
|
--
|
|
Godly Mission
|
+10% experience gain
|
--
|
|
Otherworldly Traveler
|
+50 bonus points
|
--
|
| Blood of Chaos |
Unknown |
--- |
|
Godly Analyze
|
To ask or Steal from the very world, its knowledge
|
Level 75
|
|
Student
|
Accelerated learning in areas design for teaching or in the presence of a master.
|
Level 75
|
maybe?
|
|
|
Channels the power of a god [1]
|
Ch 10 - Magic meditation
The next morning saw the children awakened at sunrise.
Breakfast of bread and the leftover stew from last night was provided then the instructors came to inform them of the day''s schedule.
"This morning, you will be given basic magic instruction, then after lunch back to weapons training, we leave tomorrow morning, so make the most of your time and energy."
Ohm Icura was as gruff as ever. He wanted to remind the children of his offer for their weapons and items but decided to let them suffer the bottom rung of this world for a while yet, just to soften them up.
Bihai Suuncurio stepped forward and after gaining the attention of the students, she began speaking.
"We flow ever onward. that is the secret to feeling the energy in everything that allows us to understand and perform magic. We are each our own rivers, children. The path of least resistance for one, may not be the same path for another. What you shall be doing this morning his locating the stream through which your live flows."
At the children''s confused looks, Bahai sighed and simplified her instructions.
"You will get comfortable. You will not speak. You will try to sense the six different type of magic in the air, Earth, Fire, water, and wind. If by some miracle you are attuned to light or..." She hesitated, then powered on, "dark, then you should inform me immediately."
She eyed the children and went back to her previous flowing voice, "This meditation technique is for beginners who don''t know what element they are most attuned to. Those who are aware of their highest affinities usually choose methods that correspond accordingly. Your natural elemental affinities have nothing to do with the gods who may have brought you here. Serving one god or another is simply one way in which to raise a certain affinity."
"This usually takes weeks of trial and error so don''t become impatient. This also doesn''t reflect your magic power or your talent in using magic, in the end, this is strictly how well you recharge your magic particles inside your body. A skill even warrior need. Very few warriors do not have at least one magic skill under their sleeve. So get started."
One of the Students Lincoln Manis raised his hand and ask, "how will we know if we actually manage to do it?"
To which Bahai, smiled, "It will be impossible not to know."
The children got into their meditative poses, most choosing the crossed leg position. Leon kneeled comfortably and simply let his mind wonder.
If it was possible to feel the magic particles then I will eventually, so no need to try and rush. If they are there, I will eventually feel them. Once I feel them, nothing can stop me from using them.
Leon focused on the feel of the ground beneath him, the air around him and the moisture in it. The dark of the shadows and the light of the sun. The fire pit was near, the coals from last night still hot.
he first gave up on the sun. The light hurt his eyes, even when he wasn''t looking at it. his eyes had always been somewhat sensitive that way. The fire pit was close enough he imagined he could feel the heat, but rather than any kind of revelation, it just made him uncomfortable. The morning wasn''t so cold that his mind had a pleasant opinion of the fire.
He knew the dimensional ring raised his dark affinity, but Bahai said this meditation technique was prevalent on their natural affinity.
Eventually, Leon sits quietly thinking of the six affinities, over and over. Some, more, and some, less. It is right before mid day when a break through happens. Not for Leon but another student.
"Holy shit!!"
It''s America Freeman, her eyes large and staring into nothing. She reaches out and seems to play with something, but the other students see nothing in her hands.
There is more commotion has Bahai and Ohm Icura rush over. There is a hushed argument, the America is taken away by the instructors.
Inside the medical tent, America sits by, largely preoccupied with the new information she is receiving from her analyze. The instructors testing are largely ignored, except when they draw blood and even that was barely an issue.
By the time they are finished, the rest of the children had had lunch and are getting ready for their weapon training.
"Change of plans children." Ohm Icura announces, "We will be continuing the meditation training for now. Normally the amount of time it takes to be effective would make it pointless to train so much, however, we believe for you, it should be different."
He leads the children back to their former positions and explains further.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
"Your old world''s lack of magic means your bodies are so starved for mana, it''s practically begging to be absorbed."
It takes time but before the last meal is ready to be served, all of the children have had a breakthrough, including Leon.
Mana[Fire]
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Magic representation of [fire]
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Affinity18%
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Mana[Earth]
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Magic representation of [Earth]
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Affinity 49%
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Not just those but all six affinities are available to the children. From the fire, Leon first gains the knowledge of his somewhat low affinity for it. The wind comes naturally after that, then the rest.
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Creal
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Level
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28
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Active Title
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Veteran of the Vine Hill battle, Father''s Footsteps
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Health
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1274
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Mana
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434
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Stamina
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514
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Actually, wait, what did titles even do?
Veteran of the Vine Hill battle
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18% Chance avoid damage to yourself and those around you.
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|
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+63% Learning speed in father''s occupation,+23% chance of teaching father''s occupation
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Titles
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Champion of Chaos
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Use of god''s shrine or temple monthly, +15% Dark Affinity, +30% to dark skill and abilities, 15% defense on divine mission
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Unavailable
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Otherwordly Traveler
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Increased learning speed, reduced chance of mental debuffs, +50 bonus points
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Inactive
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Lifelong Student
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Accelerated learning speed of new subjects
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Inactive
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Healthy young man
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+36% chance of making a good impression, reduced stamina loss,+ 6% defense on village walls
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Inactive
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Blood Drinker
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2% chance to gain stats, skills, abilities, or knowledge from blood
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Inactive
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Servant of Chaos
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Use of god''s shrine or temple monthly, +3% Dark affinity,+6% to Dark skills and abilities, 3% to dodge of divine mission
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Active
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Not bad, not bad, too bad I can''t activa... WAIT, WHAT!
Ch 11 - Adepts and Affinity
Startled by the somewhat ominous title of Blood-drinker, Leon''s fatigue is temporarily pushed aside as he goes over his status with a fine toothed comb.
Blood of Chaos! He is sure, that skill wasn''t there yesterday. he would have noticed a skill with unknown effects, right?
Having not checked his list of titles before, or even knowing that it existed, he had no clue as to whether or not Blood Drinker had always been there. If so, then it was what probably caused him to gain that unknown skill. It most likely went active when Chaos forcefully shut down the ''Champion of Chaos'' title.
If Blood drinker wasn''t always there, then that means Chaos''s bloody kiss gavehim the title instead.
Not that it mattered. If he could find a way to use... no, abuse that title, he could make himself into a monster.
Staring at ''Blood of Chaos'' Leon ponders the skill. Using his Godly Analyze on it return no new information. Out of sheer stubbornness, he triggers the skill, gaining nothing, but continues until sleep claims him.
-----------------------------
The next morning an exhausted Leon begins his magic training with the rest of the children, most of whom seem to have gotten far more sleep than him. While the guards and soldiers pack everything away and prepare to leave the forest, the students are gathered for a meeting.
Ohm Icura, addresses the students while the other instructors wait behind him.
"Magic," He begins, "is a complicated affair. Because it is so, we will only be teaching you in the broadest sense of the word."
"We will start with, Jharak Yoor!" The Fire practitioner steps forward, smiling broadly at the children.
"Magic power 8, Fire affinity 74%, and control 4!"
"5!" Jharak interrupts, his smile growing broader. The other instructors seem impressed, Moorzu and Bihai stomp their foot for him.
"Congratulations Jharak Yoor, truly you do your family name proud." Ohm Icura congratulates him as well, before turning back to the students. "As you can see, low magic power, but a high control of the element fire. This makes Jharak an exceptional Magic knight, or spell-sword, or blazing warrior. But some prefer the term Marshall adept."
"Not me." Jharak says. Ignoring the Marshall adept, Ohm Icura continues.
"Bihai Suncurio and An''ee Moorzu are from the other end of the magical spectrum. High magic power with intermediate to low affinities and element control makes them excellent battle mages, or magical adepts, or just magicians. The ability to project the powers within them is what generally distinguishes, Marshall from Magicians, and that is largely determined by magic power."
The last instructor steps forward. Without the hooded robe this morning, the children can see she is clearly an Elf, or at least she has the pointed ears and comparatively tall stature the students would associate with Elves. The green hair only adds to her mysterious aura.
"Navier Llarona. She has qualities that qualify her to be considered both a Knight and a mage. Scouts, rogues, assassins, rangers. These people are usually identified by their profession. Their high talent in certain areas like control belie their, oftentimes, low magic power and affinities."
The children listen with rapt attention, desperate to know about the world they were now a part of.
"Now myself, I am a true specialist." Ohm Icura holds up the staff in his hand, "With this, I am an Earth mage and a powerful one, without it, even Jharak Yoor can project magic power better than me."
That sounds interesting, Leon thinks
"My story would be a tragic one, without one redeeming and rare talent. Enchanting. The ability to get an inanimate object to hold a magic rune and constantly renew its power is something about 1,000 people of this continent can do, most of whom are nonhumans."
Leon doubt that staff is Ohm Icura''s only weapon, it wouldn''t make sense to expose your one weakness to strangers.
"For the most part Affinity is how well mana is drawn to you, Magic power is the amount you can wield, and Elemental control is control measured by a test at the academy."The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Ohm Icura''s gaze intensified towards the students. "Don''t ever think you know everything about magic, children. There are always hidden talents and new spells to be discovered. Trying too hard to categorize everything you learn will prevent you from having the open mind necessary to truly grow as an adept."
-----------
Hours later the children find themselves struggling to keep up with the pace of the exodus. Sporadic attacks from Deadmen help spur their endurance.
Each child has been given a single round bead. The beads are enchanted and the students were instructed to make them glow, as that was their only function.
Assuming one had even the smallest of magical talent, then using an enchanted item was significantly easier than most other types of magic.
With water being his highest affinity, the bead Leon was given was designed to respond to that element. The beads were hesitantly made by Ohm Icura and so would not last very long. Even so, some of the students had already managed to accomplish the task. Leon was one of them but hadn''t yet informed Bahai, his water magic instructor. He was hoping to get as much out of this practice session as possible.
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Enchanted Pebble [water]
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Durability 3/5
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Crude
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mana 6/6
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|
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small stone with no purpose
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With the analyze skill, the student searched for the mana they were looking for then, willed it to enter the bead. No other instructions had been given. Some struggled, but most made steady, if slow progress.
---------------------
The instructors are amazed and perhaps a little frightened, although the children would never be able to tell. The task they have been told to do would take an average adept weeks, if not months, to accomplish. It could only be expected though, by the standards of this world each of the children had great potential.
The average human ofLacaoshas natural affinities of about 2% and no magic power to speak of. About one in 100 had ''the gift'', which was only the ability to be taught, not necessarily to be great.
Often with talent, nine have at least one affinities above the 20% and at least some magic power. The might become able Marshall adepts. Since few schools take those with less than 20% in an affinity, those below the mark may often become town guards, mercenaries, or criminals.
The last of the ten have magic power above 30 and normal affinities. With luck and training, they might one day become adequate Magicians. While it''s possible, but difficult, to raise affinities, and many adepts will spend their entire lives trying to do so.
These children, however, defied believe. Gifted were those with two affinities above the 20% mark, genius were those with three, and ''once in century'' prodigies were those with four teachable affinities above 20%.
Every single child brought by the gods had at least one affinity above 30% and most had two. Those who had already bonded with their item sometimes had an affinity above 50%. Few had any affinities lower than 10%. And there were the monsters with natural affinities higher than 50, 60, even 70%.
There was no doubting these children had been truly gifted by the gods themselves.
--------------------
After practicing until the pebble shattered, Leon had a chance to check his skills once again
|
Leon Wolfman
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Level
|
2
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Active Title
|
Lifelong Student
|
|
Health
|
352
|
|
Mana
|
352
|
|
Stamina
|
352
|
|
Strength
|
32
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Intelligence
|
32
|
|
Dexterity
|
32
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Agility
|
32
|
|
Wisdom
|
32
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Constitution
|
32
|
|
Unused Skill points
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60
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Experience
|
66%
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|
Skills and Abilities
|
|
Mana Manipulation
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Bending natural affinities to your will
- Water - 3%
- Fire - 0%
- Earth - 0%
- Wind - 0%
- Light - 0%
- Dark - 0%
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Level 1
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Not a bad start.
His experience had pushed him over to level two and so he had gained five bonus point to use. every stat had also gone up by one. But, still, the best had to be the surprise that greeted him when he awoke this morning.
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Skills and Abilities
|
|
Blood of Chaos
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You share the blood of a god.
1 % chance to tap the Aether to fuel spells.
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Level 1
|
At some point, before he fell asleep, his analyze managed to break through and identify the skill Blood of Chaos. Since he didn''t yet know any spells, he couldn''t take advantage of this skill.
But wait until I get it to 100%!
Ch 12 - Dead River Bridge
The march carried on without incident until the late afternoon, punctuated with frequent rest stops, mostly for the benefit of the children.
Despite this, the attacks by Dead-men continued somewhat frequently. In fact, the only reason they are not overwhelmed at any given moment is that a standard plan for any large group forced to move through the dead wood forest is to have fast moving distractions to direct the attention of the dead men elsewhere. The failure of this tactic when the children arrived was due to a failure of the new strategy that involved distantly placed magic explosive to take the place of living distractions.
The camp was set up before the sun set and the students were given a quick lesson in mundane weapons by their respective instructors. Most were far more interested in learning more magic, Leon included.
With [Blood of Chaos] for a skill, he would not be satisfied until he had at least one spell to train the ability. Unfortunately, the instructors were not set up to teach actual spells to the children.
Magic learning required a safe environment where worse case scenarios could be contained on a daily basis. No matter how fast the children learned skills, it still only takes one mistake to possibly kill them and everyone around them as well.
[Mana Manipulation] and weapons training take up the actual lessons that can be safely provided, but that itself resulted in some unexpected compensations. It turns out a few of the children chose their weapon wisely enough to have an actual affinity with them including Leon.
|
Skills and Abilities
|
|
Weapon Proficientcy
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Insight and natural use of mundane Arms
- Melee - 2%
- Ranged - 0%
- Flexible- 0%
- Shield - 0%
|
Level 1
|
|
Weapon Proficiency
|
|
Melee
|
Insight and natural use of close quarter Arms
- Unarmed - 12%
- Staff - 8%
- Spear- 1%
|
Level 1
|
Not bad at all, learn something new every day and eventually I may not even need Chaos to get back home!