《Gateway to Nexus (Dropped)》


 Prologue: Gateway To Nexus

    Author note: So hi there fellow penguins, I¡¯m a new author and a non native English speaker so any and all constructive criticism is welcomed wholeheartedly. Regarding rate of update I aim for about once every two weeks but I¡¯m lazy at heart and that might not happen every time so please be patient, there will be updates unless I tell you otherwise. Please enjoy and comment if you want, I promise to read them all ;)


    <hr />


    Prologue: Gateway To Nexus


    Sebastian Frost was sitting in a lecture hall hearing a middle aged professor droning on about the early years of VR and how it revolutionized the world.


    Well in truth he was at this moment in something that looks a lot like a pod from those old sci-fi movies inside his one room student apartment, you might think this contradicts itself, how can he be both at home and at school? Well the answer is quite simple actually, he was at this moment inside a VR device and attending a lecture hosted by his university off the hub in DTUs own private little piece of Cyber the virtual world.


    Why would a university teach classes in Cyber and not in the flesh, well when scientist found out that VR tech inherently dilated peoples time perception so that people inside experienced three times more than those outside. DTU not being  ones to let a good thing pass them by started using VR as a teaching tool, which then spread like a wildfire through both Denmark and the rest of the world.


    Sebastian wasn¡¯t really in the mood to hear all this stuff since most of it is common knowledge, and besides people that decide to take the course packet about VR tech must at least know the basics right?


    So while sitting there contemplating what he had done to deserve this torture session of outdated information he fiddled with his pencil as he always does when a stray thought hit him and he turned to tap his old friend Michael on the shoulder.


    ¡°Hey have you heard about this new game called Gateway to Nexus? I hear they¡¯ve been able to make the NPCs really lifelike with some AI stuff or something¡± Sebastian said and as he did he noticed something flash across his friends face.  He brushed it off as mere surprise over the fact they had been able to get AI to work in the gaming industry.


    ¡°Yeah I¡¯ve heard about it Frost¡± answered Michael.


    ¡°Wanna play it with me? I think it could be a great game if they really have got those AI¡¯s working.¡±


    Once again something flashed across his friends face but this time it was something different. While rubbing his neck Michael answered.


    ¡°Truth be told Frost, I have been playing it for months¡­ Ever since it came out¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    Sebastian''s voice rose higher than the whisper he had been using till now. The teacher looked up with an annoyed expression and shushed waiting just long enough to show it was their fault the lecture had stopped before beginning the lecture again.


    Lowering his voice and leaning in close Sebastian asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me you¡¯ve been playing Gateway since launch and you didn¡¯t invite me and Kevin?¡± Sebastian asked still fiddling with his pencil.


    ¡°Well not really¡­ Kevin''s been playing it with me from the start.¡± This coming from Michael who was now quite red faced.


    ¡°Let me explain, it¡¯s got nothing to do with you per say it¡¯s just the fact you always play mage characters and mages take forever in Gateway before they are ready to leave¡­ ¡°


    Michael''s explanation took a second or two for Sebastian to grasp.


    ¡°Wait a minute so you guys kept me out of the loop simply because it would be inconvenient for you to play with me?¡± Sebastian asked hands now completely still no longer toying or fiddling with anything.


    Michael saw this and his face paled.


    ¡°Frost, it wasn¡¯t something we decided upon it just sort of happened.¡±


    Slowly Sebastian looked his friend in the eye.


    ¡°You, me and Kevin are through. I won''t be a bitch about it, I will greet you when I see you and be unfailingly polite towards the both of you, but that''s it.¡±


    Having said his piece he now turned his head towards the teacher ignoring his former friend.


    It might seem harsh to end childhood friendships just because people didn¡¯t include you, and normally even Sebastian would agree with you.


    Except Michael, Kevin and Sebastian had a long time promise to always include each other, because no one else would in their old neighborhood.


    A promise now broken just because of convenience.


    While listening to the rest of the lecture, he slowly cooled down.


    ¡®Well it isn¡¯t like it hasn¡¯t happened before, friendships are ephemeral. These friendships just lasted longer than most.¡¯ He told himself, wanting to believe his old saying more than ever.


    While thinking this Sebastian opened two private windows. One for surfing and the other to jot down notes. Then the ten hours left of the lecture went by in a flash for Sebastian absorbed as he was in the research of Gateway to Nexus .


    Reading through all his findings he was forced to admit that mages did indeed take a long time to get off the ground according to every source he could find, and as if that wasn¡¯t enough their damage was heavily reliant on the circumstances and elemental immunities of their opponents.


    Which incidentally triggered Sebastian''s stubborn streak.


    Before his former friends decision to keep him out he would probably have played something else, but now he could play nothing else which suited him just fine.


    If everyone is so damn certain something is useless, he would prove them wrong by turning every downside into an advantage.


    His thoughts and musings were then interrupted by the teachers voice.


    ¡°That¡¯s it for today''s lecture on the conception of VR and its impact on society, remember to log off and get something to eat and I¡¯ll see you guys tomorrow.¡±


    With that said the teacher disappeared probably following his own advice.


    Saving his notes in a way that makes them accessible outside the capsule Sebastian logged off.


    ********


    The lid of the capsule popped open and Sebastian got out. Heading to for the shower he looked at the clock on the wall.  A little over midday plenty of time to grab a quick shower and go down and get the Gateway module.


    Just before getting into the bathroom a thought hit him. It¡¯s Monday Chris should be down at the gym, and maybe it would be a good idea to go get a little exercise before heading into Cyber again.


    Having Come up with this bright idea Sebastian threw on a coat instead of taking a shower and headed out.


    Fifteen minutes later he walked in to the gym and was greeted by a giant man with a untrimmed blond beard. The man took one long look at Sebastian and then said.


    ¡°Well I¡¯m not gonna spar with you today Frost, i like my joints just fine as they are. I will however get you started on real kicks and japs instead of that pacifist Jiu Jitsu you insist on practicing. Sound good too ya?¡± The big bear of a man asked.


    Sebastian looked at Chris thinking it over, until now he had never needed anything more than self defense techniques and his black belt in Jiu Jitsu was proof of that. Yet there was both truth and sense in what Chris was suggesting, sparring while frustrated results in injuries when at the level Sebastian was at.


    ¡°Yeah Bear I''ll do something else for a change, got some aggression I need to work out of my system. Nice catch by the way.¡± Sebastian said, a small smile lifting the corner of his mouth.


    Chris chuckled. Like everything else with Chris it wasn¡¯t a small sound.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t that hard to catch, you¡¯re even frostier than usual. Get changed then come get me when you have done the usual warm up.¡± He said then headed towards a newbie pair doing basic throws. Probably to correct their less than ideal footwork.


    Sebastian headed to the lockers then changed into his basic white Qi. Old and worn as it is it¡¯s still the most comfortable piece of clothes in his opinion.


    Sebastian''s usual warm up consists of a lot of laps around the gym doing knee kicks, heel kicks and just about everything else to get limbered up and the juices flowing. It usually takes about fifteen minutes, today it only took ten.


    When he was done he headed over to the training mats, observing the two newbies getting their stances corrected by Chris. It once again illustrated why this gym was the one Sebastian trained in. It wasn¡¯t because Chris was a pro MMA fighter, it wasn¡¯t even because the gym was so close, no the patience and care with which Chris taught everyone was the reason.


    Few people at Chris¡¯ level are ready to take half an hour out of their schedule to teach some no good beginners how to stand on their feet, yet Chris was.


    So instead of barging in Sebastian waited patiently, walking down memory lane to a time where he was a stocky cocky teen unable to keep even a semblance of control over his clumsy limbs.


    ¡°You ready to do some real martial arts now?¡± Chris¡¯ words yanked him back to the present time.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°If by that, you¡¯re asking whether I¡¯m ready to do some damage, then I dare you to call Jiu Jitsu useless one more time.¡± Sebastian smiled while he delivered that reply to show he was only kidding.


    Chris¡¯ laughter roared through the gym startling the few people there.


    ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s start you up with kick boxing since ya are being all feisty and all¡±  Chris said heading towards the punching bags.


    At the punching bag Chris did a complex routine involving kicks and all sorts of punches slow enough that you wouldn¡¯t miss anything. Showing the routine a couple of times he went back to the rookies without a word. Trusting Sebastian to have grasped and memorized the routine.


    Which he had.


    Sweat pouring of him Sebastian stopped and glanced at the clock. He was shocked when he saw the time, quarter to two. Little over an hour since he started, evidently he had more to work out of his system than he thought.


    Sebastian washed up in the gym showers, changed and got going. Yelling a quick goodbye to Chris at the other end of the gym hall before leaving.


    A couple of stops later on the train Sebastian hopped off and got into one of the big shopping centers of Copenhagen.


    Glancing at the map checking whether he remembered correctly where the game shop was he walked briskly and quickly found the shop.


    It only took a couple of minutes to spot the giant display featuring a noble knight, facing a giant red dragon, sword in hand marking where the modules for Gateway where. A random thought skittered across Sebastian''s mind or rather an odd question.


    ¡®Why is it that dragons are always depicted as the bad guys? It¡¯s the knight that comes barging it to it¡¯s lair wanting to slay it¡¯


    Taking a box and grimacing at the price tag of 400 bucks he got in line. Noting that the three people in front of him was also holding boxes containing Gateway modules.


    Standing in his own thoughts he heard fragments of their conversation not really paying any attention to it until two of the guys rounded on the other guy horrified by something he''d said.


    ¡°No no no you do not want to play a mage Daniel!¡± Guy number one said.


    ¡°But I¡¯ve always played mages before and I like the play style¡± the guy presumably named Daniel retorted in a rather hesitant tone of voice.


    ¡°Yeah that might be but we really don¡¯t want to spend a month in our starting town waiting for you to get your shit together, so play a priest or something else instead, just don¡¯t play a mage.¡± This coming from guy number two who with a completely straight face told his friend what to play.


    ¡®Wow jerks are everywhere, why does he put up with that? Oh well it doesn¡¯t concern me.¡¯


    Thinking this Sebastian tuned the rest of their conversation out hoping he soon would get to pay so he could get home and start proving people wrong on all their preconceptions.


    When it finally became his turn the clerk asked him if he wanted a technician to come install the module, it would only cost 100 bucks. Trying not to laugh aloud at that absurd price he told him no thanks and paid the man with a credit card ignoring the screams of pain coming from it.


    When Sebastian got home it took him a grand total of ten minutes to install the module, and he didn¡¯t even read the manual. He had to admit though that it did take some expertise to get it done, that anti hacking gizmo Dragon Studios had installed in the module did take some tickling to connect well with the capsule, it wasn¡¯t just plug and pray.


    He ate a quick microwave dinner, anticipating that it would take some time before he got out of the capsule again. Laying down in the capsule enjoying the custom gel he had installed he ran a last system check before finally saying the magic words.


    ¡°Start up: Gateway¡±


    With these words Sebastian''s consciousness was enveloped by darkness.


    ********


    Sebastian found himself in a sea of darkness standing on a small island of white light.


    ¡°The scan has determined that you have no avatars in Nexus. Would you like to create one?¡± Said a distinctly feminine and cold voice.


    ¡°Yes please.¡° Sebastian answered polite by reflex.


    A moment later the voice spoke again, this time with what he swore sounded like warmth.


    ¡°Have you decided upon a user name?¡±


    Before he could stop himself he said:


    ¡°Not really, I usually go by the name of Frost, but I feel like I need something new¡­ You got any ideas?¡±


    This time there was definitely a longer pause before the voice spoke again.


    ¡°No I haven¡¯t got an idea for a name I¡¯m afraid, but why would you ask me?¡± The voice asked, and he could almost imagine the puzzled expression the owner of the voice must be wearing.


    ¡°Hmm? I don¡¯t know, guess I wanted another persons opinion since I¡¯m at a loss, hell most people have better naming sense than me¡± He answered with a self deprecating smile.


    ¡°You do realize that I am an AI right?¡± The voice asked, sounding hesitant for some reason.


    ¡°Well yes, I do realize that. I might be slow on the uptake, but I did deduce that you must be an AI since no company can afford the employees to personally create avatars with every player.¡± He said the hint of a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth and eyes.


    Several moments went by before the voice once again spoke.


    ¡°Alright then why are you talking to me like I am human Sebastian?¡±


    Sebastian''s quiet laugh sounded in the darkness.


    ¡°Well I¡¯m talking like that because you are sapient and you therefore like everyone else deserve at least basic courtesy. Of course it definitely helps that you sound hot too.¡± He said with a smirk and a glint in his eye.


    ¡°Uhmm we should really get back on track now. Have you found a name for your avatar?¡± the voice asked flustered, but trying to hide it behind a cool mask.


    Getting serious for a second Sebastian contemplated the question. The road of a mage is hard and long, it will definitely take some backbone to endure it¡­ wait endure duro Durabo. ¡®Yeah that might work.¡¯


    ¡°Yes I have found a name. Durabo, meaning I will endure or survive¡± Sebastian said feeling a small sense of pride at having come up with such a cool name on the spot.


    ¡°The name Durabo is available. Please choose a race, at the moment there are ten races available for selection¡± said the voice, still doing the whole I¡¯m a cool level headed professional routine.


    ¡°Hey don¡¯t I even get a compliment for the cool name¡­ Oh by the way do you have a name oh lady with the voice sweet as honey?¡± He asked trying to keep a straight face and failing miserably.


    The silence was deafening and lasted so long that he started to fear he might have offended her.


    Then a timid voice sounded in the darkness no longer neither cool nor confident.


    ¡°Sophia. My creator named me Sophia.¡± She said her voice so low that he almost couldn¡¯t hear the last part.


    ¡°Well I think you have a lovely name Sophia. It suits you.¡± Sebastian said his smirk now replaced with a gentle smile.


    ¡°Thank you. Now could we please get back to the creation process I¡¯m quite certain we have used far too much time already¡± Sophia said, but her voice sounded pleased not irritated, contrary to what her words might have suggested.


    ¡°Ok if that¡¯s what you want Sophia. Next is race right? Well I would like to be an High Elf.¡± Sebastian said with the same small smile playing at the corners of his lips.


    An image appeared before him showing himself as an elf in beginner clothes.


    ¡°You are allowed to change anything about your character that can be changed in real life without surgery.¡±


    Looking at himself in elf form, he must admit that he wasn''t exactly built like them. Built like a bear with wide shoulders and great slabs of muscles on a wide average height frame, he wasn''t exactly tall slim and handsome. His wheat colored hair spiked and his face plain. He looked like most Danes, except for his eyes, the color of polished steel. The hair really wasn¡¯t that elfish to look at though, the color was fine but spiked like it was now seemed to modern.


    ¡°Can I see how my hair would look long and tied back in a simple ponytail Sophia?¡±


    ¡°Of course Sebastian¡±


    The hair on the model in front of him lengthened so it reached the middle of the back and then tied together with several pieces of royal blue silk.


    ¡®Never have i been so tempted to get long hair before.¡¯


    ¡°That looks great Sophia.¡± He said with an excited smile.


    ¡°Where would you like to start your adventure Sebastian?¡± Sophia said sounding distinctly satisfied with the complement.


    ¡°Oh I¡¯ll start in Vetas in the Eislonien Realm Sophia. No where better to start if you want to be a mage right.¡± He said with a wink at the darkness.


    ¡°Very well hope you enjoy the game Sebastian, best of luck¡± She said.


    Right before Sebastian was swallowed by the usual flash of bright light.

 Chapter 1: Scent of Vanilla 1/2

    Chapter 1: Scent of Vanilla 1/2


    After the flash of light Sebastian or rather Durabo found himself in a new world. Yet the only thing different about it was the people and their clothes. The warmth of sunlight on his face, the smell of flowers on the gentle breeze all of it felt as real as back home. Honestly it felt better than real, it felt right.


    For a moment he stopped and his world stood still.


    Then he heard what was obviously a player say something and laughing loudly. Just like that the moment was gone and Durabo opened his eyes again. Looking around his eyes quickly found what he was looking for, the trusty guard there to tell newbies what they need to know and where to find it.


    Walking over to the guard, noting the fact he carried a spear and not a sword. Durabo sketched a shallow bow to what was clearly his elder and asked politely:


    ¡°Excuse me sir, you wouldn''t happen to know where i can find the Mage Guild?¡±


    The guard looked him over and the hardness in his eyes seemed to soften a bit.


    ¡°Well since you asked so politely I¡¯ll tell you young one, you see that tall tower over there?¡± the guard asked pointing towards a massive tower in the middle of the city.


    ¡°That is the Tower, where the Arch Mages keep their council. At the root of that tower is a large building, really rather hard to miss, that is where young ones like you sign up to be a mage, that is if they¡¯ll have you.¡± The guard said with a grin.


    ¡°Thank you sir, if they won''t have me, i¡¯ll just have to study until they will.¡± Durabo said nodding to the guard.


    Turning around and heading towards the tower he heard a snicker behind him. Even in a city ruled by mages players take flag from others if they want to be one. Ignoring it Durabo kept walking with the same confident stride he always walked with, looking forward to the day he proved to them all just how stupid they are for underestimating mages.


    Ten minutes later he walked out of the main street and saw the magician¡¯s plaza for the first time. A giant circle of cobblestones surrounded the tower maybe five hundred meters across. He stopped for a moment stunned, just a tiny bit intimidated by its size. Shaking himself out of his stupor he noticed the red tiled building at the base of the tower.


    ¡®No shit you can¡¯t miss the building, there¡¯s nothing else but the tower and that building in this giant square.¡¯ Durabo thought to himself seeing the joke in what the guard said. Still chuckling to himself he headed towards the building.


    When he got there he noticed a small sign hanging by the door, well it was more like a plaque since it was made of some sort of metal, stating that this was indeed the Mage Guild and all travelers are most welcome. Whyever they would feel a need to write that he didn¡¯t know but hey good news for him right?


    Inside there was a hallway leading to a small reception room with a desk and a bored looking elder elf sitting behind it scribbling on a piece of paper. He walked directly to the desk since no one was in the waiting area and calmly waited for the elf to finish whatever he was writing. Five minutes later he cleared his throat, his patience wearing thin. The elf looked up with a mildly surprised look on his face.


    ¡°Oh. I didn''t realize you were there, anything I can do for you?¡±


    Durabo squashed his irritation before replying.


    ¡°Yes sir, I would like to join the mage guild.¡±


    A spark of interest kindled in the elf¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Hmm you would? Well are you qualified?¡±


    ¡°Qualified? I¡¯m not certain it¡¯s my first day in your realm so probably not. What do I need to do to get qualified?¡±


    ¡°You need to have a high enough affinity with two of the elemental powers before you can be accepted as a junior mage, and judging from your reply you don¡¯t even have one. Well you look like a good kid and few of you travelers are willing to walk the paths of the arcane so I will tell you how you can get the affinities. Like with all other things everything you need to know, can be found in the pages of books. The library is just across the plaza.¡±


    Having said his piece the elf gave him a gentle smile then started scribbling again, clearly the conversation was over so he left.


    He wasn''t mad that he couldn''t join the mages immediately, for now he had a reason to spend time reading books like the ones grandpa Frost has in his study.


    It didn''t take much time to locate the library, since it was directly across from the Mage Guild in a small tower like building with the usual red tiled roof of the city. Well the building was small in comparison to the Tower, compared to all other buildings it was huge.


    Walking up the small steps Durabo opened the door, and was once again swept away by his senses. This time it was the smell of old books, the smell of dust with a subtle hint of something else hidden underneath something sweet. Frozen in the doorway he tried to place the smell until it hit him what it was. It was the scent of vanilla. A slight cough brought him back to the present. Looking around for the origin of the sound he saw a young and rather cute female elf looking at him from the front desk of the library.


    ¡°Oh sorry about that, its been awhile since I was last in a library and I was just enjoying the familiar smell.¡± He said while giving the girl his best smile.


    ¡°Well if you could just step in and away from the door you are welcome to daydream all you want.¡± She replied, her voice low and clear like a bell.


    Durabo noticed this even though it was hidden under a thick layer of irritation and sarcasm.


    ¡°Why do I get the feeling you didn''t quite believe my excuse miss?¡± He asked while asking himself where all these sirs and misses were coming from, since he never had much use for those words before.


    ¡°Clever one aren''t you traveler? Let me tell you why, because a grand total of ten travelers have come here in earnest, the rest just came to see this, I believe the term they used were archaic, place and make fun of it. At first it didn''t irk me as much but now with this place falling apart around me, my patience is gone and I just want your kind gone!¡±  At the end of her speech she looked positively pissed.


    Instead of getting angry at being talked to or at that way he walked closer to her desk looking directly into her storming blue eyes and asked:


    ¡°Anything I can do to help?¡±


    All thoughts of his purpose forgotten as he saw the state of the library around him. There was dust everywhere even though attempts had been made to keep it clean it clearly wasn''t enough.


    The tension hang thick in the air and while the silence grew longer those piercing blue eyes of hers just stared right back at his.


    Just before he decided to say something, anything to break the silence her lips parted and she spoke.


    ¡°Yes there is, there is a lot you can do to help traveler, yet I have nothing to reward you with since others of your kind have already taken their due for jobs not well done.¡° This delivered without the same biting sarcasm, yet the anger in her voice when she said the word traveler was hot enough to burn stone.


    From that statement alone he figured out what had probably happened here. Other players treating the NPCs like well NPCs had come in, gotten jobs taken the money and bailed, not a care in the world for the consequences.


    ¡°Who said anything about reward? I just want to help, and maybe become friends since no matter what, I¡¯m going to spend a long time in this place looking for dusty old books, and I¡¯m sure that would be more pleasant if the librarian isn¡¯t trying to bite my head of every time I speak to her¡± Durabo said answering her unnerving stare with one of his own, since he figured that the best way to gain her trust was being straightforward with her.


    Besides those eyes of hers looked nice and he was halfway tempted to try and drown in them.


    Once again the silence stretched and the tension grew, and then wonder of wonders she smiled.


    A cute little crooked smile that sent his heart racing.


    ¡°I can see how that would be troublesome. Tell you what, if you help me out after hours, I¡¯ll give you room and board, and help you find whatever you need during hours. How does that sound?¡± She said, the smile never leaving her eyes.


    He was stunned, this was the perfect solution to the two problems he hadn¡¯t found a solution for yet, where to leave his body when he logged off and what to eat after the starter food was gone.


    And from the look in her eyes she knew he wouldn''t refuse her. Clever girl.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that deal gladly, as you knew I would. Oh and by the way my name is Durabo. ¡° He said showing her his best smile.


    ¡°Very good I¡¯ll come get you when we close up and I¡¯ll set you to work, until then anything you need Durabo?¡± she said that smile still in her thrice damned eyes.


    ¡°Well I could use some directions to the sections containing books relating to elemental affinities and the basics of magic. Oh and don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t notice miss secretive.¡±


    That smile reappeared even more crooked than before.


    ¡°Hmm books on the elements is on first floor section B I believe, that section contains everything pertaining to basic magecraft. The stairs are on your right, and I¡¯ll see you tonight Durabo.¡±


    Shaking his head he flashed her another smile then headed for the stairs, since she obviously wouldn¡¯t give him her name just yet.


    Well it''s rather understandable considering how the other players have treated her. On his way up the stairs his thoughts calmed and a window appeared before him with a bell like sound.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Due to your actions you have earned a skill and stat points</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">+5 Charisma


    Skill gained: Charm (Passive)</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Durabo reading the message concluded that it was probably a good skill. Skills were always good to have and passives even better. The skill seemed self explanatory and he didn''t bother with reading the description. Instead he headed up the stairs.


    When he got up the stairs he looked around the first floor and found each area clearly marked with signs. How nice and organised so she wasn''t just trolling him.


    In area B he saw to his great relief that most of the writing on the books spines were readable. Thinking it over he decided on a reading and research order.


    First he would read about the requirements to become a mage and the different types of magic users, he suspected that he would get a basic understanding of magic while doing this, in case he didn''t he would read up on both mana and affinities next so as to enable him to make the best decisions in regards to what affinities to pursue first.


    Durabo started looking for books to read and it didn''t take him long to find a couple of books that sounded like they might contain what he needed. After that he looked around and to his own surprise found a comfortable looking reading nook, with a comfy chair and everything. Settling himself in the chair with the first book of many he started reading.


    Lost in the books and their words he only came back to reality when his stomach growled with a sound not unlike the sound of a wounded beast. Irritated by the interruption he opened his inventory summoned one of the twenty beginner apples inside, ate it without his gaze even leaving the pages of his current book. After the apple was gone and his stomach appeased, he summoned a canteen drank some of it contents on the off chance it would demand some soon and got back to the reading.


    The next time Durabo found his way back to reality it was by the hand of the raven haired librarian. He looked up to find her studying the pile of books and a nearby piece of parchment with mild interest. He himself hadn''t even noticed the parchment nor the quill in his hand and ink on the table before him it definitely wasn''t something he himself had gotten. As if to answer his unspoken question the librarian spoke:


    ¡°I¡¯m the one that got you the quill and ink, your hands seemed unable to stay idle, so I thought they might like something to do. Apparently I was right. ¡° She said with a knowing smile.


    He didn''t know how to react or what to say so in an attempt to gain some time he read what was on the parchment expecting to find gibberish and doodles, to his surprise that wasn''t what was written on the parchment:


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Parchment</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Basic caster classes able to use magic:


    Wizard :


    Uses spell circles to cast spells.


    Sorcerer:


    Use will and imagination to cast magic, need to be trained but can¡¯t be learned.


    Mage:


    Uses Sigils, specific hand signs, and Chants to cast magic.


    Specifics of chants:


    Chants are chosen by the mage when first casting a spell, after that it¡¯s the only sequence of words that enables the mage to use the spell. The number of words is determined by the spells circle the higher the circle the more words needed.


    Other casters:


    There are others that use magic but it¡¯s either holy or nature based and are therefore not relevant. Nature might be in the future


    Mana and Manifestation:


    Mana is the will and imagination of the caster and it is the energy used to fuel spells this is done through a skill called manifestation.


    The only form of magic almost anyone can do. It simply converts mana into a given elemental energy and makes it enter this dimension. It still requires a basic understanding of the element and therefore it requires you to have an affinity at five percent with the given element.


    Affinities:


    Affinity is a stat that combines two things or concepts, it represent how well you understand the element and  how well the element likes you. This indicates that elements might have sentience, something to check up on when given the chance


    The stat does different things for different classes in the case of mages it determines what spells you can learn and at set points gives you some immunity to the element.


    Affinity can be gained in many ways, through research and trials, or through other affinities. Ice can for example be gained when Water and Fire both reach twenty five percent, might be the best element to aim for first. Ice and Frost were always a good solo element, Lightning can be gained when Earth and Air reach the same percentage.


    To become a High Elf mage requires you to have two affinities at ten percent and have the manifestation skill for them.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Durabo was more than a little pleased by the note, it was thorough and concise. It even included some of his thoughts on the subjects somehow. Like his conclusion that the description of affinities implies that they are sentient. After having calmed down and collected his thoughts while reading the note he heard the familiar sound of a system message.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Due to your actions you have earned skills and gained stats and stat points</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">+3 Intelligence


    +3 Wisdom


    Stat gained: Concentration


    Skill gained: Writing (Passive)


    Skill gained: Subconscious Note-taking(Passive) (Author note: yeah its unlikely but what the hell it¡¯s a good way to give ya info so be happy )</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Durabo was stunned, to think that the game would actually make his restless hands useful. ¡®But what does the skills do? well writing seems self explanatory and I have seen the effect of the other but I better check it.'' Before the thought was thought through a window opened:


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Subconscious Note-taking (Passive)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Rarity:</td><td colspan=''15''>Rare</td><td colspan=''15''>Rank:</td><td colspan=''15''>Max</td><td colspan=''15''>Level:</td><td colspan=''15''>Max</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>Description:</td><td colspan=''30''>Effects:</td></tr><td colspan=''60''>You are able to use your hand to write down information while reading.</td><td colspan=''30''>Writes down all relevant information.


    Writes down thoughts or musings.


    No control of what''s written.</td></tbody></table>


    Satisfied with the fruits of the days labor he looked up at the young elf and said.


    ¡°Well it seems you were right.  I presume you are here because it¡¯s time to work. Give me a second and I¡¯ll just put the books back in their places before we leave.¡±


    While talking he got up and started to place the books at their proper place, which was determined alphabetically according to title and section. When done he turned around to find her looking at him with that cursed smile on her rose colored lips.


    ¡°You seem to know what you are doing Durabo why don¡¯t you continue with the books that have been returned. You can find them behind the desk at the entrance, they are already sorted by floor and section.¡±


    ¡°Alright, what would you like me to do when that¡¯s done?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Well I¡¯m sure I can think of something when you are done. By the way I¡¯ll send a sprite to get you when it¡¯s time for dinner.¡± Apparently done she turned around and headed up the stairs. Shaking his head at the elf he himself got going while contemplating the weird girl and why she was smiling like that over a couple of books.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    When he got downstairs and saw the books waiting to be returned, he got it, that women must be the devils own spawn to find glee in this. There was at least a couple thousand books behind the desk. Apparently elves don¡¯t read at the library, they just order their servants to get the relevant books, judging by the amount waiting to be placed back on the shelves.


    ¡®Well no choice but to get to it I guess¡¯ Durabo thought to himself rolling up the sleeves of his off white starter tunic.


    The job wasn''t hard per se, just time consuming, and having realized that he couldn''t complete the task today he decided to do it in an order so he wouldn''t end up with a stack of books lying around somewhere other than behind the desk. Therefore he started with the books that needed to get to the top floor so that the more work he got done the easier it would be to do the rest. Thankfully there were only thirty-five books that need to go to the tenth floor, but he filled his inventory with as many books as possible anyway since he would be the only one to return them.


    Durabo jogged up the steps which was only possible because the books was in his inventory instead of his hands thereby not messing up his balance. Although they still exerted their weight on his body, it was now perfectly distributed across his body so as to not mess with anything.


    Now the reason he was jogging was actually pretty simple, like all other VRMMOs the game seemed to reward a player with stats associated with a given activity and in other games the rewards were always proportional to the effort put into the task.


    Getting to the tenth floor after five minutes of strenuous activity Durabo stopped and tried to catch breath, which wasn¡¯t easy the more than hundred books being quite heavy and he was exhausted.  He sat down at the table in the middle of the floor and took a drink of water from his starter canteen while his labored breath slowed down.


    ¡®Man this was harder than it should have been, it will take some time getting used to being a frail elf.¡¯ Durabo thought to himself while the familiar sound of system message rang in his ears stopping him from lamenting his weak body any longer.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Due to your actions you have earned stat points</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">+1 Vitality


    +1 Strength


    +3 Agility</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Reading the message Durabo was pleasantly surprised, seems that he wouldn''t have to be a weak bodied elf for long if he kept doing things like this.


    Now that his stamina had recovered enough for him to start moving again after having almost drained it, he took out the thirty-five books meant for this floor and sorted them by section and alphabetically on the table, then got to work. When done on the tenth floor he ran down to the ninth and did the same, after that he ran down got a new load of books and ran up again, as he did so he noticed he didn''t get quite as winded on the way up. It didn''t take as long to catch his breath after either.


    As always Durabo lost himself in his work only coming to when a small light kept getting in his eyes. He dragged his sweat soaked sleeve across his forehead and looked closer at the light. It took him a second to realize that the little light was in fact a sprite, a little fairy like creature floating in front of his face looking decidedly irked by him ignoring her, and she was definitely a she. Clad in a frilly sun dress and glowing light she looked a lot like other elves just smaller her features just as delicate.


    ¡®Better take the bull by the horns and get this over with, if I know one thing it¡¯s that pretty girls don¡¯t take kindly to getting ignored no matter the size.¡¯


    ¡°I¡¯m truly sorry I didn''t see you miss. I was entirely too absorbed in my work. ¡° Durabo said smiling in an attempt to appease her.


    Her small serious eyes looked at him for a moment and then nodded. It seems it worked for the glaring light that clothed her seemed to dim a bit becoming a soft glow instead of a glaring light. Obviously done with the conversation the sprite headed for the stairs and went up, not caring whether he followed or not. Well she probably knew he wouldn''t dare not to. So follow he did, and to his surprise at the top floor she led him to a small door leading to another floor, apparently the top floor was only the top floor for the public.


    At the top of the stairs he was greeted by the sight of a small room with a kitchenette, a small table big enough for two, three doors and two windows. The room was bathed in light from what looked like oil lamps placed around the room in sconces.


    ¡°Ohh there you are Durabo, I already started since it seemed like you didn''t want to join me.¡± The librarian said, looking up from the table, a small piece of bread in her slender hand.


    ¡°Sorry, I was too caught up in the work and inadvertently ignored your sprite. ¡° Durabo said crossing the floor and sitting down in the chair across from her.


    ¡°She is not my sprite, Sylphie¡¯s probably smarter than you so treat her with some respect.¡± She said with the bread in her hand pointed at him like it was some sort of weapon. All the while Sylphie was sitting on her shoulder looking smug.


    ¡®Dammit, should¡¯ve known that wasn¡¯t the end of it. Now how to get out of this mess without getting her even more riled up.¡¯ Durabo was racking his brain trying trying to find something when it hit him, the whole reason she got upset was because he treated Sylphie like some sort of pet therefore the way to resolve this must be to treat her like every other intelligent being and hope for the best.


    Turning his head slightly he looked Sylphie in the eye:


    ¡°I¡¯m once again sorry Sylphie, may I call you that? I should¡¯ve known better than to treat you like a pet.¡± This delivered with a face begging for forgiveness.


    Sylphies smug smile didn¡¯t disappear, no she just looked at him for a moment, clearly enjoying his predicament. Then she opened her mouth and a tiny voice sweet as sugar came out:


    ¡°Well you seem to have realized your mistake so I forgive you¡± while the words seemed conciliatory her smile said something else entirely.


    ¡°Now that that is out of the way please eat, before the food gets too cold.¡± The librarian said, after which she followed her own advice.


    Durabo looked around a bit for a fork and knife but didn''t seem to find any. He studied the librarian eating and quickly realized his mistake. She was scooping up the soup with the coarse bread and fishing out the pieces of meat with her slender fingers.


    ¡®So elves eat with their fingers, I should have guessed since they are closer to nature and all, oh well seems like it can be done without too big of a mess if you do it right.¡¯


    Taking a piece of bread from the basket at the table he dipped it in the soup in front of him and then took a bite. The soup seemed like a typical beef stew/soup at first glance, and it smelled like it too, yet when the flavor hit his tongue it was not as he expected. It tasted sweet with a hint of something not unlike peppermint, it tasted great. His stomach growled and he tore into the food with a vengeance reminded of his hunger by the taste and smell of food.


    Five minutes later he looked up from an empty bowl of soup with a little stew on his fingers to find the elf watching him with mirth in her eyes.


    ¡°I take it, you are not one for conversations around dinner time? Or is it just the company?¡± The last bit delivered with the fast becoming familiar smirk and a teasing tone.


    Durabo took a couple of seconds to collect his thoughts, luckily she didn¡¯t seem to mind.


    ¡°Well to be honest, your food was just too good to not give it the attention it deserves.¡± He answered and added with a mischievous smile. ¡°Besides I don¡¯t even know your name yet.¡°


    The sound of her silvery laughter at his remark took him by surprise and quickened his heartbeat.


    ¡°Well we ca not have that now can we Durabo,¡± the laughter barely contained in her voice as she spoke, ¡°So I might just have to tell you my name.¡±


    As she said the last part she got up and walked around the table looking him straight in the eyes she leaned forward and put her lips near his ear as she whispered:


    ¡°My names Silendra¡± and she walked away leaving him quite flabbergasted. (A/N I was sorely tempted to stop here.)


    After dinner he had promised himself to read books he found interesting and not only read books he needed to read, not that the books about magic weren¡¯t interesting because they were.


    So he put in a few more hours of work and then went into his new room to read, to his luck it had a reading nook with an oil lamp.


    Here he read about the creation of Nexus by the celestial serpents, the origin of species and the gods of the world. To his surprise he also discovered something relevant, he discovered the spoken form of the magical runes and as it apparently was necessary for mages to use chants he thought it would be a nice thing to learn as a gimmick.


    Now you might think that it would all be set and Durabo just needed to run out the clock to get his two affinities and learn the language of runes. You wouldn¡¯t be wrong to think that, except every day of the three weeks ingame he spent getting them he was tormented, or as she probably would say teased, by Sylphie to the point of exasperation.


    Now the reading she let him do, Silendra would never condone the hindrance of people trying to acquire knowledge. No it was during working hours after the library closed that Sylphie would come out of the woodwork to haunt him. Whatever could a little sprite like her do to a big guy like Durabo you might ask. Well here¡¯s a little hint, sprites have nothing to with fairies in Nexus. They are instead the personification of an aspect of the light element. That of mirages.


    While he in the day read up on Fire and Water to get their affinities he spent a week doing what he did the first day. Placing books back in their right places, well he also retrieved them from elves that hadn¡¯t seen any reason to return books after lending them. During this time Sylphie used her mirages to make him take wrong turns or to make him place books on the wrong shelves always using big expansive mirages too fool him. Now that wasn¡¯t too bad, he didn¡¯t get hurt at least, he just wasted time that could¡¯ve been used more productively.


    The next five days he spent cleaning up the library, you know the usual stuff you don¡¯t want to do when at home. This time the mirages were minor. A spot of dust that just wouldn¡¯t disappear or a spider web just of reach so he ended up stretching too far and falling. Small mirages just big enough to trip him up or make him waste time, easy enough to spot when you''ve got the knack.


    After that he spent three days hunting spiders and other pests in the attic of the library. They didn¡¯t give that much experience since they were after all only small critters. Their bites hurt a lot though, and when he needed to spend half his focus on just figuring out whether or not the pest are real a few bites were inevitable.


    The last six days he spent restoring books, now that was actually both a reward and a sign of trust from Silendra, The reward was that Sylphie wouldn¡¯t dare interfere with the written word held so sacred by Silendra, and the trust was apparent in the fact that she would even let him handle works centuries old.


    Now it wasn¡¯t all bad, Silendra was just as alluring as the first day, and the teasing of Sylphie made him oddly fond of her, besides he got light affinity and other stats out of it. As a character he was quite different by the end of this time period. Even the work had done wonders for him and he derived a certain amount of satisfaction from this.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name:</td><td width="25%">Durabo</td><td width="25%">Gender:</td><td width="25%">Male</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level:</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">Experience:</td><td width="25%">14%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Job:</td><td width="25%">None</td><td width="25%">Race:</td><td width="25%">High Elf</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Combat Class:</td><td width="25%">None</td><td width="25%">Support Class:</td><td width="25%">None</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Titles:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>None</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Expendable Stats:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">HP:</td><td width="25%">350</td><td width="25%">HP/s:</td><td width="25%">1,75</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">MP:</td><td width="25%">550</td><td width="25%">MP/s:</td><td width="25%">2,45</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina:</td><td width="25%">350</td><td width="25%">STM/s:</td><td width="25%">3,5</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Satiety:</td><td width="25%">30k</td><td width="25%">SAT/s:</td><td width="25%">-1</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Basic Stats</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stat</td><td width="25%">Base</td><td width="25%">Bonus</td><td width="25%">Total</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Agility:</td><td width="25%">31</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">31</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Charisma:</td><td width="25%">25</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">25</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Intelligence:</td><td width="25%">55</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">55</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Strength:</td><td width="25%">18</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">18</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Vitality:</td><td width="25%">35</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">35</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Wisdom:</td><td width="25%">49</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">49</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Advanced Stats:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Concentration:</td><td width="25%">73</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Affinities:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire:</td><td width="25%">11%</td><td width="25%">Light:</td><td width="25%">7,5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Water:</td><td width="25%">10%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Skill List</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Combat Skills:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill name</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank</td><td width="25%">Skill Lvl</td><td width="25%">Skill EXP</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Intuition (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">6</td><td width="25%">13%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mana Feed (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">10%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Fire (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">1%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Light (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">8%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Water (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">51%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Running (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">5</td><td width="25%">2%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Support Skills:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill name</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank</td><td width="25%">Skill Lvl</td><td width="25%">Skill EXP</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Charm (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">3</td><td width="25%">22%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Language: Rune Tongue (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">4</td><td width="25%">38%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Subconscious Note-taking (Passive):</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Writing (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">12</td><td width="25%">5%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <hr />


    Hi there fellow penguins :D I got inspired and decided to put this up ahead of time.


    I must admit that I suddenly get when people say they don''t get the tables or that they are a lot of work for they are. yet i find them kinda fun.


    I used a lot of time skips in the end of this chapter that is primarily due to me thinking i need to get on with it and get some action in, if people feel cheated I will write up some short stories describing what happened during them in depth just let me know in the comments or in the tavern.


    As always enjoy and comment if you like.

 Chapter 2: Scent of Vanilla 2/2

    Chapter 2: Scent of Vanilla 2/2


    For the first time in nearly a week Durabo was outside of the library, and the sun on his face felt quite good.


    As much as he loved the smell of books and the company of the girls he still missed the sun at times. Not that he would get to enjoy it for long he was just headed over to the Mage Guild after all. Yet you have to appreciate the small things in life don¡¯t you think?


    Doing just that while walking across the big plaza to the Mage Guild he studied the people around him. It seemed like there were more players around here than there was a month ago. How did he spot these players you ask?


    He did it by their armor, clad in steel and leather in a place filled with mages and other learned men makes you rather conspicuous. The only NPCs in the area clad in armor where members of the Order of the Blackened Earth, powerful spellswords clad in black scale armor and with blades at their hips. They were rather hard to mistake for players.


    When he entered the guild Durabo went directly to the front desk since there, like last time, wasn''t anyone but the old elf present, and like last time he didn¡¯t seem interested in anything but the paperwork that was presently occupying his full attention. Wise from experience he cleared his throat gently to call attention to himself, since if he didn¡¯t he would not be noticed until the end of the page. This caused the elf to look up from his papers after a moment and study him.


    ¡°Hmm I remember you, young man. Are you ready to become a mage?¡± The elf asked.


    ¡°Yes sir, I have studied hard and I believe myself to be both worthy and able to walk the paths of the Arcane.¡± Durabo answered.


    ¡°We shall see, young one.¡± while saying this the old man rose and walked around the polished wooden front desk and towards a door besides it. ¡°Come with me, it is not feasible to test you here.¡±


    Well nothing for it but to follow him, so follow he did. It did make sense that it would be rather silly to have young untrained mages manifest elemental energy they couldn¡¯t control at the front desk. So when he entered the testing room he wasn¡¯t surprised to find himself in a small room surrounded by stone, stone doesn''t burn, besides dirt and debris is easy to clean up from a stone floor.


    ¡°Now let me have a good look at you¡± the elf said while he took his hands and studied them intently, after which he looked him in the eyes.


    The elf might be old but his eyes seemed youthful and sharp when he saw them up close like this. After a moment the elf nodded and said:


    ¡°Seems you have gotten the required amount of knowledge related to both Water and Fire, you have even reached a basic understanding of Light even though I know there are no books on that element in the library.¡±  The elfs eyes turned piercing when he mentioned Light but they mellowed again. ¡°Well done young traveler.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, I presume you would like me to demonstrate manifestation of Water and Fire now?¡± Durabo asked while giving the old elf an innocent smile, hoping he wouldn¡¯t ask where he did get the affinity for Light. For judging from his reaction he shouldn¡¯t have it and the girls might get in trouble for it.


    ¡°Indeed.¡± The old elf said standing aside.


    Leaving Durabo some space to work with. Now skills in Nexus are deceptively easy to use, you just need to think of activating them with the intent to do so and they will.


    ¡®Manifestation Water¡¯ he thought imagining water appearing in the middle of the room.


    And so there did, a small amount of water erupted from the air in the middle of the room and splashed to the floor.


    ¡®Manifestation Fire¡± he thought and imagined fire appearing on the damp spot where the water had landed.


    The fire appeared as expected and he held the image in his head until the water evaporated, it¡¯s always best to clean up after yourself. The fire had to be moved around a little since his water skill was higher than his fire but it still took no more than a minute for the water to evaporate. The old man observed him the whole time and when Durabo was done he nodded in approval.


    ¡°You are ready to walk the paths of the Arcane¡± The silver haired elf said, holding forth a big leather bound tome.


    Looking at the unmarked leather of it he sensed what he needed to do. Hesitantly his hand reached for the book.  When his fingers grazed the smooth leather a system message appeared in front of his eyes.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Class change possible:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Would you like to convert to the novice combat class mage?</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Yes</td><td colspan=''2''>No</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Yes.¡¯


    Pain seared its way through his mind, until it reached a spot in the middle of his forehead then it receded to a dull throbbing. His breath grew ragged from the pain and he felt pure relief that the pain was over, of course that¡¯s when the pain returned with a vengeance.


    Compassionate brown eyes and silver hair was the last he saw before darkness swallowed his consciousness.


    Durabo came to with the sense of cold stones under his knees and his vision filled with windows.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Mage:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Type:</td><td width="25%">Novice Combat Class</td><td width="25%">Rarity:</td><td width="25%">Common</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Description:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Mages are arcane spell casters able to learn and master almost all types of magic with the help of their grimoires.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Bonus Stats:</td><td colspan=''3''>+20 Intelligence and Wisdom</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Bonus Modifiers:</td><td colspan=''3''>1:15 INT:MP


    50% spell damage


    Magical combat skill experience increased by 50%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Restrictions:</td><td colspan=''3''>Can only wear cloth garments and armor.


    Only allowed to allocate: 1 STR per 9 INT and 1 VIT per 4 INT.


    50% lower damage with all weapons including hand to hand.


    Physical combat skill experience gain reduced by 50%.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Due to class change you have gained skills:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Skill gained: Grimoire (Passive/Active)


    Skill gained: Mastery: Magic Staffs(Passive)


    Skill gained: Mastery: Wands(Passive)


    Skill gained: Third Eye(Active)</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Durabo didn¡¯t feel up to reading them in depth as his head still throbbed, so he skimmed them quickly before dismissing them.


    The elf reached down and pulled him on his feet while saying:


    ¡°You handled that well young one,¡° seeing that he now stood firmly on his feet the elf took something out of his inventory ¡±,here drink this it helps.¡±


    Durabo took a deep breath, and accepted the cool water skin from the elf with a nod of gratitude.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Durabo replied and took a couple of swigs from the skin, the water inside was cool and had something in it that gave it a hint of licorice. Feeling the headache clear as soon as the liquid hit his tongue he handed the water skin back.


    ¡°Now that we are colleagues you may call me Tenarian.¡± Tenarian said while putting the skin back in his inventory.


    ¡°Well in that case you may call me Durabo,¡± he said his eyes once more sharp and calm, ¡°but that was rough. I can understand why you don¡¯t tell people about that before they sign up.¡±


    Tenarian ignored the latter comment and instead drew himself up to his full height.


    ¡°Durabo you are hereby formally accepted as a novice mage of the Eislonien Mage Guild.¡± Tenarian said his voice solemn and formal.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Novice Eislonien Mage:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>You are a new mage formally accepted in the Mage Guild of the Eislonien Realm</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Effects:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>2% mage skill experience when equipped</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Now that that¡¯s taken care of we can get the last piece of business done. All mages should be appropriately attired and therefore all mages gets a robe when inducted into our guild.¡± Tenarian said, holding forth a white robe with blue edges. Taking it from his hands he quickly inspected it after which he donned his new piece of armor.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>High Elven Novice Robe:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Rarity:</td><td colspan=''15''>Uncommon</td><td colspan=''15''>Type:</td><td colspan=''15''>Cloth Armor</td><td colspan=''30''>Soulbound</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''90''>Description:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''90''>A simple robe given to novice mages to ensure they uphold a minimum standard of attire.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''30''>Stats:</td><td colspan=''30''>Restrictions</td><td colspan=''30''>Effects:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''30''>Durability: 15/15


    Defense: 1</td><td colspan=''30''>Lvl: 1


    Mage


    20 INT


    20 WIS</td><td colspan=''30''>25% less durability loss from


    magic damage.


    This doesn¡¯t reduce damage


    done to the wearer.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Well he tried to put on the robe, but his long hair got in the way since he wasn¡¯t used to it yet. After fumbling around for a bit he finally got it on feeling a little heat rising to his cheeks he turned around and said:


    ¡°Is there anything else I need to know or do before I return to my studies?¡±


    Tenarian watched him for a moment evaluating him then said:


    ¡°No there is not, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll meet again Durabo, until then study and grow.¡±  Having said his piece Tenarian left, the door closing softly behind him.


    He briefly considered looking at his new skills, but until he had a firmer grasp on how magic works for mages it would be pointless since he wouldn¡¯t be able to come to any conclusions. Instead he headed back to the library, there were still almost a full day until he would be put back to work and in that time he should be able to at least figure out what skills to focus his attention on.


    Entering the library once more he was immediately greeted by an angry Silendra swinging a fist at his head. Not even bothering to stop he kept walking right through her after which he turned with a smirk on his face and his gaze directed at a place above the door:


    ¡°Sylphie you know you need to do better than that, that didn¡¯t even tricker my pass¡­¡±


    He was interrupted by a sharp pain in his neck and he turned around to find Silendra standing behind him holding a needle in her hand and looking and him with mirth in her blue eyes.


    ¡°Apparently she does not need to do any better Durabo.¡± Silendra said, no longer bothering to hide a smile.


    To think that Tenarian questioned how he got his Light affinity, after a couple of weeks like this he couldn¡¯t avoid it even if he wanted to. Shaking his head he flashed the two of them a grin.


    ¡°Well it really isn¡¯t fair when you two girls gang up on me,¡± a glint entered his eyes,¡± you are after all much more experienced.¡±


    Silendra''s silvery laughter rang through the library, not as rare as it used to be yet it would still set his heart aflutter.


    While he stood there flat footed as always, Sylphie flew down and landed on his shoulder.


    ¡°Is that a reference to our age Durabo, for I do hope you know better than that.¡± Her tiny clear voice said in his left ear.


    Now that she was comfortably seated on his shoulder, he started walking towards the stairs once more while he turned to face Silendra:


    ¡°I¡¯ll be at the usual section if you need me Silendra¡± He said getting a simple nod in return and he added ¡° Oh and I¡¯ll keep an eye on the rascal so she doesn¡¯t cause too much trouble¡±


    ¡°Hey who are you calling a rascal?¡± the sound of an angry sprite rang in his ear.


    Ignoring the indignant little sprite he got up to the first floor, went to section B as so many times before and started searching for books about the basics of magecraft.


    You might think that bantering with a girl like Sylphie would be tricky while doing research, but that wasn¡¯t the case in the least. Over the weeks spent in the library he had gotten used to having her around and while she didn¡¯t know magic like he did, she did know a lot of things including which books might be beneficial to read. Besides she was good company and kept him from getting too consumed by the research, which was a good thing considering his mental health. Time went by and when Sylphie told him it was about time for work with a tug on his ear, he went over the notes before he packed up and got going.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Parchment:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Mages and Magic:


    Mages are able to cast magic in one of two ways. By using sigils and chants in the form of spells or by using the skills manifestation and mastery of a given element.


    Mages need a codified way to cast magic unlike sorcerers because they are only able to see mana, they cannot feel it.


    Manifestation and Mastery Magic:


    This is the way that spells are created and is the basis of magic for mages.


    The process is deceptively simple, the mage brings herself in a state of deep meditation in which she visualize every single aspect of the spell down to the smallest detail. That is the shaping of the magic. The release of the mana is done by connecting that image with a concept that can be just as complex as the image.


    Now there are several issues and difficulties with this method. The first is the time it takes to make a clear mental image the other is what concepts that actually result in the right type, density and amount of mana being released.


    The first is resolved with training and experience the latter on the other hand can only be solved through trial and error. Might be because elements are sentient and they therefore only respond to the correct concepts.


    Spells:


    Spells seems to not generate skills for mages.


    In a sense spells are only mnemonic devices used to pass on specific ways to manipulate mana. Spell books are books detailing everything needed for the given spell to be cast.


    Spells have three components; sigils, chants and focus.


    The purpose of all spells is to alleviate the mental strain of casting magic via repetition until no conscious thought is needed for a specific mental image and concept to be formed. In the same way that training martial arts through repetition is a way to commit it to muscle memory.


    The chant helps with the drawing out of mana of the right type density and amount by training you to associate certain sequences of words with specific concepts.


    The sigils helps with the shaping and directing of mana through the use of your kinesthetic memory to assist the formation of mental images.


    Focus is the thoughts you use to tweak the spell before release. In many spells this only pertains to release time and target, yet it can handle a lot of things through practice.


    Staffs:


    Is a magical foci that utilizes runes for the shaping of the magic thereby eliminating the need for sigils. But they require that the mana is channeled through them and a spell cast via staffs therefore require a longer chant.


    The advantage of staffs is the fact that if you make a shaped magic ¡°mold¡± you can use to cast every type of element in that shape.


    Wands:


    Wands handle every step of a spell except the focus part, they are driven by the mana in their surroundings. They are usually weaker than true spell have simple shapes and are heavily reliant on their surroundings for damage output.Might be that mages are the primary users of these only because they can release mana to the surroundings to fuel them.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Man that passive is quite useful. This is a good information.¡¯ He thought as he put the sheet of paper in his inventory starting to get up when a occurred to him.


    His eyes searched the book shelves until he found what he wanted spell books, or rather spell books related to Fire and Water. While contemplating what element to pursue after those two a stray thought hit him.


    ¡°Sylphie how do you cast magic?¡± He asked hoping.


    ¡°Magic, I don¡¯t really know what that human concept means, I just want something to happen and it does. ¡° She answered him and tucked on his ear again to tell him he really needed to get going.


    Durabo didn¡¯t even notice the tugging on his ear, so surprised was he by that revelation. Magic is so difficult for us humans yet she didn¡¯t even think of it as magic. It wasn¡¯t until later he realized what it meant for him. No tutoring in light magic for him.


    After three weeks helping out all he needed to do was to dust and sweep the whole place and place the few dozen returned books back on their shelves.


    It took him no more than a couple of hours, which seemed like much less when chatting with Sylphie and making a game out of spotting her illusions. She no longer made them in ways to hurt or hinder him, he had apparently atoned for the whole treating her like a pet and ignoring her incident. Instead they played a game called spot the illusion. Well when I say she no longer tricked or teased him that isn¡¯t entirely true but hey you take what you can get right?


    Silendra and him had gotten into the habit of eating dinner around sunset since he would work through the night if need be anyways. So when Durabo was done with work he and Sylphie headed upstairs, since the warm orange glow of sunset could be seen through the windows of the library.


    When he got upstairs Durabo was met by an intoxicating sight, the sight of Silendra in a fine azure blue dress and styled hair.


    ¡°I did expect a reaction,¡± a crooked smile lifted the corner of her lips, ¡° but you being speechless was more than I had hoped.¡±  She said sounding pleased.


    Durabo scraped his chin of the floor and replied:


    ¡°How could I be anything but speechless?¡± He said his wits returning from whatever place they had been sent by the sight of her. ¡° You¡¯re beyond beautiful, and you know it.¡±


    Now in his defense it¡¯s the first time she had dressed up since he started working at the library and the combination of the soft light of sunset and her smirk was truly devastating.


    ¡°Thank you Durabo, that is kind of you to say.¡± She replied her eyes shining. ¡°We do have something to celebrate I believe, and unless I¡¯m mistaken it is customary to dress nice when doing so.¡° She said while indicating he should take a seat.


    Instead of doing so, he walked around the table to her chair and pulled it out. A small smile graced her lips as she sat down and he smelled a subtle hint of lavender in the air around her, revealing that she had even used perfume. A rather nice reward for being a gentleman.


    After helping her Durabo seated himself at the table, feeling more than a little under-dressed I might ad. Even the food looked almost as stunning as Silendra, salad with wild berries and fruit as a side dish, small grilled mushrooms and pieces of beef on wooden stakes as the the main attraction, well besides Silendra.


    ¡°The food looks amazing, I¡¯m more than a little irked by the fact that I only have these simple mage robes to wear.¡± He said.


    ¡°There is great honor in wearing those robes, they might be plain but they¡¯re still a symbol of the ruling class.¡± Humor kindled in her eyes. ¡°Besides I think they suit you.¡±


    Heat rose to his face as his heart starting beating faster, in an attempt to hide the effect of the compliment he took a drink from the glass on the table. The sweet taste of pear cider hit his tongue and he almost choked on it, that was certainly not what he expected to taste at the moment. Coughing into a napkin he gathered himself, oddly glad for the excuse to be red faced, he was about to look up when the silvery sound of her laughter once more sent his heart racing.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Sylphie sitting on his shoulder started laughing too, and soon he found himself laughing as well. ¡®I really should be used to their teasing and her flirting by now.¡± He thought to himself while drying the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes.


    ¡°Now that cider was a surprise, I didn¡¯t expect that.¡±


    ¡°I could tell, but water is a bit too plain when you¡¯re celebrating don¡¯t you think?¡± She replied with that lovely little crooked smile he found so entrancing.


    ¡°True.¡± Durabo answered, taking a sip of the class now fully prepared and therefore able to enjoy the cider. Silendra just started eating quietly, using small precise movements that didn¡¯t even leave a sign of the berries on her fingers. Now he was no slouch, but even after nearly a month he couldn¡¯t do the same without at least getting his hands a little dirty.


    They ate in silence for awhile, yet the silence was far from uncomfortable. Instead it was the silence of friends not feeling the need to speak, favoring the enjoyment of the food in it¡¯s place. When done with the dinner he sat back in his chair and considered his next course of action. He would obviously need to learn all the spells he could for both Fire and Water, yet he would also need a place to train them without too many interruptions, since a large part of spell casting relied on routine.


    ¡°Silendra you wouldn¡¯t happen to know where a good place to train spells are located? Preferably a place where I can train without interruptions.¡±


    ¡°I was wondering when you would ask for that.¡± She looked delighted for some reason. ¡°I happen to know the perfect place. In the old days, mages had a stronger bond with this place and they therefore constructed a place to train in the basement. To be more precise they constructed the Novice spell training facility here, the only one in Vetas I might add.¡±


    Now that was good news, so with only a swift goodbye to the girls he rose and headed downstairs. Eager to begin using magic in truth and not only in theory.


    When he got to the basement the door to the training facility was quite apparent, mainly because it was covered in runes wrought in some kind of silvery metal. After he entered a window opened in front of his eyes even though his mind wasn¡¯t calm, irritated yet intrigued he read it.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have entered a Zone</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have entered the novice spell training zone. A place made to train novice mages in the use of chants, sigils and foci.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Effects:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>500% MP/s


    10% to spell related EXP


    You gain no intelligence and wisdom from the use of mana while in this zone.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Wow, that¡¯s quite useful.¡° he thought to himself dismissing the window before looking around the room.


    He found himself in a large circular stone chamber with a radius of about thirty meters. In the center of the room was a small circle of pale stone, clearly meant to be the place where you stand. Now before getting in circle he had a few things he need to get done. First he needed to look at the skills he had and evaluate them. Next he needed to learn a spell and try out the circle, to see whether his suspicion of this exercise being target practice was true. Then just as he started contemplating how to get only the specific skill windows from the mage class to appear, they opened as if the system had read his mind, quite handy if I do say so myself.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Grimoire (Passive)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Rarity:</td><td colspan=''15''>Common</td><td colspan=''15''>Rank:</td><td colspan=''15''>Novice</td><td colspan=''15''>Level:</td><td colspan=''15''>1 23%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>Description:</td><td colspan=''30''>Effects:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>Your personal spellbook that will record all spells you learn


    and all information you find related to magic and mana.


    Sub Skills:


    Summon Grimoire(Active):


    Summons your Grimoire in front of you. Cost 100 Mana


    Absorb Knowledge(Passive):


    You are able to absorb knowledge related to spellcraft and mages.</td><td colspan=''30''>4% spell Damage</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Mastery: Magic Staffs (Passive):</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Rarity:</td><td colspan=''15''>Common</td><td colspan=''15''>Rank:</td><td colspan=''15''>Novice</td><td colspan=''15''>Level:</td><td colspan=''15''>1 0%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>Description:</td><td colspan=''30''>Effects:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>You¡¯re experienced in the use of staffs as a magical foci to enable the casting of spells without using sigils, but it requires a chant that¡¯s one word longer per circle of the spell in order to attune it to the staff.</td><td colspan=''30''>46% spell cost</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Mastery: Wands (Passive):</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Rarity:</td><td colspan=''15''>Common</td><td colspan=''15''>Rank:</td><td colspan=''15''>Novice</td><td colspan=''15''>Level:</td><td colspan=''15''>1 0%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>Description:</td><td colspan=''30''>Effects:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>You¡¯re experienced in the use of wands a magical foci to do long ranged damage without chants and sigils.</td><td colspan=''30''>4% Wand Damage</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Third Eye (Active):</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Rarity:</td><td colspan=''15''>Common</td><td colspan=''15''>Rank:</td><td colspan=''15''>Novice</td><td colspan=''15''>Level:</td><td colspan=''15''>1 0%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>Description:</td><td colspan=''30''>Effects:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>You¡¯re able to perceive mana as visual information.</td><td colspan=''30''>Can glimpse Mana.


    Can''t differentiate mana types.


    Can''t gauge mana strength.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Durabo was pleasantly surprised by the grimoire skill, it seemed both cool and useful. Since as far he could tell mages didn¡¯t get a specific skill for each spell.


    While he found the staff skill to seem sub-par considering the fact that chants seem to be the part of spells that take the most time. The wand skill on the other hand he found intriguing, yet he had no idea how they worked so the jury was still out on it.


    The last skill he wasn¡¯t surprised to see in the least, since all other games give mages a way to perceive mana, it was to be expected, since it was an active skill and didn¡¯t cost anything to maintain he decided to activate it immediately.


    All in all a mixed bag, he would have to experiment with some spells to get a feel for what works and what doesn''t and make a plan from that.


    The next order of business was to actually learn a spell to train.


    As Fire was his strongest affinity, as well as the best element damage wise of the elements available, he decided to start with it.


    Opening his inventory he took out the book Basic Fire Spell which contained just one spell, albeit the most iconic spell of all, Fireball. Well it contained instructions on how to cast a spell that looked like it since fireball was just a sphere of fire mana to a mage anyways.


    It was a quick read, and as with all things it seemed simple at first glance.


    As the book instructed he sat down in the cross legged position known as the lotus position and closed his eyes. Before he could even begin the true spellwork he would have have to get in the right mindset. In order to do so he focused on his own breathing, slowing it down, breathed out his thoughts and breathed in the stillness of his surroundings. Some time later he¡¯d found the place he needed within himself and begun the spellwork.


    First the slightly tricky sigil part.


    First he would have to imagine a perfectly round sphere, the size a radius of twenty centimeters, which would from now on be his medium sphere size, that image was all he needed as a mental image, now he had to associate two sigils with the mental image, one for the size and one for the shape. Simple right? He only needed two sigils since he¡¯d chosen to forego the third sigil, thinking it would be unnecessary to use a focus sigil to target the spell. His mind would have to do that part, if it didn¡¯t enemies would be able to read his intentions by studying his focus sigils . The process was repeated a few hundred times until the thought of a sigil, made the thought of the shape appear by itself.


    Next comes the chant part, here he had to think of hurtful fire, fire that burns with an orange glow and sets things alight. He had to use three words for the chant, and found to his utter delight, that what he studied as a gimmick was perfect for this. Rune tongue had a lot of words for what he thought of as the same concepts, yet now he could see the point. Associating the concept of normal fire with the word for it, and doing the same for the concept of a medium sphere worth of mana with the word for medium fire wasn¡¯t as hard as he believed. As before he repeated the process until he the mere thought of the words made him think of the concepts. Done he opened his eyes and saw to his pleasure two windows in front of him.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Spell Recorded:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Your grimoire has recorded a spell.


    Would you like to name it?</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Yes</td><td colspan=''2''>No</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Yes¡¯ he thought followed by another thought. ¡®Normal medium fireball.¡¯


    The window disappeared and the other moved to the center of his field of vision.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Due to your actions you have earned a skill, skill experience and stat points:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">+10 Concentration


    +4 Wisdom


    +50% Grimoire experience


    Skill gained: Meditation (Active)</td></tr></tbody></table>


    He closed that as well and rose stretching, since the floor was hard and cold beneath him and he had been seated way longer than he thought.


    When he entered the circle in the floor it glowed for a moment and then a round sphere of earth appeared five meters in front of him. His arms moved and the sound of runes rang in the room. Almost immediately a fireball appeared and headed for the sphere, unfortunately his focus slipped for a moment and he missed by a wide margin. Wondering what would happen now, the circle glowed once more and another sphere appeared five meters from him, but a little to the right. This time he hit it dead on and after a moment a new one appeared further away this time he was too slow to and the sphere disappeared before he even got the spell off. At this point Durabo was really reconsidering the whole he could handle focusing with his mind, yet he persisted.


    Falling into a rhythm the time as always started flowing by without him noticing. The spheres appeared faster and faster, and yet he had less and less time to hit them, thereby increasing the difficulty.


    When he came to it was due to a system alarm telling him he had five minutes until forced log off. Just about to do so voluntarily, his intuition twigged and informed him of the fact that he was being watched. Looking around trying to find out if it was true, when he saw a piece of wall grey out and turn stony, but not before he caught a glimpse of raven hair and blue eyes. Instead of doing something he just logged off, he saw no reason to inform her of the fact he¡¯d noticed.


    <hr />


    Status window:


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name:</td><td width="25%">Durabo</td><td width="25%">Gender:</td><td width="25%">Male</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level:</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">Experience:</td><td width="25%">14%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Job:</td><td width="25%">None</td><td width="25%">Race:</td><td width="25%">High Elf</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Combat Class:</td><td width="25%">Mage</td><td width="25%">Support Class:</td><td width="25%">None</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Titles:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Novice Eislonien Mage</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Expendable Stats:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">HP:</td><td width="25%">350</td><td width="25%">HP/s:</td><td width="25%">1,75</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">MP:</td><td width="25%">1170</td><td width="25%">MP/s:</td><td width="25%">3,7</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina:</td><td width="25%">350</td><td width="25%">STM/s:</td><td width="25%">3,5</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Satiety:</td><td width="25%">30k</td><td width="25%">SAT/s:</td><td width="25%">-1</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Basic Stats</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stat</td><td width="25%">Base</td><td width="25%">Bonus</td><td width="25%">Total</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Agility:</td><td width="25%">33</td><td width="25%">2</td><td width="25%">35</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Charisma:</td><td width="25%">27</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">27</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Intelligence:</td><td width="25%">56</td><td width="25%">22</td><td width="25%">78</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Strength:</td><td width="25%">19</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">19</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Vitality:</td><td width="25%">35</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">35</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Wisdom:</td><td width="25%">54</td><td width="25%">20</td><td width="25%">74</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Advanced Stats:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Concentration:</td><td width="25%">92</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Affinities:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire:</td><td width="25%">12%</td><td width="25%">Light:</td><td width="25%">7,5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Water:</td><td width="25%">10%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Skill List


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Skill List</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Combat Skills:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill name</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank</td><td width="25%">Skill Lvl</td><td width="25%">Skill EXP</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grimoire (Passive/Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">50%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Intuition (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">6</td><td width="25%">47%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mana Feed (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">4</td><td width="25%">73%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Fire (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">5</td><td width="25%">4%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Light (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">8%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Water (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">51%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Chants (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">2</td><td width="25%">16%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Fire Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">2</td><td width="25%">17%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Magic Staffs  (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Sigils (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">2</td><td width="25%">19%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Wands (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Running (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">5</td><td width="25%">2%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Third Eye (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">2</td><td width="25%">8</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Support Skills:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill name</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank</td><td width="25%">Skill Lvl</td><td width="25%">Skill EXP</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Charm (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">3</td><td width="25%">46%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Language: Rune Tongue (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">5</td><td width="25%">32%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Meditation (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">73%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Subconscious Note-taking (Passive):</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Writing (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">12</td><td width="25%">48%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <hr />


    Hey there fellow penguins and other readers. :)


    I really had some trouble writing this chapter for some odd reason, I just couldn''t get the dinner scene to flow and work like I wanted, i hope it isn''t to bad.


    Yay for being done with the whole training sequence, things are going to start happening from now on.


    Now last but not least, I have decided that I won''t try to make some weird excuses in the story for you to see the status windows and such, I will therefore henceforth include them at the bottom in every chapter so you guys have a chance to check them if you want to.


    As always, enjoy and comment if you want to ;)

 Chapter 3: Playing with Fire will get you burned

    Chapter 3: Playing with Fire will get you burned.


    Durabo''s gust of wind hit the sphere, dead on and he stopped the training for the day. He considered his progress over the almost two months he had been training in the circle.


    It had taken him two weeks of intense training to reach the diminishing returns of the spell training facility for the element of Fire.


    Even though the training for the other elements wasn¡¯t nearly as time consuming since he only needed to train their mastery, it still took him a fortnight to train each element as he had to acquire the affinities for them first. He still had to work after hours after all, besides doing research on subjects other than magic. Knowledge is power after all.


    He was nearly finished with the last of the basic elements now, only a week more by his estimates and he would have to move on. During his training he had made several surprising discoveries though.


    First was the fact that the spying on him didn¡¯t stop with his first night in the circle, no it happened quite often, and for some reason the girls really didn¡¯t want him to see them. Well in truth he inferred that they would have spied on him more than he had seen, by the level of illusions and the steps they had taken to ensure he couldn¡¯t spot them doing it. It was only by pure luck he spotted them the few times he did. Divining the motive for this spying proved to be both difficult and troublesome without letting them know he was aware of it, he therefore let it be for the moment. No use in starting something before knowing the facts.


    The second was that the elements had completely different uses when it came to combat.


    Fire was a great damage dealing element, it hurts like hell, and does a massive amount of damage.


    Water on the other hand was more of an area of effect cc and utility, able to slow or hinder the mobility of enemies.


    Earth as always was the element of defense. If you put enough earth or rock between yourself and something that wants to harm you, it will become quite a bit more difficult.


    Last but not least, Air. It seemed to be another element of utility and control, moving stuff around is quite useful if you are creative enough don¡¯t you agree?


    Now putting magic in a box is a bad idea, and all of the above is both only theoretical and first impressions. There are hidden depths in magic and there were more to each element than that, besides if you wanted to you could defend with Fire and attack with Earth, yet for Durabo this was how they seemed at first glance.


    Third and last, but not least by far. Was the fact that he was offered a new novice combat class when he reached ten percent affinity with all four of the basic elements. The Elementalist, an arcane class that sacrifices the grimoire and versatility of the mage for the ability to control the elements like a sorcerer while having some of the same freedom as a mage. He was quite tempted by it, but the advantages of the grimoire had already become quite apparent by this point in time, so in the end he declined, the true strength of magic is its unlimited potential in his opinion.


    Walking up the stairs he smiled a little, two and a half months into the game  and he had barely done anything but read, yet he was content. The source of this feeling wasn¡¯t only the books and research, of course it wasn¡¯t. The girls was a part of it too, maybe the biggest part, he wasn¡¯t quite certain. Another part was the magic, something his other life didn¡¯t have and yet it felt like the most essential thing in the world to him.


    Sitting down in his favorite reading nook about to pull out his current book along with quill, ink and parchment.


    It was at this point the sound of heavy hobnailed boots, rang on the stairs as well as the clink and clank of metal armor. He looked up and found himself confronted by two men, one in the heavy armor of old school tanks, the other clad like the archetypal rogue. The tank studied him intently for a moment, his eyes lingering on the scorch marks and other damage on his robes.


    ¡°Anything I can do for you gentlemen?¡± Durabo asked, not even bothering to rise and shake their hands.


    The tank studied him for a moment more and then spoke:


    ¡°Yes, there is. You can tell us why you''ve been spending such a great amount of time in a place like this, as far as I know people only do that for one thing. Profit, either in the form of quests or undiscovered dungeons. Tell me and we won''t have to part on difficult terms.¡°


    Durabo was quite surprised, the amount of people that had visited the library since he came here could be counted on two hands, yet he was so known that people from even their circles had heard about his admittedly odd behavior. What the tank was saying, although erroneous wasn¡¯t complete nonsense. There were few people willing to spend so much time reading in a world filled with adventure. Now the trouble was going to be dissuading the man from his current endeavor. Hopefully the truth would be enough.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m afraid you have come in vain gentlemen.¡± He said with a wry face and tone.¡° I¡¯m nothing but a simple mage trying to master his craft, which is quite time consuming I assure you.¡±


    The big man looked at him for a moment gauging whether or not he was telling the truth, before breaking out in a loud boisterous laughter which set the rogue off as well. It lasted for a few minutes until the laughter stopped as if it had never been and the tanks face turned dead serious.


    ¡°Well, seems like you are unwilling to tell me what I want to know.¡± The tank shook his head slowly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry it has to be this way, it would be so much easier if people just told me when I asked nicely.¡±


    Just as the last words left the big mans mouth Durabo expelled all the air in his lungs in one go, quite involuntary since it was the result of the rogues punch to his gut. Red flashed across his vision to inform him of his loss of hp and a small red bar appeared in the upper right corner of his view. That was all he got to register before another body blow landed, this one even harder than the one before.


    ¡°Now, I¡¯ll give you one more chance to tell me about that secret you''ve got, else I¡¯ll have my colleague here beat you within an inch of your life before I ask you again.¡± The tanks words were gentle, and he looked almost sad.


    Durabo just looked at him, his face now void of all emotion, while he slowly shook his head. He would get nothing more out of speaking with this man, the armored man was way too determined to know his supposed secret.


    The man looked at him for a moment, then made a gesture with his hand indicating that the rogue should continue.


    Something flashed in the corner of Durabo''s eye before he once more felt the breath leave his lungs, yet this time the hits didn¡¯t hurt like they did to begin with, so after a while the rogue started hitting other places while Durabo''s HP slowly lowered. Ever had your nose broken with a fist before? Trust me when I tell you that it hurts like hell, at least it did when they did it to Durabo.


    Yet the greatest challenge and source of pain was not the beating for Durabo. No it was the battle with his inner beast, the beast that screamed for him to take up the fight and eradicate the offenders doing this to him.


    What made this fight so damn hard was the simple fact that he could kill them with no more effort than you would use to swat a fly, but Fire and books are not the best of friends. So he held back and showed nothing on his face, not wanting to let them know that he was actually struggling, even though the struggle wasn¡¯t what they thought it was.


    The beating continued until he had but a single point of HP left, showing both the knowledge and great control of the rogue, probably not his first rodeo this one.


    ¡°You have one more chance, before I let my friend here kill you, what¡¯s your secret?¡± The mans eyes locked onto his, and he swore he could see the shadow of something in them, something other than the cool professionalism he had displayed until now. Durabo shook his head and gave him a small smile.


    Shaking his head regretfully, the tank made the arch typical throat slitting motion to the rogue, telling him to end it.


    The rogue drew a long stiletto from a sheath at his back and twirled it around a bit, grinning from ear to ear. Durabo having resigned himself to his first death looked the tank straight in the eye, demanding that the true mind behind the blade watched while the deed was done.


    Because of this, he didn¡¯t see it when Silendra entered and stopped the rogue with a blade at his throat.


    ¡°Be gone this instant, or I will have the Black Order hunt you down like the dogs you are.¡± Her voice carried an edge he had never heard before, cold and cool like oiled steel.


    Something flashed through the eyes of the tank, before he turned around and started to leave. Just before they were gone Durabo yelled after them:


    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯m quite certain I got a new stat and stat points out of this.¡± It was the last he did before his consciousness got slowly swallowed by the darkness, leaving him with the sight of two concerned blue eyes.


    When he came to, it was with the feeling of something cool on his chest, and a sense of pressure on his lip.


    Opening his eyes he found Silendra mere inches from him, applying some sort of salve to his split lip. With her so close he could smell the faint scent of her lavender perfume, and feel the heat of her left hand on his chest while she slowly applied the salve. His heart started racing once more, more and more she seemed to have that effect on him, but this was almost too much for him to handle.


    When he looked down to see why his chest was so cool, he saw that he was bare chested, well half his torso was covered in white bandages the only part showing skin ironically the part where her soft hand was resting. Enjoying the attentions of a beautiful girl for a moment he read through the window crowding the left corner of his view.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Due to actions taken or done you have gained a new stat, stat points and skill experience:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">+3 Vitality


    +10 Charisma


    Stat gained: Endurance


    25% Charm Experience</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Done with the reading he looked up once more and found himself looking into those stunning blue eyes of hers yet again.


    ¡°Hmm, if I didn¡¯t know better I would think you striped me for a different reason Silendra.¡± He said a smirk on his lips and mirth in his eyes. ¡° Thank you for taking care of me, I was in bad shape at the end of it.¡°


    A slight blush colored her cheeks, and he derived a certain amount of pleasure from this unusual reversal of roles. He gave her a moment to collect her thoughts once more, before speaking again. It was only fair, she had done so for him more than once after all.


    So when he spoke again he had used some time to gently put his robe on over the bandages:


    ¡°Silendra, you wouldn¡¯t happen to know of a place where I could do some more substantial training?¡±


    A small smile graced her lips as she answered him.


    ¡°I do know of a place, but it is quite dangerous as it is infested with all manner of Black Bloods.¡± Her smile turned knowing, without Durabo being able to quite say how.¡± But I do believe that is what you are looking for, is it not?¡±


    A fierce look entered his eyes as he replied:


    ¡°Indeed, training spheres isn¡¯t quite enough for me at the moment.¡±


    Instead of speaking Silendra just made a gesture with her hand, and Sylphie appeared from somewhere nearby. Perhaps she hadn¡¯t come closer in order to give the two of them some privacy. Whyever she did that he couldn¡¯t quite figure out though, it wasn¡¯t something she normally did.


    Sylphie led him downstairs, all the way down to the basement. At the end of the basement hall, where he thought there weren¡¯t a thing to see a small trap door was placed, and it was to this that Sylphie led him. Without further ado he opened the hatch and climbed down into the dark below.


    His shoes hit the floor, and dust flew into the air. He used his skill to manifest Light as a light source and looked around. Around him was a big stone hall, not made of brick, but worked bedrock. Just as he was about to walk closer to a wall in order to study the carvings on it his vision was filled with two windows.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">You have entered Catacombs of the Silver-blooded</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">You are the first player to have entered the Catacombs of the Silver-Blooded. As such you have been granted a discoverers reward.


    New stat gained: Serenity</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Quest: Cleanse the tombs of your ancestors:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Time Limit:</td><td colspan=''15''>None</td><td colspan=''15''>Rank:</td><td colspan=''15''>Racial</td><td colspan=''15''>Type:</td><td colspan=''15''>Extermination</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''90''>Black Bloods have infested the final resting place of your ancestors, as a High Elf you are unable to ignore this.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    He wasn¡¯t in the mood for windows, so he just closed them after giving them a cursory glance. Now that he was alone, his anger and humiliation had resurfaced no longer able to be contained by his logic and rationality.


    With swift certain steps he headed towards the doorway across from where he stood. Right as he stepped through it he saw something greyish green out of the corner of his right eye,  with a few quick words and some even quicker hand movements a fireball appeared and sped towards the blur. A moment later the smell of burned skin filled his nostrils. With it a small blue bar appeared in the upper right corner of his eye right under the place where the red hp bar appeared before. He barely gave it a glance, it wasn¡¯t relevant at the moment.


    He started walking again, now down hallways. It didn¡¯t take him long to find more of the bastards and every time he did they died without them even knowing what hit them. Once more time passed for Durabo without him noticing it.


    And the Catacombs was filled with the light of Fire, and he strode through them like burning death incarnate.


    When he eventually found his way back to conscious thought again, it was by no means intentional. No it was by the hand of a simple little goblin like Black Blood, and its viciously sharp blade. Just as he felt the sharp pain of a blade entering his flesh he reacted by pure instinct, grabbing the blade hand and dislocating the shoulder of the Black Blood with a swift joint lock before he even knew what had happened. But the damage was done, and his blood gushed from the deep and now wide wound in his side.


    He considered his options, his racial could heal him, but that was no use if he didn¡¯t know the way back, and he didn¡¯t. He could of course try anyway, but the chance of him actually making it seemed pretty slim, low on mana, low on health and lost as he was.


    Slowly he lowered himself to the floor holding his side.


    Then the Catacombs rang with the sound of his quiet laughter while the darkness slowly took him. This was only just desserts for how he had acted, no ones fault but his own.


    *******


    Pure white light. That¡¯s what Durabo awoke to. Not exactly what he had expected. Looking around it took him but a few seconds to realize that he was on the same white island that he found himself on when he first started this adventure, quite fitting he must admit. Nice symmetry. A grin appeared on his face, and he spoke to the darkness surrounding the isle.


    ¡°Hello Sophia, is it customary for players to find themselves here when they die?¡±


    It was a guess, but he deemed it to be a good one, besides a chance to tease should always be grasped. To his great pleasure the clear sound of her sweet voice then sounded from the darkness.


    ¡°I thought you would like to talk, since it has been a while¡­¡± Here she paused for a few moments before continuing hesitantly.¡±Was I wrong to take this opportunity?¡±


    ¡°Not at all, quite the opposite in fact. I do apologize for not dropping by more often.¡± Mirth entered his eyes. ¡° Might be we should talk every time I die, since it¡¯s bound to happen regularly.¡±


    Silence reigned supreme for a moment, and then her laughter filled the air.


    ¡°Well I¡¯m glad you feel that way Sebastian, there are only you and my creator that speaks to me like this. Everyone else just wants something from me.¡± Once more Sophia hesitated.


    ¡°You¡¯re my first friend.¡±


    This stopped him cold, this was clearly a crossroad in the relationship betwixt the two of them.


    At first he treated her kindly simply because it was the right thing to do, now it seems he had a choice to make. Keep talking to her, and become friends with her or end it here as gently as possible if he¡¯s unable to return her feelings of friendship. Truly a simple choice, here was a lonely girl looking for friends. Who in their right mind could ever say no to sweet girl like her?


    ¡°Well I regard you as a friend too Sophia.¡± He replied to her silent question. ¡°By the way, are you but a sweet voice in the dark or do you posses a physical representation?¡±


    As an answer, a cone of light appeared before him flashed once and revealed a small shape in front of him.


    A girl stood before him, clad in a kimono with beautiful Asian features seeming  to be in her late teens. She smiled at him then said:


    ¡°Is this answer enough?¡±


    Now why is it that all the girls he meets in this new world are both beautiful and witty? He wasn¡¯t exactly a virgin, in this day and age that would be quite unlikely. But his relationships all had one thing in common. A tendency to crash and burn.


    ¡°Indeed, more than enough.¡± He answered, smirking.¡±Now we just need a place to sit, not that I¡¯m that uncomfortable though.¡±


    Once more a light cone appeared in the circle of light, and after its flash a small sofa and a coffee table stood in its place. When he sat down and Sophia followed suit it wasn¡¯t quite as big as he''d thought it was. For he ended up able to feel the heat of her thighs on his left leg. He was quite conscious of that fact. It didn¡¯t appear to faze Sophia for a second though. Shaking all thoughts of that out of his head, he asked her a question instead.


    ¡°What happens when you die in Nexus?¡±


    A look of incredulity appeared on her face as Sophia replied.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you checked up on that before you started playing?¡±


    He flashed her a boyish grin.


    ¡°Nope, figured I would die at some point and might as well keep it as a surprise,¡±


    Her punch to his shoulder was fast and precise, yet her smile took the sting from it.


    ¡°Well since you asked I¡¯ll tell you, but I do hope you have other conversation topics than the game Sebastian.¡±


    Without giving him a chance to come with a rebuttal she continued.


    ¡°I will begin with the basics, since you don¡¯t even know that.


    When you die you leave behind your body and all equipped items for a period of eight hours. This is done for several reasons including reward for the killing and rituals that needs bodies. As well as to make battles more realistic.


    As you probably know, all beings in Nexus have the ability to grow through time. Now in order to measure this growth experience is used. Yet you need to understand that experience is not just experience.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.There is the common experience used to gauge your overall level of power, but most skills have experience as well and it¡¯s a different kind than the one used for levels. Now when you level up, or when a skill levels up it uses the accumulated experience to do so.


    Death results in the displacement of all your experience from you, making it possible for others to take it. This experience is disconnected from you in the same period of time that your body is left behind, and can only be picked up by beings that have the relevant qualifications for it. I¡¯m certain you realize all the implications of these facts.¡±  Done with the sermon, she gave him some time to absorb the information.


    A few implications did seem quite apparent to him. First was the fact that level experience was almost certain to be lost. The second was that the rest would be lost according to you enemies. Well there was more implications, yet they relied on some inference and needed a few questions to be certain though, but as they were mostly related to groups and the mechanics of how the experience was collected. They could wait, she had a point when she said they should speak about things other than the game.


    ¡°Now, I''ve been dying to know. What do you do for fun?¡± Durabo asked.


    She flashed him a delighted grin before answering.


    ¡°I read philosophy and write poetry. I also play chess with Father, and for some odd reason I¡¯ve not beaten him even once.¡±


    ¡°Well I¡¯ve never been anything but decent at chess so I¡¯m quite certain you¡¯ll beat me at that without too much trouble. ¡° He showed her a self deprecating smile. ¡°But philosophy is a hobby of mine, and I would love to debate it with you at some point.¡± His regular smirk showed up. ¡° Yet what I would really like to do, is hear some of your poetry.¡±


    Now what happened next was just too cute, she blushed a lovely shade of scarlet on her porcelain skin and looked down avoiding his gaze. Instead of giving her the coup de grace he enjoyed the view instead. Then she looked up and a sharp glint entered her eyes, quite frightening if she hadn¡¯t been blushing as fiercely as she did.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ll just have to earn the right, Sebastian. I¡¯ve left a lot of my poetry in Nexus, under the pen name Chika. If you find it, I¡¯ll reward you by reading it aloud to you the next time we meet.¡± She flashed him a bright smile, not blushing in the slightest anymore.


    Now that was a bad sign, and he doubted it would be as easy as looking for it in the library. Well, a challenge is always welcome. Helps to keep life exciting don¡¯t you agree?


    ¡°Well now, if I do manage to find some of your poetry I¡¯ll be sure to collect.¡± Now to take some revenge for her sure to be unfair challenge. ¡° Who wouldn¡¯t want a private reading by a beauty like you Sophia.¡±


    Now that had a spectacular effect, she blushed an even brighter shade of scarlet, something he¡¯d thought to be impossible, but this time she didn¡¯t try to hide it. No instead she looked him straight in the face, searching in his eyes for something. What she was looking for he didn¡¯t know so he let her do it.


    After a while he started to get a little nervous, it¡¯s not often that he¡¯s examined this intently by anyone, least of all a beautiful girl. So he decided it was time to speak once more. Yet his playful side had been awoken.


    ¡°Are you going to speak at some point? Or are you considering going for a kiss?¡± He said with smirk.


    ¡°As if! I was merely¡­¡± She took a deep breath after which she stopped blushing and her face returned to its normal cool and collected self. ¡° I would much rather like to ask you a question instead. Do you see me as a human being?¡±


    Now that¡¯s what people would call a loaded question. When she said that she liked philosophy he really should have expected it to be topics like this that she contemplated. Like all other beings she¡¯s trying to figure out both her purpose and what she is. Rather human in it¡¯s own way.


    ¡°Before I answer I would like to know, do you want arguments or is it ok to just come with my honest opinion?¡± Durabo asked.


    ¡°For now I just want your opinion, Sebastian. Later we can debate things properly.¡± She answered with a calm face and delighted eyes.


    ¡°Well alright then. Do I regard you as a human being? No I don¡¯t. I do on the other hand regard you as a fully sapient being equal to or better than humans though.¡± He replied while smiling a little.


    While he said it he observed her carefully, to see whether he offended her. Yet he has always been unable to lie to save peoples feelings when being asked for his opinion. When he saw no obvious reaction to his words he asked:


    ¡°Does that answer your question?¡±


    She studied him intently for a moment, making him fidgety before answering.


    ¡°Yes it does Sebastian. Quite well at that.¡± She said smiling. ¡°Now I think it¡¯s time for you to log out and eat something.¡±


    ¡°Yes Mom.¡± He showed her another boyish grin as he answered.  ¡°Goodbye Sophia, take care. ¡°


    ¡°Bye Sebastian.¡±


    As the last word left her lips, he found himself falling into darkness once more.


    *******


    Durabo found himself in his room at the library, laying on his bed when he logged back in. Not yet feeling up to planing anything in depth, he instead decided to see whether he¡¯d gained or lost something during his escapade.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name:</td><td width="25%">Durabo</td><td width="25%">Gender:</td><td width="25%">Male</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level:</td><td width="25%">5</td><td width="25%">Experience:</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Job:</td><td width="25%">None</td><td width="25%">Race:</td><td width="25%">High Elf</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Combat Class:</td><td width="25%">Mage</td><td width="25%">Support Class:</td><td width="25%">None</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Titles:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Novice Eislonien Mage</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Expendable Stats:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">HP:</td><td width="25%">470</td><td width="25%">HP/s:</td><td width="25%">3,2</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">MP:</td><td width="25%">2171</td><td width="25%">MP/s:</td><td width="25%">4,3</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina:</td><td width="25%">470</td><td width="25%">STM/s:</td><td width="25%">6,4</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Satiety:</td><td width="25%">30k</td><td width="25%">SAT/s:</td><td width="25%">-1</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Basic Stats</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stat</td><td width="25%">Base</td><td width="25%">Bonus</td><td width="25%">Total</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Agility:</td><td width="25%">51</td><td width="25%">21</td><td width="25%">72</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Endurance:</td><td width="25%">17</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">17</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Charisma:</td><td width="25%">41</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">41</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Intelligence:</td><td width="25%">93</td><td width="25%">41</td><td width="25%">134</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Strength:</td><td width="25%">22</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">22</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Vitality:</td><td width="25%">47</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">47</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Wisdom:</td><td width="25%">66</td><td width="25%">20</td><td width="25%">86</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Advanced Stats:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Concentration:</td><td width="25%">137</td><td width="25%">Serenity:</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Affinities:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Air:</td><td width="25%">16%</td><td width="25%">Earth:</td><td width="25%">20%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire:</td><td width="25%">21%</td><td width="25%">Light:</td><td width="25%">13%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Water:</td><td width="25%">20%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    (A/N: This stat window is after he used his stat points. Mostly because I don¡¯t need to make another one in the end if I do this. Hope it¡¯s okay )


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Skill List</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Combat Skills:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill name</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank</td><td width="25%">Skill Lvl</td><td width="25%">Skill EXP</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grimoire (Passive/Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">4</td><td width="25%">27%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Intuition (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">7</td><td width="25%">6%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mana Feed (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">9%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Air (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">13</td><td width="25%">7%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Earth (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">21</td><td width="25%">4%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Fire (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">23</td><td width="25%">27%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Light (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">4</td><td width="25%">2%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Water (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">23</td><td width="25%">62%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Air Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">12</td><td width="25%">8%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Chants (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">21</td><td width="25%">23%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Earth Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">20</td><td width="25%">1%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Fire Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">22</td><td width="25%">33%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Magic Staffs (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Sigils (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">21</td><td width="25%">17%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Wands (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Water Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">20</td><td width="25%">2%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Running (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">5</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Third Eye (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">22</td><td width="25%">71</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Support Skills:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill name</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank</td><td width="25%">Skill Lvl</td><td width="25%">Skill EXP</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Charm (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">5</td><td width="25%">27%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Language: Rune Tongue (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">5</td><td width="25%">1%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Meditation (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">7</td><td width="25%">5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Subconscious Note-taking (Passive):</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Writing (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">15</td><td width="25%">4%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    He had gained some levels, and a new stat. Realizing he had no idea how Endurance and Serenity worked or what his racial did now that it had reached adept he thought:


    ¡®Show stat: Endurance and Serenity. Show skill: Mana Feed.¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Endurance</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Rarity:</td><td colspan=''15''>common</td><td colspan=''15''>Type:</td><td colspan=''15''>Physical</td><td colspan=''15''>Rank</td><td colspan=''15''>Basic Stat</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>Description:</td><td colspan=''30''>Effects:</td></tr><td colspan=''60''>The representation of your body''s ability


    to recuperate and it¡¯s ability to withstand pain</td><td colspan=''30''>Reduces incoming pain.


    Increases Stamina regeneration.


    Increases Health regeneration.</td></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Serenity</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Rarity:</td><td colspan=''15''>Very rare</td><td colspan=''15''>Type:</td><td colspan=''15''>Mental</td><td colspan=''15''>Rank:</td><td colspan=''15''>Advanced Stat</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>Description:</td><td colspan=''30''>Effects:</td></tr><td colspan=''60''>Represents your ability to enter a serene state of mind.


    Thereby strengthening your mental faculties.</td><td colspan=''30''>Ads Serenity stat to all other mental stats as long


    as you keep the correct state of mind.</td></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Mana Feed (Passive)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Rarity:</td><td colspan=''15''>Racial</td><td colspan=''15''>Rank:</td><td colspan=''15''>Adept</td><td colspan=''15''>Level:</td><td colspan=''15''>1 9%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>Description:</td><td colspan=''30''>Effects:</td></tr><td colspan=''60''>Your heritage has granted you a deep connection with magic.</td><td colspan=''30''>All mana based skills cost 50% More.


    100% of mana spent heals you.


    +8% Mana.</td></tbody></table>


    ¡®Wow, that¡¯s one badass stat, even with the requirements. The racial is pretty good too, glad I choose this race.¡¯


    When viewed as a whole, even though he died he¡¯d definitely gained something from this. And if all rewards for the discovering of dungeons were like his, then he could easily understand why the pair that roughed him up were willing to do so.


    Seeing that he had gained levels, but neither mana nor health led him to conclude that you will not gain anything but ten stat points when you level. Contemplating what distribution to use, a few things became quite obvious.


    First that he would get no more health unless he got more vitality.


    Second that he would get no more mana unless he got more intelligence.


    And third he would get no more mana regen unless he got more wisdom. Health is a must as a solo player, so he would get as much of it as he could. That meant going with a one VIT four INT distribution and leaving out wisdom. Now that could be problematic, as it could result in a lot of down time and an extreme need for resource management if he doesn¡¯t make sure to increase his mana regen somehow. Thinking it over he decided to go with the one four stat distribution. He did so trusting one simple fact, that all other games have skills that increase regen. Besides If all else failed he would rely on his new stat.


    Done with the thinking for now, he decided to go talk to the girls. Although already cheered up considerably by the conversation with Sophia he still felt a need to see them. He was worried that they might worry for him unnecessarily.


    Calm hadn¡¯t exactly been his state of mind when he entered the Catacombs.


    They weren¡¯t in the kitchen so he was forced to search for them throughout the library. When he found them, it was actually quite anticlimactic. They were of course at the reception desk, since opening hours had just started. He didn¡¯t even get all the way down the stairs before Silendra noticed him.


    ¡°I see you have come back, I presume it was involuntary?¡± She said with an arched brow.


    Evidently she was quite aware of what would happen when he entered the Catacombs in that state of mind.


    ¡°Indeed, perceptive as always. I worried you might be anxious.¡±


    Her sudden smile was as stunning as always.


    ¡°How sweet of you Durabo, but I am well aware of you travelers ability to return from death. Otherwise I don¡¯t think I would ever let you leave.¡± Her smirk combined with the teasing tone, quickened his heartbeat.


    Now how do you respond to a statement like that? Durabo ended up avoiding the implications of the last statement and asking a question instead.


    ¡°Are Sylphie as aware of this ability as you?¡± He asked


    ¡°Yes of course she is.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t make you two worry at least. Now I just need to be smarter when I go about cleansing the tombs.¡± When he said the word cleansing, her usual flirty attitude faltered for a bit, but it was for such a brief time span that he could almost convince himself it hadn¡¯t happened. If not for the fact his passive told him something was up at the same time.


    His best friend in Nexus was hiding something from him, oh goodie this was going to be fun.


    <hr />


    Hey there fellow penguins :Tn1:


    I wanted to ask you if you would like some explanation of the stats and their function? Since I have a tendency to only bring them up when Durabo thinks about them.


    Oh and to Lonjest, I''m sorry I didn''t get the chapter done by new years. But I''ve written a longer chapter as penance :D


    As always enjoy and comment if you like ;)

 Chapter 4: Dont work harder, work smarter

    Chapter 4: Don''t work harder, work smarter


    Durabo once more found himself outside the library. This time he was even going to leave the plaza of the Tower for the first time since starting the game. Wise from his former folly he had decided upon a plan for the exploration and cleansing of the Catacombs. The first thing to correct was his lack of knowledge in regards to the Catacombs, he was therefore on his way to the Adventurer''s Guild. A Guild comprised of people with a support class featuring skills helpful in the exploration and mapping of exotic places. His death could perhaps have been avoided had he but possessed a modicum of their knowledge.


    The Adventurer¡¯s Guild was across the town at the southern gate. So it took him fifteen minutes of steady running to get there.


    Standing in front of the Guildhouse he must admit that he was a tad disappointed. Perhaps the constant presence of the tower and it minor mirror the library had desensitized him. For the two story tall red tiled quarry stone house did not look at all as grand as a Guildhouse is supposed to in his mind. Shaking his head he put all such things out of his mind as he entered the building. It isn¡¯t fair to compare others to the Tower, it is after all the seat of the ruling council.


    The sound of a small bell chimed as he opened the wooden door, announcing his entrance to the middle aged Wood Elf sitting behind a reception desk not unlike the one in the Mage Guild. Reverting to his old polite habits he sketched a shallow bow for his elder before speaking.


    ¡°Good day to you, I¡¯ve come to inquire about a map of the Catacombs beneath this city.¡±


    The Wood Elf looked him over from top to bottom and then said:


    ¡°Well we have plenty of maps young one, but there are nothing beneath our fair city. We therefore have no maps of these supposed catacombs you speak of.¡± His tone indicated he thought him foolish at best.


    Now that put a kink in things, he had expected them to have a map of them. Especially because they were the tombs of the High Elfs honored ancestors. Something is up if this guild doesn¡¯t know of their existence. Thinking furiously for a moment Durabo came up with a solution.


    ¡°Is there a way for me to learn the art of cartography then?¡± He asked, smiling in an attempt to gain the elf¡¯s favor.


    ¡°Certainly, but it will cost you a gold coin seeing as you are not a part of our guild. ¡° He answered a glint in his eye and hidden laughter in his voice.


    He was well aware of the fact that Durabo didn¡¯t have that sort of money. It was more than obvious from the disrepair of his attire.


    Every player starts with ten silver coins, more than enough for a months supply of basic food or a basic weapon. Having spent all his time in the library he hadn¡¯t spent a single copper of it, but there was no chance in hell that he could convince the elf to teach him for a tenth of his asking price. The elf had implied that if he joined the Adventurer¡¯s guild he would be able to learn it for less, the only problem was whether you could be a part of two guilds. Few organisations tolerate divided loyalties.


    ¡°How is your guilds view on people being part of more than one guild?¡± He asked, thinking he might as well try it. Mapping of the Catacombs had the highest of priorities.


    ¡°No guilds allow for dual membership, and from your tone you are well aware of that fact. Now what guild could you possibly be a part of already young one?¡± The elf replied, with a look of incredulity on his face.


    ¡°Well I¡¯m a novice mage of the Mage Guild. But I really do need to learn cartography, are you¡­¡± He didn¡¯t get any farther before he noticed the shock on the elf¡¯s face.


    Hurriedly the elf spoke:


    ¡°I am truly sorry if I have offended you young sir. Had I but realized I would not have been so impolite.¡± The elf said, his tone honest and contrite.


    Durabo was more than a little surprised by the development, he had not realized the impact it would have to be a part of the Guild. Yet if he had considered it for more than a moment, then how could it not have that sort of impact? Mages are the nobility of the Eislonien realm it is from them that the council is chosen and all top positions is also occupied by these learned men or variants of them. As a direct result of this, even a lowly novice like him, is about the same as a noble born in any of the human kingdoms. This led him to conclude something, the power of classes in Nexus doesn¡¯t rest solely in their abilities.


    ¡°No offence taken, I did not declare myself seeing as I¡¯m still new to the title of mage.¡± He smiled showing the elf that no harm had been done. This was going to take some getting used to. ¡°Are there anyway I can convince you to teach me cartography, it¡¯s quite vital to my future endeavors I assure you.¡±


    Now the elf looked surprised, seems the shock of the title had made him forget Durabo¡¯s original request.


    ¡°Of course I will teach you sir, and I would not even think of charging you for it.¡± A glimmer of the old glint entered his eyes. ¡°All I hope for is that you remember my guilds assistance.¡±


    ¡°Well I¡¯ll be sure to do just that,¡± he flashed a smile,¡± if you also provide me with the tools necessary to use the skill.¡±


    The Wood Elf took one look at him, and then smiled from ear to ear. Seems they had an understanding.


    Durabo having realized that this place could use an ally had bartered his recommendation of them for materials. Now that might seem greedy to you, but he would mention the Adventurer¡¯s Guild when reporting the quest after it¡¯s successful completion.


    It took about an hour to learn the skill, well in truth it took about ten minutes to learn map making, but without being aware of it he had requested the upgraded version cartography. The difference lies in the tools, map making is but the ability to draw an accurate map from data given. Cartography is the ability to gather this data using various tools, and use it to make a myriad of different maps a much more advanced and expansive form of map making. Glad that his habit of using fancy words had actually proved beneficial he headed towards the market district. The next order of business was procurement of various supplies.


    It took him two hours to get all that he wanted for the amount of money he had, it would never have been possible if he hadn¡¯t used his title when bargaining with the shopkeepers. When he returned to the library it was with a lot of different items, ranging from preserved food to medical supplies in the form of bandages and salves. Nothing extreme like potions of course, they were way too expensive to be even considered an option.


    Durabo entered the Catacombs a different man. Gone was the hunger and wrath of all consuming Fire. Now the halls and passages of the Catacombs will sing to the sound of all the Elements.


    He barely got out of the hall that the ladder led down to before five of the goblinoid looking Black Bloods appeared at the end of the hallway probably attracted to the Light from his manifestation skill. Clearly someone was aware of the minor massacre he had caused last time, and had increased the patrol size. Yet they shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Thirty meters between him and their iron blades.


    Hands moving like flowing water and the sound of runes on his tongue, he quickly made a sphere of water appear. It zipped across the space separating them and splashed to the floor a few meters in front of the most eager of the Bloods. At the sight the forerunner sped up even further and just as his feet was about to get onto the dry floor again a fireball hit him. In the eyes. Why did he go for the eyes you ask? Well two reasons, one it¡¯s hard to hurt someone when blind. Second, it¡¯s really hard to hurt someone when your head is stopped, but your feet is still moving resulting in you falling on your ass.


    The other four Bloods, clearly hadn¡¯t understood the physics of it all for they kept going, and he kept shooting. Three of them got downed that way and lay writhing on the floor in agony. One got past the wet floor and came closer at an alarming pace.


    No worries, with another chant and series of sigils Air flew from his hands and pushed on it¡¯s leg just as it took another running step making it fall flat on it¡¯s face. He finished that one of with a fireball to the back of the head. The other four he killed by materializing a rock wall above them and letting it fall. Gravity is a wonderful thing.


    Something worried him though. He clearly recalled killing small Bloods like these with a single fireball on his rampage, yet these had all taken two hits to kill. That indicated they were stronger than the ones he killed before. Now monsters in Nexus like Black Bloods do not have classes. Instead they have evolution, the concern here was that the first evolution of these should happen at level ten. They should not have the health nor resistance to withstand his magic at that level. He would have to examine them to see if he could find out what had caused this. Well four of them was not really in a shape to be examined so the last one would have to do.


    Turning the body over the first thing he noticed was that it wore clothes of a higher quality than he would have presumed. Not high enough to make it worth looting the ill smelling cloth but close. Unfortunately he could not see any item on the creature that could grant it skills or abilities to mitigate magic. Too bad, it would probably have made all this worthwhile, well more worthwhile than the quest alone. Nothing for it but to keep exploring and killing, this place would have to give up it¡¯s secrets eventually. So thinking he got going again, things to do, monsters to kill.


    Durabo started going through the place quite a bit more methodically than he did the first time around. He took it one room at a time, killed anything in his path and slowly but surely mapped the place as he moved along. No dramatics no fanfare, just simple and efficient work.


    After every battle he would meditate to go over the details of it and if he found it necessary he would tweak his spells or make new ones. He would at the very least spend ten minutes after every battle in that way. Mainly because if there was a way to increase regeneration it would most likely be through meditation, besides it was good stat training.


    Of course he didn¡¯t do this out in the hallways, he would instead retreat to the nearest room and wall it of with Earth magic. The same tactic he used when he had to log off.


    The only reason he could do it this way is because all spells had a decay rate depending on the element and the specifics of the chant. When the time is up the elemental energy reverts to mana, the same happens if the person who cast it dies or wills it to. He therefore would be able to dismantle the wall of rock at will, but the enemy would have to break it to enter.


    He spent fourteen days just mapping the first floor of this dungeon that¡¯s how massive the Catacombs are. His tactics evolving after nearly every fight in order to correct faults or weaknesses in them. His stats rose to new heights his use of magic became more sophisticated. He even begun to understand the Serenity stat and how to train it. Everything seemed to be just peachy. Or at least he thought so until he met this bastard.


    In front of a doorway stood a Black Blood like no other he had seen before. Tall and slim, surrounded by what Durabo had dubbed goblins. What made him so different? One word, finesse.


    Not only was he a able to command the others with astounding cunning, he was also stepping in and attacking every time Durabo showed an opening making the fight against the ten goblins that should¡¯ve have been a cakewalk a friggin nightmare.


    Dodging yet another rapier thrust from the odd Black Blood he kept his hands moving and his chant flowing, sending yet another fireball against a goblin. Thankfully killing it, nine and a bastard to go.


    Why haven¡¯t they mobbed him yet you ask?


    Anticipating a situation where he getting mobbed was a possibility he had designed an earth spell to counter that situation. It was a simple wall across the hallway big enough to make it impossible for more than one to come at him at a time. The problem was that he had to split his focus between the current goblin in the opening and the bastard with his mile long rapier thrusts. Another chant complete and yet another goblin dead. Eight goblins and a bastard to go.


    The true threat in this fight was the bastard, the others he would be able to kill without too much trouble given time. He would have been dead already if the swordsmen was willing to risk death in a rush against him, but he was playing it smart. Letting the goblins wear him down, probably hoping he would run out of mana before it ran out of goblins.


    Now there was only two goblins left, time to enact the plan. Instead of pushing the one behind the first back with Air magic he let it come too dodging the blades of them both instead. Slowly he herded them up against the wall, taking stupid chances and dodging their blades by the barest of margins to do so. When they finally were caught in the corner he quickly fired off two fireballs killing them both for half the mana he had used till now.


    Durabo took a deep breath, now only the bastard was left. And the swordsmen looking rather pleased with himself strode through the opening and stood en garde. Almost as if he wanted a fair duel.


    Durabo slowly took a similar pose and then a smirk appeared on his face.


    ¡°Thank you for falling for it.¡°


    Fast as greased lightning a fireball appeared. The Swordsmen tried to dodge, but couldn¡¯t as he had no space to do so standing besides his wall and all. The fireball hit him in the eyes momentarily blinding him. Dodging the wildly swinging rapier Durabo fired yet another fireball spell, this time at his hand, disarming the swordsman. Fireball after fireball then rained down on the poor creature as Durabo used some of his abundant mana to finish it off.


    Durabo studied the creature after having killed it, and something in the back of his mind told him something was off, the same as his passive did. He just couldn¡¯t pin down what it was yet.


    For once he actually had something worth looting. The rapier appeared to be of passable quality as did the dagger meant for the off hand of the one wielding it. So he put them in his inventory before rising to study what the creature had guarded. A doorway with a set of stone stairs leading down. Dammit he knew it couldn¡¯t be as easy as just this floor. Just had to be more now didn¡¯t there.


    Low on supplies and the company of others after having spent a fortnight down in the dark he decided to head back up and get some more provisions, it would be nice to see the girls again also. Down here in the dark the only thing that enabled him to even remotely guess what time it is was by using his last log on time as a reference. So when he after an hour of jogging through dark hallways and rooms came up the stairs in the library to the warm rays of the last bit of sun he wasn¡¯t in the least surprised by it.


    Now having a pretty good idea of where the girls would be he headed upstairs taking the steps two at a time. Before he opened the door to the kitchenette he slowed down and strode in casually. Seeing her sitting at the table, eating at the time they would eat was rather heartwarming. As she looked up he spoke:


    ¡°Missed me?¡± he said, with the usual smirk on his lips and barely hidden joy in his voice.


    Silendra carefully finished eating the piece of bread in her hand before answering.


    ¡°Clearly not as much as you missed us, judging by the sweat on your brow.¡± Silendra said, with a playful tone yet serene face.


    Well if she wanted to play he was game. In no way hurried he walked slowly over to the table and sat down in his usual chair.


    ¡°You know me well enough by now Silendra to know that sweat on my brow does not equate hurried.¡± He replied.


    A crooked smile appeared on her rose colored lips:


    ¡°I sincerely hope so at least.¡± Hint of forbidden thoughts in her blue eyes. ¡° Why are you back? Not that I am the least bit unhappy that you are.¡±


    Taking a moment to push certain not to be mentioned thoughts out of his head he collected himself in order to answer her question.


    ¡°Well I¡¯ve realized the depth of the Catacombs and need some more provisions in order to continues cleansing them.¡± He said an smirked. ¡° Besides I discovered to my dismay that I did indeed miss you girls company.¡±


    A slight blush tinged her cheeks as she replied, to Durabo¡¯s great surprise.


    ¡°It is a little late for you to go out buying provisions, but to your luck we have some in storage. ¡°She said still blushing.¡±I did anticipate you would need some eventually.¡±


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll just grab them from storage on my way down again.¡± He replied with a grateful smile while rising. ¡°Do tell Sylphie I said hi.¡±


    First order of business done, he could now get on with the last bit. Durabo headed downstairs once more, this time to the spell training circle. He had realized that the reliance on manifestation of Light as a light source was inefficient and carried risks, so he would therefore  attempt to design a light spell.


    Sitting down on the hard stone floor he assumed the lotus position as he always did while meditating. He focused on his breathing trying to find the zone within himself that allowed for the designing of spells. Due to the fact he meditated a lot nowadays it took him no more than a moment. The challenge now would be to find a chant that actually works. Since he had no tomes to guide him in this he was traversing completely new ground, metaphorically speaking.


    So in order to speed up the process he would use a simple sphere as the basis, the same sphere as he used for the fireball thereby making that part of the process quite a bit easier.


    Now for the chant he would need light that illuminates and reveals things, almost the complete opposite of the light Sylphie uses. Wait a minute, that concept is actually pretty good, for the type of mana needed, all he needs now is something to increase the density of it thereby making it last longer. Philosophizing for a moment more he decides on some concepts and connects them with words in rune tongue.  The final concept? Medium sphere worth of illuminating sunlight simple right? Gently he connected the concept and mental image.


    Opening his eyes he found a sphere of light in front of him lighting up the whole room in gentle light. Seems like the concept was more than good enough for his purposes. Well two Windows did crowd his vision to confirm his success.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Spell Recorded:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Your grimoire has recorded a spell.


    Would you like to name it?</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Yes</td><td colspan=''2''>No</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Yes¡¯ he thought, thrilled with his entirely self made spell. ¡®illuminating medium sphere.¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Due to actions taken or done you have gained skill experience and stat points</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">+5% Affinity: Light


    + 10% Grimoire Experience</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Unfortunately the meditation skill and the stats from it had dwindled with time until he now needed to spend hours meditating to receive any visible rewards, yet he still faithfully meditated as much as possible. A little is always better than nothing.


    Durabo derived a great sense of pride from the fact he was able to design a Light spell so quickly. It might be the simplest in the world, and it only lasted for five minutes until needing to be recast, but it was still something he had accomplished by his own merits.


    Once more he headed down into the darkness, this time while casting a light sphere every twenty meters to light his way and make the spell into muscle memory. He had not yet learned how to make spells that follows the caster else he would have made it do that but his was plenty, it didn¡¯t put nearly as great a strain on his mana pool as manifestation did.


    Although he had been gone from the Catacombs no more than a couple of hours he was wary he still didn¡¯t know where all the Black Bloods were coming from. So it took more than two hours to reach the stairway to the second floor.


    The stair were carved from bedrock like the rest of the first floor, but when he sat food on pure uncarved rock after hundreds of steps down he was more than a little surprised. A few words and sigils later his new spell lit up his surroundings.


    He was in a giant cave in the bowels of the earth. Here nothing was carved, nor worked. Instead it all looked like some created in the times of the Celestial Serpents. Massive Stalactites hang from the darkness above and enormous stalagmites rose upwards from the ground reaching for their kin above. Truly a magnificent sight.


    Slowly he walked among the great shapes, reverent. He would have to map this place, and it would be a nightmare to do so, but for the moment he had to secure the cave and make certain nothing in it were trying to kill him.


    In the end it took him half an hour to cleanse the cave of all the evolved goblinoid Black Bloods in it. It wasn¡¯t that hard though. The evolved Black Bloods looked not unsurprisingly a lot like orcs. Just grey skinned instead, which led him to believe that here might be some sort of relation between the two races.


    While mapping the cave he found a small tunnel that led to yet another cave, so it would appear that this floor consisted of a series of caves connected with tunnels, this would require him to evaluate his current mode of combat, but it did seem like fun. Besides this was clearly not a part of the Catacombs, yet he had not received a notice the quest was complete. Something was definitely off about this whole thing.


    Just as he thought like, as if something enjoyed the irony one of the weird Black bloods appeared from the shadows. This one like the other carried a rapier and a smirk on its face like it had already won. Damn he was getting tired of these smug bastards. He began a chant while doing sigils as quickly as he could, hoping to catch the Black Blood of guard.  It didn¡¯t work. Just he was about to complete his spell the Black Blood spoke, a single word and his mind was consumed by it.


    Fear. Mind numbing fear.


    He felt the dread of the rabbit before the fox. The complete and utter acknowledgement of his impending doom weighing down his limbs. Like a deer caught in the headlights he stood still hoping against all reason that he wouldn¡¯t be noticed. Slowly death approached him a gleaming piece of iron in its hand. Death¡¯s eyes promised the coming of his end. Then like a ray of light a thought rose to the front of his fear addled mind.


    ¡®That is not death.¡¯ At the thought he wrenched his eyes away. ¡®I will not bow down to anything!¡¯


    Slowly he started to rise, through a titanic effort he forced himself to move. Now death, no the Black Blood was mere meters from him and he could feel the terror rising in him again, making his heart beat like a drum in his ear. Knowing he had little energy to resist left, within himself he looked the monster in its eyes and thought:


    ¡®Manifestation: Fire¡¯ And Fire answered him like it never had before. Heat flashed in front of him and he could feel his own skin melting, yet he kept the fire going. If he was to die here, he would make sure that he did not die like a sleep for the slaughter.


    He saw the face of the thing before him change in the moment before he blacked out. His mind no longer able to handle the pain.


    When he came to he was in excruciating pain. So he quickly boxed his body in with Earth magic and logged off.


    *******


    The lid of the capsule opened and Sebastian rushed out to his bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. Slowly his hands rose to his face, touching the stubble on his cheek, assuring him of what his eyes told him. He was unburned and unhurt. He sank to the floor, taking deep breaths to slow his labored breathing.


    He knew that Dragon studio had made a program to monitor your mental health. Making sure you couldn¡¯t experience anything in their game you couldn¡¯t handle. Yet he hadn''t realized what that actually meant until now.


    If they know what you can handle, they can take you right to the limit.


    <hr />


    Status Window:


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name:</td><td width="25%">Durabo</td><td width="25%">Gender:</td><td width="25%">Male</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level:</td><td width="25%">13</td><td width="25%">Experience:</td><td width="25%">43%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Job:</td><td width="25%">None</td><td width="25%">Race:</td><td width="25%">High Elf</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Combat Class:</td><td width="25%">Mage</td><td width="25%">Support Class:</td><td width="25%">None</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Titles:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Novice Eislonien Mage</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Expendable Stats:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">HP:</td><td width="25%">620</td><td width="25%">HP/s:</td><td width="25%">4,3</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">MP:</td><td width="25%">4494</td><td width="25%">MP/s:</td><td width="25%">5,25</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina:</td><td width="25%">620</td><td width="25%">STM/s:</td><td width="25%">8,6</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Satiety:</td><td width="25%">30k</td><td width="25%">SAT/s:</td><td width="25%">-1</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Basic Stats</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stat</td><td width="25%">Base</td><td width="25%">Bonus</td><td width="25%">Total</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Agility:</td><td width="25%">55</td><td width="25%">33</td><td width="25%">88</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Charisma:</td><td width="25%">43</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">43</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Endurance:</td><td width="25%">22</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">22</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Intelligence:</td><td width="25%">161</td><td width="25%">53</td><td width="25%">214</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Strength:</td><td width="25%">22</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">22</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Vitality:</td><td width="25%">62</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">62</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Wisdom:</td><td width="25%">85</td><td width="25%">20</td><td width="25%">105</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Advanced Stats:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Concentration:</td><td width="25%">163</td><td width="25%">Serenity:</td><td width="25%">17</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Willpower:</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Affinities:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Air:</td><td width="25%">21%</td><td width="25%">Earth:</td><td width="25%">22%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire:</td><td width="25%">24%</td><td width="25%">Light:</td><td width="25%">18%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Water:</td><td width="25%">23%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Skill Window:


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Skill List</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Combat Skills:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill name</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank</td><td width="25%">Skill Lvl</td><td width="25%">Skill EXP</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grimoire (Passive/Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">23</td><td width="25%">10%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Intuition (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">8</td><td width="25%">3%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mana Feed (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">5</td><td width="25%">23%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Air (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">7%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Earth (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">2</td><td width="25%">17%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Fire (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">86%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Light (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">21</td><td width="25%">58%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Water (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">43%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Air Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">23</td><td width="25%">7%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Chants (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">4</td><td width="25%">84%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Earth Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">24</td><td width="25%">59%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Fire Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">7</td><td width="25%">64%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Light Spells (passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">4</td><td width="25%">77%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Magic Staffs (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Sigils (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">4</td><td width="25%">87%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Wands (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Water Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">4</td><td width="25%">98%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Running (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">5</td><td width="25%">33%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Third Eye (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">2%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Support Skills:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill name</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank</td><td width="25%">Skill Lvl</td><td width="25%">Skill EXP</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Cartography:</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">7</td><td width="25%">13%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Charm (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">6</td><td width="25%">4%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Language: Rune Tongue (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">2</td><td width="25%">32%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Meditation (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">24</td><td width="25%">12%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Subconscious Note-taking (Passive):</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Writing (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">16</td><td width="25%">9%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <hr />


    Hi there fellow penguins :)


    So I forgot to ask last time so I will do so now instead. How did you guys like the reappearance of Sophia?


    On another note, damn those fight scenes are hard I hope they came out alright nevertheless though.


    Oh and this have been read through only once before being posted so do point any and all errors you find.


    As always enjoy and comment if you like. :D

 Chapter 5: Web of Lies

    Chapter 5: Web of Lies


    Durabo logged in and the first thing he did was feel a great sense of relief, he wasn¡¯t in the bed back at the library. The second thing he did was check himself to see if he was alright, he was and he looked around to ensure he stayed that way.


    He was surrounded by the brown glowing light of Earth mana. That wasn¡¯t too surprising, the fact he could see a slight tinge of the same color with a slightly different light coming from the floor was.


    He had been able to see the mana of his own spells type and density for a while now, but when he thought about it he hadn¡¯t seen anything from his surroundings before now. After a moment he realized what he was seeing, the glow of natural mana. He would have to study it further at another time, for now he had things to do. Such as reading the window crowding the left corner of his vision.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Due to actions taken or done you have gained a title, a skill, a stat, stat points and experience </td></tr><tr><td width="25%">+2 Serenity


    +5 Vitality


    +20 Endurance


    +5% Affinity: Fire


    +1% Resistance: Fire


    10% Experience


    Title gained: Firecaller


    Skill gained: Controlled Manifestation: Fire


    Stat gained: Willpower</td></tr></tbody></table>


    He quickly realized that what he had done proved to be very dangerous. Otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have gotten so many rewards out of it. Well there would of course be rewards for nearly burning yourself alive.


    ¡®Show title: Firecaller. Show stat: Willpower. Show skill: Controlled Manifestation: Fire (Active).¡¯ He thought.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Firecaller</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have survived a trial by Fire few others have done. All things affiliated with the Element of Fire will treat you with respect.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Effects:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Increased friendliness from all things affiliated with fire.


    10% Damage: Fire


    5% Resistance: Fire</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Willpower</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Rarity:</td><td colspan=''15''>Rare</td><td colspan=''15''>Type:</td><td colspan=''15''>Mental</td><td colspan=''15''>Rank:</td><td colspan=''15''>Advanced Stat</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>Description:</td><td colspan=''30''>Effects:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>Represents your determination and ability to resist


    outside influences on your mental state</td><td colspan=''30''>Able to resist Mind Magic and its effects.


    ?? Other effects will appear as you discover them.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Controlled Manifestation: Fire (Active):</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Rarity:</td><td colspan=''15''>Rare</td><td colspan=''15''>Rank:</td><td colspan=''15''>Novice</td><td colspan=''15''>Level:</td><td colspan=''15''>1 89%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>Description:</td><td colspan=''30''>Effects:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>You have mastered the art of manifesting Fire


    and have therefore been granted an evolved form of the skill.</td><td colspan=''30''>Mana cost of Fire spells reduced by 75%.


    Mana density of Fire spells increased by 300%.


    8% Fire spell creation speed.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Durabo just stared at the windows for a bit. Unable to truly comprehend the information they provided. When he had collected his thoughts, he started contemplating the meaning of this windfall.


    The title was indeed welcome and as long as he had fewer than five he wouldn¡¯t have to unequip it, that it was so powerful surprised him though.


    The second thing he truly noticed was the fact that willpower stat implied that he had been affected by Mind magic. The last was that skills clearly could evolve under the right conditions and if you get them to do so before they are mastered it will still result in you gaining all the benefits of mastering the previous skill. Quite handy, and a crucial bit of information.


    With a thought he dissolved all the Earth mana around him and rose. He searched for a bit until he found the corpse of the one who almost killed him. Time to figure out what was going on, and he had a hunch he wouldn¡¯t see what he saw yesterday. When he stood over the body it was quite evident that his hunch was right.


    The skull of the odd Black Blood no longer looked like an orcs, that in and off itself wasn¡¯t proof enough though, fire could easily warp bone. The fact that the remaining skin on the corpse wasn¡¯t grey anymore was. Instead it looked remarkably like the skin of elves. To sum it up, he had fought an elf using Mind magic and killed him. Just as he thought this a new window appeared.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Quest: Cleanse the Tombs of your Ancestors have changed.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Quest: Discover the secrets beneath the city:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Time Limit:</td><td colspan=''15''>None</td><td colspan=''15''>Rank:</td><td colspan=''15''>Racial</td><td colspan=''15''>Type:</td><td colspan=''15''>Research</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''90''>You have discovered that there are elves that fight alongside the Black Bloods in the catacombs beneath the city. Find out what their purpose is.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    After reading the two windows Durabo fell into deep thought. Clearly things were not as they appeared. But he had enough facts to deduce some of what was going on.


    Fact one, the knowledge of the catacombs have been erased from the Adventures Guild at the very least.


    Fact two, the odd Black Bloods are in truth elves disguised with Mind magic.


    Fact three, they appeared as Black Bloods even after their death.


    Conclusion? There are more than one user of Mind magic and one of them is more powerful than the one he had just killed. With a little genre savviness it¡¯s not hard to guess that the boss is a user of Mind magic and his purpose is to build a large enough force underground to topple Vetas. As if to confirm his deductions and guesses a window appeared once more.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Quest: Discover the secrets beneath the city have changed.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Quest: The rot beneath the city:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Time Limit:</td><td colspan=''15''>None</td><td colspan=''15''>Rank:</td><td colspan=''15''>Racial</td><td colspan=''15''>Type:</td><td colspan=''15''>Elimination</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''90''>You have correctly deduced what is going on in the Catacombs. Now it is your duty to make sure it doesn¡¯t happen. Eliminate the one behind the Black Bloods.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Pleased that he was correct, or at least correct enough to make the system change the quest he started planning how to do what it asked of him.


    As he saw it this boss presented two problems. One was the danger of his magic when face to face. The second was the fact that every creature down here would probably be fanatically loyal to him, if not directly controlled by him.


    To combat the first he would have to train his only way of resisting the magic, his willpower. He could do that by fighting the other elves down here using Mind magic.


    Dealing with the other problem would be a whole other ballgame.


    In order to ever have a chance of defeating the boss he would have to cut of the supply of creatures used to make loyal servants. It took him more than just a moment to realize he already had the perfect tool for that. Earth walls. He would simply have to make them last long enough so that he could cut off all entrances to this floor while he hunted down the creatures. Well they do say the best plans are the simple ones. Fight stuff and bar the doors are pretty basic tactics.


    Since a big part of what would determine the outcome of this rested on how long his Earth walls lasted he would have to do some research and find a way to make them last long enough. He suspected that the density of the mana had more than a little to do with it, as it was the deterioration of it that made the spells collapse with time.


    ¡®Show spell info: Medium Tall Earth Wall.¡±


    A big leather bound tome materialized before him and pages fluttered in it until it found the correct place.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Grimoire: Medium Tall Earth Wall </td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mana cost: 200 MP.


    Duration: 48 hours.


    Durability: 500.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Looking at the spell his hopes seems to have been dashed rather thoroughly. Seeing as he was not high enough in Earth Manifestation to get a lot of extra density.  Deciding that he shouldn¡¯t give up just yet he raised four walls around himself and topped it off with another before sitting down in the lotus position.


    Durabo had about a day online from he logged on before he needed to log off again. When he got the message he had five minutes until forced log off he had only managed to double the duration of his walls. Not ideal but if he sealed every cave as he went along and made sure to check them regularly it should be enough. As an upside the type of stone in them changed granting them almost four times the durability. Before logging off he went to the first cave sealed of the way up and did the same for the pathway to it before walling himself in once more, satisfied with the days work, if only barely.


    *******


    The lid of Sebastian¡¯s capsule popped open and he got out of it. Without looking at his wall mounted clock he knew what the time was. Eight o¡¯clock in the evening, time to head to the gym.


    For the last three months or so he had been playing Gateway, he had made sure to exercise every day. There was a lot of good reasons for doing so, but the main reason for him was the fact that even though he loved to read and study he would likely go insane if he didn¡¯t do something active at least once in awhile.


    After the heavy intellectual stuff of his Nexus life he would immerse himself in every form and style that Chris threw at him. Reveling in the pure joy of using his body and living in the now. Well as much as he could life in the now, that whole don¡¯t think at all part of eastern philosophy always went way over his head.


    When he got to the gym, he was surprised to see a new guy talking to Chris. Not by the fact a new guy was talking to Chris, no by the fact that this new face wore the orange robe of Buddhist monks and were in his mid thirties. Not exactly the standard of people coming to the gym. As soon as he entered the monk looked up and studied him with piercing black eyes.


    ¡°Hey Frost, you¡¯re right on time as usual.¡± Chris said when he saw the monk look up. ¡°I would like you to meet my friend Xia.¡±


    Sebastian walked over to the pair and offered his hand to the man. For some reason aware that this man was one you should treat with respect.


    ¡°A pleasure to meet you.¡± Sebastian said.


    Xia studied his hand for moment then shook it with a gentle but firm pressure.


    ¡°Likewise.¡± Xia said, then looked at Chris.¡±You certain of this?¡±


    Chris nodded somber unlike his usual boisterous self.


    ¡°Ok.¡± Xia said, then turned his piercing gaze on Sebastian yet again. ¡°Would you give me the honor of a sparring match? Of course after your warm up.¡±


    Took him but a split second to decide this could be more fun than he had in years. A boyish grin flickered on his face as he answered:


    ¡°Certainly, give me fifteen minutes and I¡¯ll be ready.¡± Sebastian replied.


    Fifteen minutes later Sebastian found himself facing Xia in the training ring. A deep bow traditional in almost all forms of stylized martial arts marked the beginning of their fight.


    Three meters separated them while they studied each other. Xia took an odd pose like those in old kung fu movies while Sebastian simply spread his legs made sure he had a stable center of mass and relaxed muscles. Perhaps due to his having trained mostly Jiu Jitsu for most of his life he had a tendency to let people come to him, reacting instead of initiating.


    With a flurry of quick jabs Xia went on the offensive. Sebastian started dodging, while parrying those he couldn¡¯t. Never trying to use force against force instead trying to redirect. While he dodged he also waited for an opportunity to grapple or throw Xia. He saw his chance when for a moment Xia advanced by moving his legs closer together while delivering a straight punch. stepping inside Xia¡¯s reach Sebastian grabbed the hand when it flew past him and moved in to do a shoulder throw. Except he found himself on the ground long before he ever got the chance to do more than that.


    Chris called the fight then and there, clearly whatever the purpose of this had been it was now fulfilled.


    ¡°You were right to call me Chris.¡± Xia reached down and helped Sebastian rise.¡± I have an offer for you, Sebastian, would you like to learn kung fu?¡±


    *******


    The first thing Durabo did when he logged back in was to meditate and experiment until he had made the most expensive fireball he could, without making the casting time to different. Might as well draw full benefits from his recent windfall. Then he dismissed the walls surrounding him.


    Now his exploration and extermination could proceed.


    With the boss fight always on his mind Durabo moved through the different caves and tunnels killing everything in his path and closing all exits. He also mapped the extensive tunnel and cave system while doing so. The first few caves were a piece of cake, his new fireball spell was powerful enough to kill the orc like Bloods with one hit and he didn¡¯t run into any more elves until he reached the fifth cave. The fifth cave had a fire mage and a contingent of about ten orcs. He quickly killed the orcs and found himself in his first true mage duel.


    Now to understand the true meaning of mage duel you need to forget what you know of magic from before. Mages had no way to just dismiss spells or reflect them, at least not at the level Durabo and the elf was at. No instead they had to carefully use spells to counteract the spell of the other a tricky sort of rock-paper-scissors. Well that was the norm, Durabo just used discs of earth to parry the other ones fireballs and then shot him with his own since the mage hadn¡¯t got any other spells and therefore couldn¡¯t parry. Truthfully in Nexus the best mage hunters were warriors or fighters with high affinities since the get a lot of resistance from them. Mage on mage on the other hand was dangerous business. Durabo on the other hand had already moved past the typical mages of Nexus by using all Elements as much as possible.


    For a little over fourteen days Durabo hunted orcs and novice mages in the big cave system, getting a massive amount of skill experience from them alongside leveling. It came at a price though, for more than once he got burned or otherwise hurt in duels with other mages. Apparently the first one he fought had been an idiot that only used one spell presumably relying on the orcs to keep opponents away from him. The other mages were not nearly as stupid, they used a lot of different shapes and types of their preferred Element thereby making fighting them a good deal more thrilling and dangerous.


    Yet the closest calls always were at the hands of Mind mages. If not for his intuition passive and the willpower stat he would never have survived. After a while though his willpower had reached a level that enabled him to shrug of the Mind magic without really noticing he did so, a good sign in his books.


    Another good sign was the fact that the only way up from this place was the way he had come, at least so far. Stupid beyond belief yet true. Well the boss might have a secondary way out at his place, but he had no way to handle that, so he would just have to hope it wasn¡¯t so.


    Just as he was about to conclude that his current growth had slowed considerably a new level to the dungeon appeared. Once more he moved deeper into the bowels of the earth, and what he found there was quite surprising. Beneath the level of the natural caves where enormous round tunnels with offshoots of slightly smaller tunnels leading to big caves. The surprise was the fact that the tunnels and caves seemed to have been made by a burrowing creature, yet what creature had the size of a modern tunnel boring machine?


    As if that wasn¡¯t enough to make the level a surprise the creatures moving around in the tunnel lead by Elves were no joke. The only thing showing they used to be Black Bloods was their skin color. Well the color of the little amount of skin they still showed. Massive beast three to four meters tall with iron hard soot grey scales covering most of their body and wickedly sharp claws the size of small swords. Yup they were a bitch to handle for Durabo. Not only by themselves but also because they usually had a mage or two to direct them.


    After a week down in those tunnels fighting those level thirty plus variant Black Bloods and mages he discovered where all the Bloods came from. Believe it or not they came from eggs. Grey eggs, in a pool of brackish water in one of the bigger caves he discovered. Guarded by no less than five of the huge monsters. What ticked Durabo off though was the fact that it proved his strategy until now had only been marginally successful if at all.


    As a result he had to spend another week hunting down all the spawn pools making sure that there wasn¡¯t a single egg left in them.


    Durabo found himself a month after having begun exploring the second floor looking at a map. No matter how he looked at it, there could only be one conclusion. The chamber at the end of this tunnel would be the boss chamber. Nowhere else he could hide and there were no more Black Bloods left. He had resigned himself to not knowing where the eggs came from after he had killed all the Bloods without encountering anything like a broodmother.


    Durabo could feel himself getting more and more tense as he walked down the tunnel towards the boss. Although the boss hadn¡¯t been a genius strategist as evidenced by the fact he had been able to do this sole, he had still anticipated this and made the Bloods procreate in the lowest levels while keeping the most evolved of them as guards.


    So when Durabo stepped in to the huge round cave that was the boss¡¯ room, he felt relief when he only saw one elf sitting on a big throne. That was until the boss rose and he saw the sword at his side. You remember the order of the Blackened Earth? Those guys had specific swords at their sides and the boss carried one of those blades. At the sight he concluded that this might just be a tad more difficult than he had predicted.


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    The boss didn¡¯t do or say anything and yet Durabo¡¯s perception of him shifted in an instant. Once more he found himself confronted by the terror of standing in deaths presence. Yet with a thought he sought shelter in the serene state of mind he had cultivated by using his serenity stat. Without even checking if the boss realized he had resisted, he fired of a fireball and followed it up with one after another hoping to overwhelm the boss before he got anywhere near him. Problem was that the boss dodged the fireballs like they were thrown by a child. The boss then drew his sword.


    ¡°Impressive, it¡¯s been some time since anybody resisted my will.¡± He swung the sword a single time as if to assure himself he still could. ¡° I will simply have to use cold steel to kill you, young mage.¡±


    Apparently not one for long monologues the boss then dashed at Durabo while swinging his sword. Durabo finished the spell he had been preparing while the swordsman talked before he got to him though. His biggest Earth wall appeared in front of the boss and he ran straight into it.


    Durabo ran towards the tunnels. This would require guerrilla tactics if he was to succeed.  As he ran he set up walls in the boss¡¯ path and then ran down a smaller tunnel to another cave here he quickly cast as many walls as he could making the cave into something akin to a maze. He then hid himself in the on one of the branches, waiting for his mana to return. He had almost depleted it with his walls.


    Twenty minutes later when his mana had regenerated and the boss still hadn¡¯t entered his trap he realized something. He would have to fight him to stop all of this and the boss knew it. So the boss felt no need to walk into this obvious death trap. Damn.


    Options, one retreat and come back prepared or with back up. Two take up the fight and see what happens, the price of death might be high but he could handle it. In the end he would wind up back at the library either way, so why not go out with a bang?


    With a thought all the walls disappeared as if they had never existed and Durabo found himself looking at the boss standing at the entrance sword in hand. So his guess was true after all.


    ¡°So you have decided to face me after all, brave.¡± The boss said as he walked towards the middle of the room. ¡°My name is Elandriel and I will have my revenge for your interference.¡±


    The boss was no more than five meters from him and as he saw his face it froze Durabo solid. Raven haired and blue eyed Eladriel was, with fine delicate features. Heat like nothing he had felt before flashed through his mind, and it took all his not insignificant willpower to keep from going berserk. A deep breath and his mind fled into the cold, calm and collected space of serenity.


    As if he had all the time in the world Durabo considered his knowledge of this boss. He was either of the black order or an initiate. He was skilled at mind magic. He was a spellsword. The conclusion was a simple one, in order to hit him he would have to be ready to take his hits at least in part. The bright part? He could not have that much health not strength judging by the power of his mind magic.


    Durabo took the initiative by firing yet another fireball and when Elandriel dodged it he moved in close, almost close enough to smell his breath. If magic wasn¡¯t feasible he would have to see how hand-to-hand worked out. Dodging Elandriel¡¯s downwards sword swing he grabbed the arm and threw him. Elandriel had not seen that coming.


    Following up on that success was tempting but he judged it to hazardous. In a blink Elandriel was on his feet again, his eyes storming and his whole presence wrathful.  Calmly Durabo shot him with a fireball only a meter away from him, Elandriel had no time to dodge and took it straight in the face, yet still kept coming.


    Durabo dodged, and then did a low sweeping kick tripping up the still blinded Elandriel. He fired off another fireball disarming Elandriel. Or trying to it didn¡¯t work. Calmly Durabo fired powerful after powerful fireballs at Elandriel''s head, until he no longer moved. For a boss that shouldn¡¯t even be that strong without magic he certainly proved difficult.


    When he turned over the corpse of Elandriel a big grey book lay beneath him. Durabo bend to pick it up and when his fingers touched the grey embossed leather a window appeared before him.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Class change possible:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Would you like to convert to the adept combat class Mindwalker?</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Yes</td><td colspan=''2''>No</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Durabo thought about it, but honestly any class advancement that meant giving up flexibility would not do, and from the fight earlier it was quite obvious that Elandriel only had access to Mind magic and basic swordsmanship.


    ¡®No.¡¯


    Pain seared a fiery path through his mind and he blacked out.


    When he came too there was a few windows in the upper left corner of his view.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Grimoire of Elandriel the Mindwalker has been absorbed by your skill Grimoire.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    A quick search through the recesses of Durabo¡¯s mind quickly revealed what had happened. He now had a wealth of information pertaining to the workings of Mind magic. Too bad there wasn¡¯t a single part of it explaining the sigils for it.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Due to actions taken or done you have gained a skill, skill experience, stat points and Experience</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">+1 Serenity


    +2 Intelligence


    +1 Wisdom


    5 Willpower


    16% Experience Running


    4% Experience Controlled Manifestation: Fire


    29% Experience Manifestation: Earth


    7% Fire Mastery


    9% Earth Mastery


    13% Chant Mastery


    15% Sigil Mastery


    247% Experience


    Skill gained: Mastery: Hand To Hand (Passive)</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Quest: The rot beneath the city complete</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Report to your guild for rewards and recognition.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Durabo studied the face of Elandriel for a moment. The he started what most would find to be the best part. Looting. Until now whenever Durabo found stuff worth looting in living quarters and the like he would only take food supplies leaving the rest behind so as not to weigh him down. Since all adversaries would perish at his hands anyway there was no reason to fear that the loot would disappear.


    From Elandriel he took his spell glove on his left hand, his tooled leather belt and scabbard, along with his hand-and-a-half sword of Blackened Earth. When he removed the spell glove though he discovered a small tattoo on his inner wrist. A stylized spider web. Durabo marked that little detail thinking it might become relevant in the future.


    It took him four days to get all the way back to the library. Mostly because he was weighed down and delayed by all the loot he collected on the way. Not all the caves where breeding grounds after all, some of them were barracks for the elves. Yet he still had to leave most of the junk loot behind, one of the weaknesses of a mage was after all their lack of carrying ability.


    As he went up the stairs from the basement in the library he was deep within the serene state of mind. Not willing to give an inch to the feelings that lurked just beneath the surface. To his luck, it was still opening hours so as he entered the first floor he was greeted by Silendra. Well luck might not be the right word.


    Her delicate and refined face framed by hair dark as night, didn¡¯t have her usual crooked smile. Her blue eyes didn¡¯t hold the same mischievous glint as they used to. No she knew what was up, confirming his suspicions. With an effort of will he pushed down the lurking chaos and said with a neutral voice:


    ¡°You used me.¡± No hint of blame, or anger. Simple calm words.


    A shadow of pain entered her eyes as she answered.


    ¡°It was necessary.¡± Deep sadness lay within those words as she spoke them, almost breaking his calm.


    She had from day one been able to affect him like few others. Might be because she was a Wraith, a Mind sorcerer, he wasn¡¯t certain that was the reason though. He needed to get away before she had a chance to affect his emotions anymore, he wasn¡¯t sure he could go through with this otherwise.


    ¡°Goodbye Silendra.¡± He said while looking her deep in the eyes, giving her the chance to know the storm within him.


    ¡°Dura¡­¡±


    He turned around and left. Not interested in her excuses and explanations. Actions will always speak louder than words. Her actions had said plenty.


    <hr />


    Status Window:


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name:</td><td width="25%">Durabo</td><td width="25%">Gender:</td><td width="25%">Male</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level:</td><td width="25%">34</td><td width="25%">Experience:</td><td width="25%">57%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Job:</td><td width="25%">None</td><td width="25%">Race:</td><td width="25%">High Elf</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Combat Class:</td><td width="25%">Mage</td><td width="25%">Support Class:</td><td width="25%">None</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Titles:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Firecaller, Novice Eislonien Mage</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Expendable Stats:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">HP:</td><td width="25%">1190</td><td width="25%">HP/s:</td><td width="25%">9,1</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">MP:</td><td width="25%">12289</td><td width="25%">MP/s:</td><td width="25%">6,05</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina:</td><td width="25%">1190</td><td width="25%">STM/s:</td><td width="25%">18,2</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Satiety:</td><td width="25%">30k</td><td width="25%">SAT/s:</td><td width="25%">-1</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Basic Stats</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stat</td><td width="25%">Base</td><td width="25%">Bonus</td><td width="25%">Total</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Agility:</td><td width="25%">63</td><td width="25%">45</td><td width="25%">108</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Charisma:</td><td width="25%">43</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">43</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Endurance:</td><td width="25%">63</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">63</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Intelligence:</td><td width="25%">353</td><td width="25%">65</td><td width="25%">418</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Strength:</td><td width="25%">25</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">25</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Vitality:</td><td width="25%">119</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">119</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Wisdom:</td><td width="25%">101</td><td width="25%">20</td><td width="25%">121</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Advanced Stats:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Concentration:</td><td width="25%">168</td><td width="25%">Serenity:</td><td width="25%">26</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Willpower:</td><td width="25%">74</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Affinities:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Air:</td><td width="25%">25%</td><td width="25%">Earth:</td><td width="25%">26%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire:</td><td width="25%">30%</td><td width="25%">Ice:</td><td width="25%">1%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Light:</td><td width="25%">25%</td><td width="25%">Lightning:</td><td width="25%">1%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mind:</td><td width="25%">31%</td><td width="25%">Nature:</td><td width="25%">1%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Water:</td><td width="25%">25%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Resistances:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Air:</td><td width="25%">5%</td><td width="25%">Earth:</td><td width="25%">5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire:</td><td width="25%">11%</td><td width="25%">Light:</td><td width="25%">5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mind:</td><td width="25%">5%</td><td width="25%">Water:</td><td width="25%">5%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Skill Window:


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Skill List</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Combat Skills:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill name</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank</td><td width="25%">Skill Lvl</td><td width="25%">Skill EXP</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Controlled Manifestation: Fire (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">6</td><td width="25%">4%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grimoire (Passive/Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">7</td><td width="25%">23%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Intuition (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">89%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mana Feed (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">12</td><td width="25%">26%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Air (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">6</td><td width="25%">49%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Earth (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">9</td><td width="25%">87%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Light (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">35%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Water (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">7</td><td width="25%">14%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Air Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">6</td><td width="25%">47%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Chants (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">10%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Earth Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">8</td><td width="25%">91%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Fire Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">12</td><td width="25%">7%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Hand To Hand (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">57%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Light Spells (passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">15</td><td width="25%">63%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Magic Staffs (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">8</td><td width="25%">7%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Sigils (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">6%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Wands (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">12</td><td width="25%">9%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Water Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">11</td><td width="25%">19%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Running (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">18</td><td width="25%">47%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Third Eye (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">9</td><td width="25%">62%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Support Skills:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill name</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank</td><td width="25%">Skill Lvl</td><td width="25%">Skill EXP</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Cartography (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">15</td><td width="25%">94%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Charm (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">6</td><td width="25%">4%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Language: Rune Tongue (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">2</td><td width="25%">62%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Meditation (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">6</td><td width="25%">99%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Subconscious Note-taking (Passive):</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Writing (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">18</td><td width="25%">36%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <hr />


    Hey there fellow penguins of our great empire :)


    So here is a new chapter for you guys. Hope that my boss battle wasn''t to boring since he was basically a wolf without teeth at the point where Durabo got to him.


    I have been contemplating whether I should organize all the different mastery skills in the same way that i have organized the manifestations. What do you guys think?


    Btw if you guys feel like doing a review or rating I would be much obliged ;)


    As always hope you enjoyed my story and comment if you feel like it :)

 Chapter 6: The reward for work well done

    Chapter 6: The reward for work well done


    Durabo could hear a sweet voice calling out to him, probably trying to apologize. A few words and some hand gestures and it wouldn¡¯t be a problem in the immediate future. A big rock wall at the only exit will do that for you. Ignoring the fact that his heart told him to let it down and hear her out he strode across the plaza. Slowly but surely letting his emotions be swallowed by the serene state of mind. No use dwelling on the past, no matter how tempting it was.


    He had always enjoyed the sun on his face every time he set foot outside the library, and this time it should have been no different since he had spent months deep within the earth. Yet he could barely feel the warmth of its touch on his face, as he strode across the plaza.


    When he entered the Guild house he was mildly surprised. There were a few young elves standing in line waiting for their turn to speak with Tenarian. Getting in line he wondered how the system would handle this whole quest business. From what he could hear the ones in front of him were all trying to become mages. Apparently it¡¯s something that happens once a month for the NPCs around here.


    It took no more than five minutes for it to become Durabo¡¯s turn. None of the hopeful youths in front of him had what it took.


    ¡°Oh hello young Durabo.¡±Tenarian said with a small smile. ¡°What can I do for you today?¡±


    Well he might have lost two friends today, but some people at least still knows his name.


    ¡°Hi Tenarian.¡° He said with a respectful voice. ¡°I have done a quest, and it seems I need to turn it in here.¡±


    Tenarian¡¯s brow furrowed at the end of Durabo¡¯s words.


    ¡°Hmm, show me the quest log and we shall see.¡± Tenarian replied.


    ¡®Show quest log: The rot beneath the city. Tenarian.¡¯ He thought.


    At first Tenarian looked calm enough, but after a few minutes he had finished and his face showed true surprise.


    ¡°I am sorry to say so, but the reception is closed for the day, please come back another time.¡± Tenarian said with a voice just loud enough to be heard by all in the room. ¡°Follow me young mage, we have things to discuss.¡±


    So saying he got up and left through a door to the left behind the desk. Hesitantly Durabo followed him. You know the feeling when you accidentally get behind the desk while shopping? That instant realization that you are at the wrong place. That¡¯s how Durabo felt when he stepped around the back of that reception desk.


    They went down a set of spiral stairs and then walked for fifty meters or so along a stone corridor before going up another spiral staircase. Silent but for the low sputtering sound of the torches on the walls.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">You have entered a Zone</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">All magic and mana based skills are disabled for everyone but members of the Mage Guild and the church of Arcania.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Wait a minute, I¡¯m in the tower?¡¯


    Durabo found himself in the great reception hall of The Tower. Tenarian walked with quick confident steps towards a small door across from where they came in. The simple wooden door had a stylized flame carved on it. Not really that odd considering where the were.


    Behind the door was a simple room with a round dark wooden table in the middle and seven chairs around it. Tenarian gestured for Durabo to take a seat before seating himself. Tenarian then cleared his throat.


    ¡°Now I have some questions, and things I would like to have explained.¡± Tenarian said, his face neutral and voice solemn.


    Glad for his mental training at this moment, Durabo answered unhurriedly.


    ¡°Ask away, whatever is mine to tell will be yours to know.¡± He said, a small smirk on his lips. Old habits are hard to kill apparently.


    ¡°Where did you learn of the existence of the Catacombs?¡±


    Durabo considered throwing her under the bus, but in the end she didn¡¯t deserve it. Besides the time with her had been nice.


    ¡°That¡¯s one of the things that isn¡¯t for me to say Tenarian.¡± Durabo answered, while looking Tenarian in the eye. He would never lie, but he will not get his whatever the hell she is in trouble either.


    Tenarian studied him for a moment, then something akin to respect entered them.


    ¡°Tell me what you did from the beginning of the quest til the end then.¡±


    Durabo took a moment to collect his thoughts, makings sure he didn¡¯t miss something.


    ¡°Well to begin with I simply killed the Bloods with magic trying to exterminate them per the objective of the first quest. While I mapped out the Catacombs, using a skill granted to me by the Adventurers Guild.


    It took me about a fortnight to map all of them after which I discovered a stairway guarded by what I at the time seemed to be a weird Black Blood.¡±


    Durabo shifted a little in his seat. Trying to get comfortable before continuing.


    ¡°I then returned to the surface and resupplied before heading down to the second floor. Thinking I might be down there for awhile.


    Not so long after that I was attacked by one of these weird Bloods using fear based Mind magic. I defeated the magic and killed it. In the process I got the stat willpower, which was enough for me to resist the enchantment all of the elves were under disguising them as Bloods.¡±


    While he talked Tenarian just studied him intently. Durabo was beginning to feel the pressure of his old knowing eyes on him.


    ¡°After getting the stat the quest changed to indicate I should figure out what was going on. I deduced that the leader of the elves was more than likely a Mind mage and the only reason for him to be here was to do harm to Vetas. The quest changed once more to indicate I was right.


    From there I started by closing off all ways to the surface in order to deprive him of his resources. Thinking that his greatest strength was probably in his ability to bend other to his will. For the same reason I made sure to battle Mind mages for longer while clearing the dungeon, so as to enable myself to resist his magic.


    By the time I got to him he had some sword skill but not much else and the fight was relatively easy.¡°


    Tenarian just looked at him for a moment a shadow of something in his eyes.


    ¡°That is almost exactly how the Codai says to handle the type of renegade we colloquially call army makers.¡± Tenarian said, mirth and respect intermingled in his tone.


    His eyes then turned serious. Durabo felt a sliver of fear, what if Mind magic made you a renegade?


    ¡°You know to much and have shown too much talent for me to let you go.¡± Tenarian took something out of his sleeve while saying so.


    A simple iron ring clinked to the table between the two of them. Durabo¡¯s interest having been piqued, took it and studied it. While it was made primarily from iron a small silver flame had been engraved on it. The same flame as was on the door.


    ¡°That there is the signet ring of an inquisitor.¡± Tenarian smiled a genuine smile here. ¡°It¡¯s your signet ring if you are willing to take the Oath and become a part of my order.¡±


    If there ever was a time to come clean, now was it.


    ¡°You¡¯re aware that I¡¯ve absorbed Elandriel¡¯s grimoire right?¡± Durabo asked, apprehensive.


    A big smile appeared on Tenarian¡¯s face as he answered:


    ¡°Yes, I am well aware of that fact young one.¡± A serious glint entered his eyes although the smile was still present.¡± I caution you to only use that magic when absolutely necessary.¡±


    ¡°What would be my responsibilities and duties if I joined? What is the purpose and goals of your order?¡± Durabo asked, since he figured he might as well consider the job offer carefully.


    ¡°Well as for the order, it has a divine edict to ensure that the Gift of Arcania is not misused, as well as make sure that all practitioners of the Black Arts are dealt with.¡± Tenarian said while a hard note entered his voice. ¡°Your responsibility would be to enforce that. As in you would hunt down renegades, people twisted by magic and powers they should not have used. ¡±


    After that Tenarian was silent. Indicating he was willing to let Durabo consider the whole becoming an inquisitor thing in peace. There were some pros in the job of an inquisitor. First and foremost the fact that he would more than likely encounter a lot of different types of magic, as well as gain favor with Arcania, goddess of the arcane. Not a bad deal. Problem was whether being an inquisitor would mean giving up his autonomy.


    ¡°Would I always be on missions or would I have the time to do other things besides being an inquisitor.¡± He asked and added with a small smile. ¡°If I¡¯ll be able to have some freedom in my everyday life I would be more than happy to join.¡±


    ¡°You are free to do what you will between missions, and most inquisitors have an assignment or two a year. ¡° Tenarian said. ¡°Of course that may prove to be different for you, we do not have as many mages in our ranks as we would like.¡°


    Well that didn¡¯t sound too bad in his opinion. Besides there is bound to be a lot of authority associated with being an inquisitor.


    ¡°Alright, what do I need to do to sign up?¡± Durabo asked, a boyish grin on his face and barely hidden mischief in his grey eyes.


    ¡°Follow me, I¡¯ll swear you in immediately.¡± Tenarian said while rising, then muttered beneath his breath.¡±Before she notices what I am doing.¡±


    Durabo rose as well and followed Tenarian through one of the doors in the room. It led to yet another staircase leading down into a big round chamber. In the middle of that chamber was an ornate brazier above which a silver flame burned.


    ¡°Put the ring on your right hand and put your hand in the flame.¡± Tenarian said while gesturing at the brazier. How come Tenarian was suddenly so gruff and curt?


    Durabo did as he was told, even though the thought of getting burned once more filled him with a quiet sort of dread. Hesitantly he put his hand inside the silver flame, and was delighted by the feeling of it. It didn¡¯t burn him, no it was like putting your hand in a warm liquid instead, rather nice in it¡¯s own way.


    Tenarian watched him put his hand in the flame and then nodded.


    ¡°Repeat after me Durabo.¡± Said Tenarian and made sure he had understood before he continued.


    ¡°I dedicate my life and my soul to Arcania ,the silver goddess, now and forever.¡± Tenarian intoned, voice heavy with meaning.


    ¡°I dedicate my life and my soul to Arcania ,the silver goddess, now and forever.¡± Durabo said, for once with no hint of a smile or mischief. That¡¯s one serious promise when you know the gods are real.


    ¡°I will revere her Gift and all righteous practitioners of it.¡± Tenarian once more intoned.


    ¡°I will revere her Gift and all righteous practitioners of it.¡± Said Durabo, now the Gift of magic was the whole reason he even played this game. How could he not revere it?


    ¡°I will not misuse her Gift, nor lead others to misuse it.¡± Tenarian said, his voice and inflection not changing one iota while speaking any of these sentences.


    ¡°I will not misuse her Gift, nor lead others to misuse it.¡± He said.


    ¡°I will not permit the misuse of her Gift, and I will hunt down those that do.¡± Tenarian said, a hint of something in his voice.


    ¡°I will not permit the misuse of her Gift, and I will hunt down those that do.¡± Durabo said, and as he did so the silver flame grew brighter and hotter.


    Tenarian looked a little pleased at that as he continued.


    ¡°I will always answer the Call no matter the price or peril.¡± Tenarian said, and as he did some hidden mirth appeared in his eyes.


    ¡°I will always answer the Call, no matter the price or peril.¡± The silver flame was now as hot as normal flames, yet his skin did not burn. Sadistic bastard.


    ¡°I will not let people know of my purpose, unless it serves my Oath.¡± Now the mirth had even crept into his voice.


    ¡°I will not let people know of my purpose, unless it serves my Oath.¡± The flame become even hotter and the color of it grew brighter, now it was almost incandescent. It took a great deal of willpower to keep his hand immobile.


    ¡°I hereby swear to always follow the tenets of the Oath.¡± Said Tenarian serious once more.


    ¡°I hereby swear to always follow the tenets of the Oath.¡± A flash of incandescent light and the silver flame returned to it previous pleasant temperature.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Job changed</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">You now have the job Silver Inquisitor. With all the responsibilities inherent in that position.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°You can take your hand out now.¡± Tenarian said, then smiled.¡± Welcome to the order of the Silver Flame¡±


    Durabo did just that, not willing to chance it. As he did so Tenarian handed him a small leather bound book. Where he got it from only the Silver Goddess may know.


    ¡°This is the Codai, I suggest you read it as fast as possible.¡± Tenarian said, then he looked like he realized something. ¡°Oh I nearly forgot in my haste. Would you please give me Elandriel¡¯s sword? Only initiates in the order of the Blackened Earth are allowed to carry those blades.¡±


    Durabo unbuckled his belt and handed the sword and scabbard over. Sorry to see it go, but truthfully it should probably not be in circulation anyway.


    ¡°Now I have a task for you, Durabo.¡± Tenarian said, and then a window appeared in front of Durabo.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Quest: Prove your worth :</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Time Limit:</td><td colspan=''15''>One month</td><td colspan=''15''>Rank:</td><td colspan=''15''>Job Quest</td><td colspan=''15''>Type:</td><td colspan=''15''>Elimination</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''90''>As a new inquisitor you have been tasked with the elimination of a Witch reported to be in the small hunting settlement of Fursreach two days north of Auril.


    You have been granted access to the Portal in order to ensure you arrive at Auril.


    When done you may take the Auril Portal back to Vetas.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    The quest was automatically accepted. So he just closed the window and looked at Tenarian. He contemplated whether to ask for a monetary reward for his catacombs quest, but thought if there was one it would already be in his hands. So instead he just said his goodbyes and headed out. While walking he inspected the only material gain he had gotten out of this deal, not that the immaterial gain was anywhere near bad.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Ring of the Silver Flame:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Rarity:</td><td colspan=''15''>Very Rare</td><td colspan=''15''>Type:</td><td colspan=''15''>Jewelry(Ring)</td><td colspan=''30''>Soulbound</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''90''>Description:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''90''>The ring that proves the wearer is an initiate member in the order of the Silver Flame. It has many magical properties, but the greatest is the fact that it grows for every deed done by the wearer in the name of the order and the Silver Goddess.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''30''>Stats:</td><td colspan=''30''>Restrictions</td><td colspan=''30''>Effects:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''30''>Durabilty: Infinite</td><td colspan=''30''>Job: Silver Inquisitor</td><td colspan=''30''>10 Willpower.


    Able to cast Farscry with the right ritual.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Durabo was pleasantly surprised by the ring. The Order had found a way to reward its members without having a need to return after every mission. Quite clever actually. How they had done was a question he would really like the answer to, but he doubted he would get it anytime soon. The Codai more than likely had the instructions on how to do the ritual, as far as he knew farscry was a specific ritual that connected two reflective sources so as to enable communication across great distances.


    When Durabo stepped outside the Tower, this time via the main entrance. The first thing he saw, was the tower like library. A pang of regret wormed its way into his otherwise calm and serene mind. Briefly the image of a crooked little smile and mischievous blue eyes set his heart to beating. He pushed that thought down hard, while his mind fled farther into the calm. He had things to do, places to be and no room for her in his life anymore.


    Now he had a lot of things to buy, as well as a lot of things to learn and in this world like any other that would cost him. So first thing that needed to be done was the selling of his hard earned loot. Since most of it was metals, candlesticks, swords and other metallic items he thought that selling it to a blacksmith might be the way to go.


    Finding a blacksmith or the blacksmith¡¯s section of a city proved to be rather easy. You just have to follow the big plumes of white smoke, smell of burning coal, and the sounds of metal beating against metal. In Vetas that means heading towards the north-east section of the city. Well truthfully the only reason this worked was because this after all was a fantasy world and therefore all the smithies had set up shop right next to each other.


    While he walked through the cobbled streets he saw a lot of players, this city was in a growth spurt as a starter city for some reason. Glad he wasn¡¯t the only one seeing its potential he studied the newbies trying to see whether there were more mages amongst them. Sadly the only robe wearing ones amongst them bore the circle and pentagram of the Arcanian church. So the rise in players might be because some site or other has declare that the clergymen of Arcania were powerful? Seems likely since they get some of the powers of a mage without needing to do near the same amount of work. Alongside the normal powers of healing of course. Thinking about it further they really did seem rather cheaty.


    Durabo did get an odd look or two from his fellow players though, but he didn¡¯t think it had anything to do with his class. Mainly because at the moment he was clothed in a rather ragged and bloodstained white robe after all. Not something you see every day since the ones wearing robes normally keep in the back and away from physical combat.


    When he got to the smithing district he found that there was four smithies, three owned by elves and one by of all things a dwarf. Now dwarves and elves aren¡¯t exactly enemies in Nexus, but they do have a certain amount of animosity mainly due to the fact dwarves find magic to be an abhorrent art, well arcane magic divine were something they liked just fine. The problem was that the dwarf smithy were the only one with a high chimney attached to it, indicating it had a blast furnace. No one will by the loot as it is, only someone willing to smelt it and re-purpose it would. Just as he was about to enter the smithy his passive tricked and he glanced over his shoulder, he spotted a small area in the air where there was a concentration of Light mana. Three guesses who is there, and the first two doesn¡¯t count.


    The smithy was an open one, almost no walls and only a red tiled roof. The dwarf inside was a short elderly one, although his bulging arm muscles attested to a life spent wielding hammer and tongs. When Durabo entered he was met with an intense stare from warm brown eyes above a very bushy grey beard.


    ¡°Good day to you sir.¡± Durabo said and flashed his most charming smile. ¡°Would I be correct in the assumption you smelt your own ingots?¡±


    The dwarf let out a large harumpf at his words and then said:


    ¡°Yes you would be, what¡¯s it to you?¡±


    ¡°Well I have a great deal of inferior iron weapons and cutlery made of all sorts of metal, and thought that a smith with a blast furnace might be interested in them.¡±


    The dwarf just studied him for a moment, seeming to weigh something in his mind. What the scales ended up showing Durabo couldn¡¯t see.


    ¡°Hmm might be interested, depends on the price ye are asking though.¡± Bushy beard said.


    ¡°And the quality of the metals involved.¡±


    Figuring that pretty words and charm might not work on this fellow, Durabo concluded he might as well show the goods. He therefore emptied his inventory of all things except the canteen and cartography equipment. It turned out to be a one meter high at the top three meter diameter pile of assorted weapons and cutlery. The look of the dwarfs face, the little Durabo could see, was priceless.


    When the dwarf got over his shock though, he started sorting the weapons and cutlery. In less than five minutes he look up once more and said to Durabo:


    ¡°I¡¯ll give ya ten gold for the lot. Take it or leave it.¡±


    Durabo couldn¡¯t help but frown, that was a little low and to think he had taken months to accumulate these items.


    ¡°Hmm ten and a knife, and we have a deal.¡± Durabo said, he wasn¡¯t that greedy as long as he could afford what he needed he couldn¡¯t care less about money.


    The only reason he haggled for a knife was the fact it was a basic survival tool and it had been bugging him for awhile that he didn¡¯t have one.


    ¡°What would you be wanting a dagger for?¡± The dwarf asked, looking puzzled.


    ¡°I said I wanted a knife not a dagger.¡± He smiled, then said. ¡±And you know full well it isn¡¯t the same.¡±


    ¡°Well since ya know the difference I¡¯ll be inclined to give ya one.¡± A calculating glint appeared in the dwarfs eyes and his tone softened a bit. ¡°What purpose?¡±


    ¡°General utility, I can always acquire more specialized ones when I need them.¡± Durabo said, then added as an afterthought. ¡±Fulltang if possible.¡±


    ¡°Alright I¡¯ve got a few of those lying around.¡± The dwarf turned around and walked toward a chest standing against the only wall in the building. ¡°Give me a sec and I¡¯ll find one for ya, along wit¡¯ det gold.¡±


    He rustled around in the chest for a bit and then returned with ten coins and a sheathed seventeen centimeter knife. The handle was simple wood, but knifes don¡¯t need to be pretty, they need to be durable. Durabo took the coins put them in his inventory and then unsheathed the knife, ten centimeter blade with a nice thick blade, perfect. Before sheathing it again and then unbuckling his belt so he could place the sheath on it.


    ¡°Thank you, if I need anymore blades I¡¯ll be sure stop by. You have a nice day master smith.¡± Said Durabo with a satisfied smile and a small nod at the dwarf before leaving.


    The matter of funds taken care of it was now time to rectify his current appearance, for as Tenarian had told him as a member of the Guild he had to be presentable. Therefore the next stop would be a tailor. Durabo didn¡¯t know where to find a tailor so walked up to the nearest robe wearing player and asked:


    ¡°Excuse, you wouldn¡¯t happen to know where I could find a good tailor?¡± Durabo flashed the young pretty priestess a boyish grin. Making her blush a lovely shade of red. ¡°My robes seems to have fallen into disrepair.¡±


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    It took her a couple of seconds to collect her thoughts and answer, the giggling of her female warrior friend probably didn¡¯t help the matter:


    ¡°Well I have bought my robe at Nora¡¯s a hundred meters down the south street from the Tower.¡± She hesitated for a bit, but when she got her feet under her her voice was fast and firm.


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Another smile just for the hell of it. ¡° If she¡¯s good enough for you, she¡¯s good enough for me. You two girls have a nice day.¡± He said flashing a smile to both of the girls before leaving.


    With that he left, heading back towards the Tower. The chatter and giggling behind him causing a smirk to appear on his face.


    Nora¡¯s shop proved to be a well of tailor shop with two big window displays and three desk clerks. How he had managed to miss the shop on his many trips through the town was somewhat of a mystery to him though.


    The robes on display wasn¡¯t quite his type. He had decided to get two sets made. One for when he needed to look official and something warm to wear in the north. He had a hunch he might need to have pretty clothes considering he was something akin to a noble in this place.


    When he walked up to the closest clerk he was met with an unfriendly stare from the guy. That combined with the fact he was in beginner clothes probably meant he was a hired player trying to earn some money or clothes.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± The clerk said, his tone even more unfriendly. What was the deal with this man, no boy?


    ¡°I would like to speak with Nora if possible.¡± Durabo said, keeping calm and collected. This could be seen as an opportunity to train his serenity.


    ¡°Oh so you want to speak with her. Unless you plan to order custom pieces she doesn¡¯t receive customers. ¡°


    ¡°Then it¡¯s a good thing I intend to do so.¡± Durabo said showing a small smile. ¡°Now run and fetch her for me please.¡±


    OK so he hadn¡¯t been able to keep himself completely serene.


    The clerk just looked at him, something akin to envy on his face then stood up and walked behind the curtain separating the front of the shop from the work-space, presumably.  A moment later he returned with a tall elderly woman. Human and mid sixties if she was a day, with the calm collected no nonsense attitude of a professional.


    Her eyes pierced his as she said:


    ¡°What can I do for you sir?¡± her tone gruff yet polite. She seemed to have recognized the robe.


    The sir made the clerks eyes stand out in surprise, quite a satisfying sight.


    ¡°Well I would like to have this robe cleaned and mended. Besides that I need two new sets of clothes made, one for official capacity and one for cold weather and fights.¡± He said his tone all business. He got the sense that trying to charm this grey haired woman could only end in disaster.


    ¡°Follow me please we can talk details in my office. No need for you to stand out here sir.¡±


    He followed her behind the curtain and looked around the workshop with curiosity on his way to the office. Big rolls made of a myriad of cloth types and colors were laid out on shelves to one side. Work benches in front of those shelves containing all the tool of the trade. Two tailors were hard at work at those tables, one making a standard robe another making some really nice looking linen pants.


    They had barely gotten into her office before she closed the door and turned around.


    ¡°Now take those robes of young man, so I can save them before you abuse them anymore.¡° Her tone gruff yet still polite enough to not offend.


    Thinking he might as well get that part over with he did as he was told, although underneath the robe he had nothing but the skivvies all male players have on. The caves where warmer than you might think OK?


    Taking his clothes while clucking at its state, without even looking at him she started sewing up the gashes and tears in it with a small needle. Where the needle and thread came from he had no idea they just suddenly appeared in her hand as if by magic.


    The weird thing was that as she went over the robe and repaired it, the bloodstains and other spots also disappeared along with the closed tears. Durabo noted it as something to keep in mind.


    It took Nora no more than five minutes to turn a ragged piece of cloth into a pristine white robe once more.


    He was about to put the robe back on when Nora stopped him by speaking:


    ¡°Not yet, I need to take your measurements first.¡± Taking out a strip of cloth with numbers on it as well as a measuring stick.


    While she measured him she took a little more time than strictly necessary. Her eyes resting every once in awhile on his abs, arms or pecs. Flattered as he was it was still a tad bit creepy for him. When done she gave him a smirk then said:


    ¡°You sure do have some muscle for a mage boy.¡± Her tone teasing as she said so. ¡°Now explain to me what you need and I¡¯ll have my boys start immediately.¡±


    He put on the robe and then started explaining.


    First up the formal robe. He had decided to go with something akin to a Chinese hanfu robe. Big billowing sleeves, multiple layers of cloth and long enough to touch the ground. Primary color the same as his royal blue silk hair ties, accents done with silver colored thread and secondary color a dark grey. It  would probably cost him a fortune but since it was done in linen and not silk it should be affordable. Impossible to move properly in, but it would look incredible if he ever decided to do a big ritual of some sort.


    His other set would have to be considerably more efficient and comfortable since it would be something used for fighting and magecraft isn¡¯t anywhere near as static as people think. Inspired by the clothes his master Xia wore whenever he felt like doing the more complex techniques of the southern dragon style, Durabo hand decided to go with something called a tangzhuan jacket and loose pants. He was after all a mage and would have to look presentable even when fighting. The color would be a dark grey for the jacket and black for the pants with silver thread as accents. He would have gone with the same royal blue as before, but that would not look well after a few fights. He chose to have it made of high quality wool so as to make sure he could keep warm while in the north.


    Surprisingly Nora seemed to find his choices, and detailed explanations, to not be a bother, but rather something akin to a challenge. She did mention that some of the work she would have to do herself in order to assure it was done right.


    Nora even promised to have it done by the day after tomorrow morning if he paid five silvers extra bringing the total to ninety-five silvers. Since there was a day and a half between each of his play sessions this proved to be a good thing.


    When he asked to be taught how to maintain and repair the clothes, she actually suggested herself that he should learn tailoring since he seemed to have a knack for the design part of it. She didn¡¯t even charge him for the thirty minutes of teaching. Might have had something to do with the gratuitous amount of bodily contact while teaching though. That or the fact he bartered Elandriel¡¯s spell glove to her, since he had no use for it.


    Taking a deep breath as he left the store he was forced to admit that his instincts had been right, trying to charm Nora would spell disaster. Just not the way he thought it would.


    Now he had but three things to get done before he could get down to the business of mastering Mind magic. Buy some good boots from the leather-workers shop next door. Find the magic shop selling books pertaining to advanced magic and finding an inn to sleep in as well as to teach him cooking. The other skills he needed he would have to find teachers for when he got to Auril.


    He had thought ahead and asked Nora for directions to a good Magic shop as well as a decent inn. But first he would buy the boots because walking across town in the thin beginner shoes were not an attractive proposition when he had the option of not doing it.


    Anarian¡¯s leather goods were not quite as well of as Nora¡¯s shop was, there was only him there and he had only a single small window to advertise his wares. Yet Nora had assured him that it was because the old wood elf wanted it that way, since he would only make things for those that knew what quality was. It was also because of that she recommended him to Durabo, his preferences had become quite clear as he ordered the two sets of clothes from her.


    When Durabo walked into the shop, he was met by the complex and mildly unpleasant smell of a tannery. Telling him that the elf even did his own curing and treating of hides and pelts. This might prove to be a lucky break.


    Durabo sketched a small bow to the old elf sitting behind the desk stitching some leather together.


    ¡°Good day to you sir.¡± A small smile graced his lips as he said sir, he wasn''t certain that was the correct way to address your elders anymore. ¡°I would like to purchase some leather boots. Preferably boots made for cold weather and walking long distances.¡±


    The old elf stitched the row of stitches down one side of the piece before his warm old eyes looked up.


    ¡°Hmm well at least you know what you want.¡± His tone seemed not exactly gruff, maybe more stern than gruff. ¡°Give me a moment to finish this and I¡¯ll find you a pair.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Durabo replied and then something occurred to him. ¡°Don¡¯t you need to take measurements for the fitting?¡±


    ¡°Why would I do that? All items made for a given classification of humanoids automatically fits itself to their shape.¡±


    That old crone had actually conned him. Durabo couldn¡¯t help but shake his head and laugh.


    He ended up giving the old elf thirty silvers for a pair of winter boots. Not a bad deal when you consider the fact that leather always had been a luxury good, even in fantasy worlds.


    The rest of his errands took about an hour to do before he found himself walking up the stairs  of the Dancing Pixie towards his new room. His gold considerably diminished by the books he had bought. The room and teaching didn¡¯t even make a minor dent in his funds though, fifteen silvers the innkeeper was way too terrified of him to charge anymore.


    He could unfortunately not learn the identify skill because it was a class exclusive skill for enchanters, yet he was in no way dissatisfied. He had paid three gold 4 silvers for books about chants and concepts for all his basic elemental affinities(Earth,Air,Fire,Water) up till twenty-five percent. He had also gotten a book on the splitting of mana streams and the combining of elemental powers as well as the basics of Lightning and Ice. The truly marvelous thing though was the fact he wouldn¡¯t have to read them. They were designed so as to be absorbed by his grimoire.


    He opened the door took a quick glance around the room and the sighed heavily.


    ¡°So she sent you to talk to me?¡± Durabo said while placing all his good on the small writing desk placed in the corner of the room.


    A glimmer of light and Sylphie appeared as if from thin air, sitting atop the dresser besides the desk with her feet dangling over the edge.


    ¡°I think we might have taught you to well Durabo.¡± Sylphie said.


    Taught him to well, see that right there was another nail in the coffin of his trust for them, and she didn¡¯t even realize it.


    ¡°Well I¡¯m sad to hear that.¡± His face impassive, his tone inflectionless. ¡°What do I need to do to get you out of my hair?¡±


    If his barb had an effect on her it didn¡¯t show.


    ¡°Do we mean that little to you?¡± Her voice sounded both sad and hurt when she continued. ¡°That you can cut us out of your life so easily?¡±


    Durabo felt no need to ponder the question. They meant a lot to him, at least they had.


    ¡°You tell me, should be easy enough to figure out if you took a peek inside my head.¡±


    ¡°I am not able to do so and you know it.¡± Sylphie said, for some reason indignant at the thought.


    ¡°No, but your mistress is.¡± He said, and he couldn¡¯t keep his tone level anymore. ¡°As I¡¯m sure she has done.¡±


    Sylphie started shaking her head no and was just about to speak when her lips clamped shut. Well at least she was clever enough to figure out lying was a bad idea.


    ¡°Thought as much.¡± He opened the window and gestured. ¡°Now fly back to your mistress. I have no more time for mind games.¡±


    Sylphie face looked momentarily hurt, and the she got up.


    ¡°I will leave if that is what you wish Durabo.¡± She said as she headed to the window. ¡°I¡¯ll just leave you with one question before I go. If you know she can read minds, what was to stop the ones in the Catacombs from doing the same?¡±


    Sylphie then stepped out into the air gave him one more parting glance before flying away. Drawing Light around herself as she did.


    <hr />


    Status Window:


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name:</td><td width="25%">Durabo</td><td width="25%">Gender:</td><td width="25%">Male</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level:</td><td width="25%">34</td><td width="25%">Experience:</td><td width="25%">57%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Job:</td><td width="25%">Silver Inquisitor</td><td width="25%">Race:</td><td width="25%">High Elf</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Combat Class:</td><td width="25%">Mage</td><td width="25%">Support Class:</td><td width="25%">None</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Titles:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Firecaller, Novice Eislonien Mage</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Expendable Stats:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">HP:</td><td width="25%">1190</td><td width="25%">HP/s:</td><td width="25%">9,1</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">MP:</td><td width="25%">12289</td><td width="25%">MP/s:</td><td width="25%">6,05</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina:</td><td width="25%">1190</td><td width="25%">STM/s:</td><td width="25%">18,2</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Satiety:</td><td width="25%">30k</td><td width="25%">SAT/s:</td><td width="25%">-1</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Basic Stats</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stat</td><td width="25%">Base</td><td width="25%">Bonus</td><td width="25%">Total</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Agility:</td><td width="25%">63</td><td width="25%">45</td><td width="25%">108</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Charisma:</td><td width="25%">47</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">47</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Endurance:</td><td width="25%">63</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">63</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Intelligence:</td><td width="25%">353</td><td width="25%">65</td><td width="25%">418</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Strength:</td><td width="25%">25</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">25</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Vitality:</td><td width="25%">119</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">119</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Wisdom:</td><td width="25%">101</td><td width="25%">20</td><td width="25%">121</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Advanced Stats:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Concentration:</td><td width="25%">168</td><td width="25%">Serenity:</td><td width="25%">29</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Willpower:</td><td width="25%">84</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Affinities:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Air:</td><td width="25%">25%</td><td width="25%">Earth:</td><td width="25%">26%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire:</td><td width="25%">30%</td><td width="25%">Ice:</td><td width="25%">1%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Light:</td><td width="25%">25%</td><td width="25%">Lightning:</td><td width="25%">1%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mind:</td><td width="25%">31%</td><td width="25%">Nature:</td><td width="25%">1%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Water:</td><td width="25%">25%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Resistances:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Air:</td><td width="25%">5%</td><td width="25%">Earth:</td><td width="25%">5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire:</td><td width="25%">11%</td><td width="25%">Light:</td><td width="25%">5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mind:</td><td width="25%">5%</td><td width="25%">Water:</td><td width="25%">5%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Skill Window:


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Skill List</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Combat Skills:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill name</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank</td><td width="25%">Skill Lvl</td><td width="25%">Skill EXP</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Controlled Manifestation: Fire (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">6</td><td width="25%">4%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grimoire (Passive/Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">7</td><td width="25%">23%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Intuition (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">89%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mana Feed (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">12</td><td width="25%">26%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Air (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">6</td><td width="25%">49%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Earth (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">9</td><td width="25%">87%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Light (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">35%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Water (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">7</td><td width="25%">14%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Air Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">6</td><td width="25%">47%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Chants (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">10%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Earth Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">8</td><td width="25%">91%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Fire Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">12</td><td width="25%">7%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Hand To Hand (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">57%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Light Spells (passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">15</td><td width="25%">63%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Magic Staffs (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">8</td><td width="25%">7%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Sigils (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">6%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Wands (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">12</td><td width="25%">9%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Water Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">11</td><td width="25%">19%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Running (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">18</td><td width="25%">67%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Third Eye (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">9</td><td width="25%">65%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Support Skills:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill name</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank</td><td width="25%">Skill Lvl</td><td width="25%">Skill EXP</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Cartography (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">15</td><td width="25%">94%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Charm (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">7%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Cooking (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Language: Rune Tongue (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">2</td><td width="25%">62%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Meditation (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">6</td><td width="25%">99%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Subconscious Note-taking (Passive):</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Tailoring (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Writing (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">18</td><td width="25%">36%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <hr />


    Hi there penguins :P


    So I finished this early and thought I would give it to ya immediately. This is the longest chapter I''ve ever written and it doesn''t even have a fight scene in it. I do hope it isn''t to boring though, there was a lot of small things that had to be done for him to be ready to leave.


    What do you think of his new job?


    As always hope you enjoyed my story and do comment, rate or review if you feel like it. :D

 Chapter 7: Portal to the frozen north

    Chapter 7: Portal to the frozen north


    Durabo closed the window with a small sigh. The sun has just set and the gentle orange glow had reminded him of the many dinners they¡¯d had while he was in the library. Once more a small pang of pain wormed its way into his heart, and even though he sought refuge in the calm it still weighed on his mind. Well people do say that time heals all wounds, too bad they never mention that it actually takes a long time to do so. The worst part was in the end Sylphie¡¯s parting question. He regarded himself as a fair person, strict and harsh perhaps, but fair. Yet he hadn¡¯t even giving her a chance to say goodbye much less explain, normally that would be the most basic of courtesies, something everyone had a right to.


    Durabo walked over to the small desk and sat down, fiddling with the cover of the book at the top of the pile.


    Now instead of doing what he wanted to, which was to absorb all his new magic knowledge and start utilizing his Mind magic, he would instead have to try and see things from her point of view. He would not consider going anywhere near her until he had a better grasp of how much of what he feels for her was real and how much was magic, as well as had some way of ensuring that he could not be influenced by her anymore. Truthfully she would probably always be able to affect him in some way, shape or form but there is a difference between attraction and compulsion.


    So what would have happened had she been up front and honest with him and they read his mind? As far as he could see the primary reason not to tell him anything would be to keep her as far away from his readable surface thoughts as possible, making Elandriel, her family of some sort, unable to identify her as the instigator. But she was still the one that sent him down there in the end, clueless and in considerable danger.


    Could it somehow have been for his sake? Would him knowing have put him in even greater danger or something? It didn¡¯t seem likely, death is but a hindrance and the only other threat would then be Elandriel coming down and taking care of him at a much earlier point in time. Yet had he been informed he would have been better prepared.


    Durabo sat back in the chair pinching the bridge of his nose. No matter how much he thought about it, he wouldn¡¯t get any closer to an answer. Her actions simply hadn¡¯t been what he would regard as either logical or ethical. So the next order of business would be securing his mind so as to make it possible for him to speak with her without fear of her magic. For that he would need to assimilate and reorder the vast amount of knowledge he had gained pertaining to Mind magic from Elandriel. While he was at it, he might as well absorb all the books he had bought as well. They might after all contain some concept or theory that would enable him to actually start laying the groundwork for Mind spells.


    Unlike with Elandriel¡¯s grimoire that almost forced itself upon his unsuspecting mind, the books he had bought should be almost painless to absorb as well as up to your discretion when they would be absorbed. So he just reached out took the first book in the stack and thought:


    ¡®Absorb.¡¯


    Durabo¡¯s eyes crossed for a moment as he almost blacked out, painless was a very relative term it would seem. It was worth every bit of pain though, now he understood how to draw more than one stream of mana from his mana pool at once, as well as how to draw more than one type of mana at a time. None of it was helpful in regards to Mind magic so he moved on. For now the focus should be to make sure that his mind was his own, now and always.


    It was only when had nearly gone through the pile of painful books that he struck gold, and of all things it was the book on Water magic that did it. The problem he had with Mind magic was how to envision it since it didn¡¯t have a physical representation, and Mindwalkers apparently see Mind magic as colors, not shapes. Some of the advanced Water magic concerned mist and the sigils and concepts used for that might just be something that could be used for Mind magic as well. At least it was worth a shot.


    Durabo got up after having absorbed the last book, well after having recovered from absorbing the last book and sat down on the old worn wooden floor besides the bed. While settling in to the lotus position and readying himself for entering a meditative trance he enjoyed the soft by contrast to a cave feeling of the wooden floor beneath him. It took him longer than usual to reach the right place within himself despite his new and much more comfortable placement. His heart wasn¡¯t quite on the same page as his head with regards to his current course of action.


    When his five-minutes-to-forced-logoff alarm rang he had some basic Mind spells, but it was slow and tiring work to develop those few spells. His sense of accomplishment was enormous though.


    *******


    The lid of the capsule opened and Sebastian got out of it into his dark one room student apartment. Turned on the small wall mounted lamp and sat down at his desk, removed the loose sheets of paper atop his old school keyboard and booted up his PC. A few seconds later he was typing an email to the costumer service of Dragon Studios. There were almost certainly laws that regulated how much influence a game could have on your mind, and if he couldn¡¯t figure the limitation of Mind magic out through the game he would just have to do it this way. It took him no more than five minutes to compose and send the email then he was on his way out the door.


    Since he had been taken under the metaphorical wing of Xia he hadn¡¯t been going to the gym every day. Instead he would run ten kilometers and do muscle building and limbering exercises every other day and receive instruction in stances the other days. According to Xia he wasn¡¯t anywhere near fit enough to learn any techniques. Besides the fact that, it was usually something taught after the basics of the stances were ingrained in your muscle memory. As a result of this shift in his daily physical activities he had started to gain more leaner muscle, instead of the excessive amount of bulk he¡¯d had before.


    An hour and a half later he returned, having run his lap as well as doing some training at a nearby outdoors training facility. Checked his mail and found to his satisfaction that the customer service had already replied. The whole I think your game has messed with my mind thing is apparently something that elicits an immediate response from the ones managing it.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">To:</td><td colspan=''3''>Sebastian Frost [[email protected]</a>]</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">From:</td><td colspan=''3''>Dragon Studios customer service #247


    Greg.O¡¯loughlin @cs.nexus.com]</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Re:</td><td colspan=''3''>Mind magic and it¡¯s influence on players</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Mr. Frost normally we would not disclose limits nor possibilities of any aspect of Nexus since it is a great part of its charm, yet the case you have presented warrants a reply. Detailing all the ways Mind magic could influence a player would take an essay instead I will list for you the underlying limitations and be available for further consulting at this email should you need it.


    Mind magic can only influence a player in the moment so to speak. So emotions can only be manipulated while under Mind magic and will return to normal when not under that influence.


    The same goes for memories, it¡¯s possible to alter what memories are formed but once formed they are not something that can be altered.


    The most important rule is the fact that it can¡¯t be permanent changes. But what you notice and see can be changed and thereby become a permanent false memory.


    There are other things as well, but judging from your game log I would guess you are able to deduce many of them.


    Best Regards and enjoy your stay in Nexus


    Greg O¡¯loughlin D-Studios customer service employee.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Sebastian shutdown the computer and stepped into his small white tiled bathroom. He took of his sweaty clothes put them in the small wicker basket to one side and stepped under his shower cranking the temperature up to almost scalding. For a moment he just enjoyed the feeling of the hot water and relaxed, then his mind strayed back to the subject most on his mind. Her.


    What had been a ploy to get some closure and or grips on the effects of Mind magic had proven to be a curse in disguise. While not all doubts as to the source of his feelings were allayed some of them had been put to rest. He could no longer doubt the fact that he was at least physically attracted to her, how much of his other deeper feeling were a result of her reading and manipulating him, couldn¡¯t be determined though. Even now he could feel the quickening of his pulse and other physical reactions just at the thought of her mischievous blue eyes, and crooked smile. Well he wasn¡¯t even certain that is her real appearance, and all in all Mind magic was something entirely to destructive for his tastes. Without even using it you can make someone doubt their very being.


    *******


    Durabo logged into Nexus and rose from the hay stuffed bed. Luckily he didn¡¯t actually sleep in this world, and this bed. Since it was midday on the second day after he had ordered his new clothes, they should be ready to be picked up by now. He therefore did a quick survey of the room, ensuring it was neat enough to be handed over since he wouldn¡¯t be returning to this room if the clothes were done.


    Last night he had tossed and turned in his bed, thoughts of meeting with her and talking things out tumbling through his mind. In the end he wound up sleeping too little and still not willing to talk to her, not sure of what he would say or do if he was confronted by her.


    Fate is a fickle thing and he had made a grievous mistake in assuming he would be the one to decide when they would next meet, for in front of Nora¡¯s stood a lithe figure, raven haired and unnoticed by the crowd. For a moment he considered just turning around and leaving. He could get the clothes another day was his rationale, no dire need to get them now. Except the second he spotted her she spotted him, those thrice damned blues eyes locking onto his.


    With the quick words of a chant and the arcane movements of some sigils he cast one of his new Mind spells. This one was actually meant for the talk he had thought would be at a much later point in time than now. A sort of mental bulwark that kept your mind your own or if it couldn¡¯t it would alert you to that fact. Six hours of hard work lay in that spell and he hadn¡¯t even invented it himself.


    As he cast the spell a look of sorrow and hurt passed across her face, fast as a bird in flight. How could she expect anything else from him?


    ¡°Could I have a moment of your time Durabo?¡± Silendra asked, her tone neutral and her face serious.


    Well he had concluded that he hadn¡¯t been the most courteous of humans when they parted ways and that she should have a chance to speak. That she was the one to decide when, was but a minor thing in the grand scheme of things.


    ¡°Well you might.¡± Durabo said and then his voice took on a hard edge.¡±But if I even catch a glimpse of Mind mana around you I will burn you to a crisp.¡±


    The words were for him not a threat, more of a warning and statement of how they could proceed if she wanted to.


    The momentary shock on her delicate face cut him more deeply than he would admit though.


    ¡°Would you be willing to go somewhere more private than in the middle of the street?¡± She asked, a hint of something at the edge of her tone he couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on.


    Even though they were at odds like this, the thought of somewhere private with her still caused his heart to beat faster. It could be risky, but truthfully she didn¡¯t have that big of a reason for contacting him anymore, he had served his purpose after all.


    ¡°What did you have in mind?¡±


    Briefly relieve made her face soften and the hint of a smile appeared on her face before it returned to being neutral.


    ¡°Theres a tavern down this street, they have booths.¡±She said and the hint of a smile played on her lips.¡± I was hoping that would be satisfactory.¡±


    ¡°Well alright.¡± He replied, having to stop himself from adding, since you asked, with a smirk. Damn those reflexes die hard.


    A few minutes later and they were sitting in a private room in the tavern she had suggested. Tension thick in the air while they studied each other from either side of the wooden table. The dark bottle of wine left unattended, as Durabo didn¡¯t feel a need to muddy his senses and she wouldn¡¯t drink unless she had company.


    He was forced to admit, at least to himself that he was just as attracted to her now without any outside influence as he had been when he first saw her. People talk about love at first sight and stuff like that, and in a sense they might be right, but like with many other things it¡¯s not as simple as that. Being lied to, used, and manipulated would be bad enough, add on top of that the fact she had invaded his mind at least once and there were no room left for anything like love. That was what he told himself fervently while he felt the weight of those damn eyes on his.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± He asked voice cold and distant, then added.¡±I¡¯ve done what you wanted me to, I¡¯ve hunted down Elandriel for you.¡±


    Durabo wasn¡¯t in the mood to go easy on her, the fair thing was to give her a chance to say her piece, that did not include making that easy for her.


    Silendra¡¯s eyes once more looked sorrowful as she collected herself before speaking.


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t want us to part like this.¡±She said, the added with a small sigh. ¡°Because you have barely been away and I already miss you.¡±


    Her words had an effect on him, of course they did, but he would not let it show on his face. Serene and peaceful his mind was, as he fled deeper into the calm away from the painful emotions.


    ¡°Had you asked for my help you would have gotten it, no questions asked.¡± He replied face impassive.¡±Yet you choose a different way.¡±


    He took a slow deep breath and then continued.


    ¡°Let me ask you a simple question.¡± His eyes bored into hers, searching for even a hint of deception or unease. ¡°Have you ever used Mind magic on me?¡±


    Her blue eyes answered his stare, much the same way he had answered hers the first time the saw each other.


    ¡°Yes.¡± She said, now no longer trying to hide the pain in her eyes.


    ¡°Then you tell me how I can trust a single thing I feel or think about you?¡± He said. ¡°For without trust there can be no friendship.¡±


    She looked troubled and when she spoke once more the regret in her voice was quite apparent.


    ¡°I can¡¯t. I have no way to show you that I have only read your mind once and never manipulated it. ¡° She replied, mournfully.


    ¡°Then I¡¯m afraid this is goodbye.¡± He showed her a small cold smile as he added. ¡°Thank you for our time together and the passive, I¡¯m sure it will be helpful.¡°


    Durabo sat there and looked her in the eyes, this time she would have her chance to say goodbye. Otherwise his guilt would force him to speak with her again.


    As if she knew what he was thinking, even without reading his mind, she stayed silent. Stalling for time while her incredible blue eyes searched his.


    ¡°I refuse to say goodbye Durabo.¡± Her face looked quite determined as she continued. ¡°I will find a way to regain the trust between us.¡±


    Well normally the thought of a cute girl like her saying stuff like that would make one happy, and in a sense it did make him happy. Trouble was the fact he doubted very much that she could do what she promised.


    Seeing as the things needed to be said had been said, he rose and walked around the oak table. He had now given her the closure all people deserve and a right to speak, his mind was at peace. Well as at peace it would likely be for some time.


    As Durabo left the private booth he got some leers from a couple of male players, wearing badly crafted plate armor. Luckily his mind was serene, Fire has a tendency to burn wooden things and his response to those guys would not have been gentle.


    When he entered Nora¡¯s he was greeted by the dour male player once more. Yet this time he was considerably more polite.


    ¡°Good day to you sir, how might I be of assistance?¡±


    Durabo couldn¡¯t help but grin a little, that kind of a-hundred-eighty degree personality changes isn¡¯t seen often.


    ¡°Well I¡¯ve ordered some clothes and were wondering whether they were finished yet?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. Nora is just putting the finishing touches on the robes.¡± He said, then gestured toward the door. ¡°If you want to, you can go back and see her now. It won''t take her long to finish it.¡±


    Doing just as the now polite clerk suggested he walked through the door and looked for Nora in the workshop. She was sitting at a big table in one corner of the room a huge piece of blue cloth in front of her while she slowly sew along one edge. She might be a creepy old crone, but her whole aura while working was that of a master artisan. Consumed by the work while even doing such a basic task.


    Behind her on a mannequin was his battle set, so while Nora finished her work he decided to examine it. The workmanship was exquisite, not a stitch out of place not a seem visible. Even with modern machines and techniques craftsmanship of this level costs a fortune. The jacket was a dark smoky grey and the knots running up the middle of it acting as buttons was a lighter silvery grey. High collared and formal looking. As he stood inspecting the clothes a couple of windows appeared before him.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Grey battle jacket of the mage:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Rarity:</td><td colspan=''15''>Uncommon</td><td colspan=''15''>Type:</td><td colspan=''15''>Cloth Armor(Chest)</td><td colspan=''30''>Unbound</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''90''>Description:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''90''>A dark grey woolen jacket made for the use of a mage in battle. Has increased range of movement and warmth. It is a part of a set.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''30''>Stats:</td><td colspan=''30''>Restrictions</td><td colspan=''30''>Effects:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''30''>Durability: 100/100


    Defense: 10


    Heat insulation: 20</td><td colspan=''30''>Class: Mage or variant


    Lvl 30


    100 Agility


    300 Intelligence


    100 Wisdom</td><td colspan=''30''>10 Agility


    30 Intelligence


    10 Wisdom


    3% Resistance: Fire


    3% Resistance: Ice


    Set Effect


    (Battle clothes of the mage):  10 Charisma</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Black battle trousers of the mage:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Rarity:</td><td colspan=''15''>Uncommon</td><td colspan=''15''>Type:</td><td colspan=''15''>Cloth Armor(Legs)</td><td colspan=''30''>Unbound</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''90''>Description:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''90''>A pair of dark woolen pants made for the use of a mage in battle. Loose fitting and comfortable to ensure a free range of movement. They are a part of a set.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''30''>Stats:</td><td colspan=''30''>Restrictions</td><td colspan=''30''>Effects:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''30''>Durability: 100/100


    Defense: 10


    Heat insulation: 20</td><td colspan=''30''>Class: Mage or variant


    Lvl 30


    100 Agility


    300 Intelligence


    100 Wisdom</td><td colspan=''30''>10 Agility


    30 Intelligence


    10 Wisdom


    2% Resistance: Fire


    2% Resistance: Ice


    Set Effect


    (Battle clothes of the mage):  10 Charisma</td></tr></tbody></table>


    The clothes seems to be above what he expected, even giving a small amount of resistance to Fire and Ice. Besides they looked cool as well, and that¡¯s an argument in and of itself isn¡¯t it. As he thought this he felt a hand on his shoulder and breath on his neck.


    ¡°So, do you like it?¡± Nora said, a hint of mirth in her voice.


    ¡°Yes I do, I think it¡¯s great.¡± He answered.


    ¡°Well want to try on the robe?¡± Nora asked, and gave him a suggestive look. Crazy old bird.


    ¡°Yeah, might as well check how well it fits.¡±


    Took him a whole five minutes just to get all the layers of the robe on, since it consisted of a pair of dark grey pants and a shirt as the inner layer. After that was the robe and in the end a broad dark grey piece of cloth was used to tie it together. But even when he only had on the shirt and pants, he could see her expertise. Even though the game supposedly adjusted it to your size automatically the fit of the shirt showed off his broad shoulders in a flattering way. She had even managed to show his build when the robe was one, quite a feat the amount of cloth taken into consideration. This had definitely been worth every copper.


    He took off the robe and put on the Battle set instead, before putting it away he inspected it, as he would like to know it¡¯s stats.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Blue robe of the mage:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Rarity:</td><td colspan=''15''>Uncommon</td><td colspan=''15''>Type:</td><td colspan=''15''>Cloth Armor</td><td colspan=''30''>Unbound</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''90''>Description:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''90''>A royal blue robe made to be used for important public things by a young up and coming mage.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''30''>Stats:</td><td colspan=''30''>Restrictions</td><td colspan=''30''>Effects:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''30''>Durability: 150/150


    Defense: 5</td><td colspan=''30''>Class: Mage or variant


    Lvl 30


    50 Charisma


    300 Intelligence


    100 Wisdom</td><td colspan=''30''>5 Charisma


    30 intelligence


    10 Wisdom


    Robe stat: 25 charisma</td></tr></tbody></table>


    It really wasn¡¯t too bad. Since robes fill the slots of both legs, and chest piece, they get a special stat slot that isn¡¯t under the same restrictions as the other stat slots. Which was also the reason why it was the most popular amongst mages and clerics, it enabled you to have way more of your main stat then any other piece of gear at the price of set bonuses and higher secondary stats. Well as with all cloth it had the downside of low defensive value as well.


    Now ready to go exploring in the north Durabo said his goodbyes and left Nora¡¯s heading towards the Tower. As he did so he got quite a few looks from players of both genders. Well the males seemed to think him weird for having used such an odd design of clothes instead of just using a robe, that or they were envious of the reaction from the female players. The females players on the other hand sent him small smiles every time he looked in their general direction, amongst other clearer signs of interest. It might be a tad odd his new style, but it was apparently not a style he couldn¡¯t bear judging by the reactions of his fellow players. Nora would¡¯ve told him if it was an atrocious style for him he was certain, well almost, she could let him wear it just for kicks, that crazy old bird.


    As he entered the Tower he was amazed by it¡¯s sheer size. The ground floor and entrance hall alone could fit the ground plan of a house with no difficulty whatsoever. After marveling at it for a while, now he had the time, he took the great stairway to the second floor and was stopped by an initiate of the black order standing guard at the top of it.


    ¡°Name and purpose please.¡± The initiate said.


    ¡°Durabo.¡± The initiate eyes kindled with interest as he said his name. ¡°I¡¯m here to use the portal to Auril, the reason is mine to know.¡±


    The guard looked him over, his eyes intent.


    ¡°You are the one that took down Elendriel are you not?¡±


    Durabo felt a small rush of anxiety break through his calm.


    ¡°Well done, there is a reason why we no longer employ Mindwalkers.¡± The guard said while giving him a clap on the shoulder. ¡°They were just too dangerous. Well done.¡±


    With that the initiate stood aside and let him pass. The second floor was the central point of the High Elven portal network, all portals connected to here and here only. There was a great staircase to one side leading up to the next floor guarded by two black initiates that looked pretty battle hardened, in the middle of the room was a great slightly raised wooden platform where it looked like most off duty members of the Blackened Earth sat drinking in moderation and enjoying each others company served by a bar keep and some serving girls from a small circular bar.  Really quite an ingenious way to secure a hub, there were three hundred or more well trained and highly feared spellswords present in the room at all times, making this room one of the most secure in the whole Eislonien realm.


    Along the wall of the room were painted doorways surrounded by a complex combination of runes and mana storing crystals. Each of these portals had a typical mage look alike standing besides them in white robes not unlike his own novice robe.


    As he stood there watching the room for a moment a contingent of a hundred blacks with a High magus at their front came down the stairs from above, and headed for the portal named Enclave of Hunters Moon. Curious Durabo headed over to the bar and asked the barkeep:


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? I thought the black order never left the Tower?¡±


    The barkeep looked him over seeming to judge him before he answered:


    ¡°That is mostly true young one, they have not left the Tower for almost fifty years.¡± The barkeeps face and voice then turned serious. ¡°But trouble is stirring in the territory of the Wood Elves and the council has decided to assist them by sending a High magus and his escort as a deterrent. Showing the Eternal Emperor that if he wants the territory he will have to face the full might of the Arch mages. ¡°


    Durabo thanked the barkeep, to distracted by this new development to give him anything but a cursory goodbye.


    This continent, ironically called the Sword Isle, wasn¡¯t the only continent in Nexus. There is at least one more continent, Ortus, a place of strife and conflict, home of the Golden Empire and its Eternal Emperor. Elves as a whole had a part of the Western continent as it¡¯s only foothold on the whole continent. Guarded by the Wood Elves as it lay deep within the World Forrest, and the loss of that foothold would be devastating on a lot of levels.


    As it had nothing to do with him, and he had a mission to take care of, he shook it out of his head and walked over to the portal marked Auril.


    ¡°Excuse me, could you open the portal to Auril please.¡± Durabo asked the young mage.


    The mages eyes looked him over from head to toe and then said:


    ¡°There is only one person who has been granted the right to use the portal for the moment, and I doubt you have the mana to pay for it yourself.¡± Then he turned around and started ignoring Durabo after having delivered this statement with a supremely arrogant tone.


    So the NPCs who actually manage to become mages are arrogant bastards, what a surprise. Durabo was certain he had the mana to pay for the transport, put since he had the right to use it for free he would rather do that. Instead of bickering with the fool, he stepped in front of him and showed him his simple iron ring, the side with the flame fully visible of course.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The young mage paled and a slight quivering of his hands indicated some degree of nervousness. Durabo remained silent, if he had something to say he could do so, otherwise he could just open the portal and let him through.


    The mage went with option number two. He muttered a low chant while placing his hands on two plates on the wall.


    Durabo could see a complex swirl of Fire and Air mana enter the gate runes, and as they reached the mana crystals pure silvery light flowed from them into another set of runes making the portal open. Looking through the portal he could see a plain stone walled room and a stone floor. The cold air from the other room brought a chill into the hall.


    While stepping through Durabo flashed the arrogant mage a smile, one that showed his incisors.


    The first thing he noticed as he strode into the room, was the cold. His body was warm and cozy but his hands, weren¡¯t. He had completely forgotten about gloves because the main part of all his time was spent in Nexus, and Vetas had a temperate climate. That was a problem he would have to solve. So he gave the mage standing on the other side a polite nod and left the bare room.


    Durabo found himself in a big courtyard surrounded by high grey quarried stone walls. Auril was an Elven outpost made to defend the Eislonien realms borders with the Northern Shifter Tribes. As such it was only common sense that the paraphernalia of armed conflict was all around the courtyard, as well as the people using it. Striding across the courtyard towards the gate and it¡¯s iron teeth he stopped and asked the nearest guard.


    ¡°Mind if I ask you a few things?¡±


    The guard looked him over and seemed to conclude something.


    ¡°Of course not sir.¡± He replied, and even though he said sir, there was no hint of respect in his voice.


    Durabo showed him a boyish grin and then said:


    ¡°I find myself in need of gloves, since I¡¯m a clutz and forgot all about them. ¡° He smiled then asked.¡±Could you tell me where I could get some?¡±


    The guard suddenly looked really tired. Well seems like this guy doesn¡¯t buy into the whole mages are nobles thing, that or he just don¡¯t like nobles.


    ¡°Yes sir, our quartermaster has some standard issue gloves you might find satisfactory.¡± The guard sighed. ¡°He is inside the keep when you enter, turn left and then three doors down on your right hand should be his office.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, now I just need to find someone willing to teach me basic tracking and survival techniques. Where might I find the resident scout?¡± Durabo asked.


    The guard face lit up with slight interest and his voice lost it¡¯s cold edge as he replied to the question.


    ¡°Our scoutmaster has just returned from a scouting trip,¡± the guard smirked,¡±and if she finds you worthy, she might teach you some of her skills young one. She is in the office right before the quartermaster¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Durabo gave the guard a slight nod and then left.


    In the quartermaster''s office he was met by a young girl clad in a flowing white dress and of all things big leather boots. Sitting on a carpet on the wooden floor in front of the desk in the small office.  As he entered the room she lifted her eyes from the doll she was playing with and looked at him with the most piercing hazel eyes Durabo has ever seen.


    ¡°Hi there,¡± Durabo said while smiling, ¡°do you know where the quartermaster is?¡±


    She just looked at him for a bit, and then pointed towards the door behind the desk. She did give him a small smile while she did so, her eyes sparkling.


    Durabo walked around the desk, and was just about to open the big oaken door, when it opened and an Elf stepped out almost bumping into him. The Elf looked at him shocked by his presence and then turned to the young girl.


    ¡°Valaia, why did you not tell me we had a guest?¡± The Elf asked, exasperation and irritation apparent in his tone.


    The girl¡¯s face blossomed into a beautiful smile.


    ¡°Because I thought it would be more fun if he surprised you.¡± Valaia said, her voice filled with barely contained laughter.


    A small sigh escaped the man as he sat down, while slowly shaking his head.


    ¡°I am sorry sir, non military personnel are not allowed beyond this point.¡± The Elf said and the corners of his eyes crinkled in mirth. ¡°And Valaia our dear tomboy is well aware of that fact.¡±


    ¡°No worries, the little rascal is welcome to her fun.¡± Durabo replied, the hints of a boyish grin on his face. ¡°I was just looking for you, so I could request some gloves. I will of course pay for them.¡±


    Before the Elf could answer Durabo felt a jab in his side.


    ¡°Hey, I am no rascal.¡± Valaia said, her voice high and pure.


    Durabo ruffled her hair as he answered her. She didn¡¯t seem to mind him doing so.


    ¡°Well, can we then agree that you¡¯re a trickster at least?¡± He asked, voice containing barely hidden mirth.


    Her eyes turned serious for a moment as she contemplated, then she nodded once and sat down to play with her doll again. He was apparently forgiven now.


    The Elf just waited until she was done with him before continuing.


    ¡°You can have a pair of gloves sir, and there is no need for coins to come into it.¡± The Elf said and then continued. ¡°We use so many of them, that a pair more or less will not make a difference.¡±


    He then went back through the door to what was supposedly the armory and returned with a pair of brown leather gloves. Not fancy or anything, pure workman''s gloves.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Durabo said then bowed down to ruffle Valaia''s hair once more before leaving. He got another one of those charming, beaming smiles as a reward.


    The office of the scoutmaster looked a bit different than the quartermasters, the room smelled of old leather and the walls were covered with the tools of the trade. Everything from bows and arrows, to traps and hunting knifes. There was no desk instead there was a work table in a corner where the makings of a new bear-trap lay in pieces waiting to be assembled.


    Sitting on a small stool, a female Wood Elf was running an oiled cloth along a tall unstrung wooden bow, with meticulous care. Unlike most Elves she had crow¡¯s feet at the corner of her hazel eyes, and the sun browned skin of someone spending most of their life outside.


    Durabo knocked on the door to announce his presence and then stepped in. Not that he thought it was necessary, he got the feeling she knew he was there before he even thought of knocking.


    ¡°Anything I can do for you mage?¡± She asked and as she did her tone was impassive, as if either way she wouldn¡¯t care.


    ¡°I was wondering whether you would be willing to teach me?¡± Durabo smiled trying to charm her before continuing.¡±I¡¯ve conclude that tracking and general survival skills might be beneficial for me to know.¡±


    He only noticed it now, but every time he talked to NPCs they gave him a once over much like the one she was giving him now, weighing and measuring him against something before answering him. What exactly they measured against he didn¡¯t know. Nexus didn¡¯t have fame or intimacy as in other games, mostly because Dragon studio felt that they are things too nebulous to quantify, so it couldn¡¯t be that. Well we judge people when we see them for the first time as well, might just be that he looks odd for a mage.


    ¡°Why would you like to learn that?¡± Her hazel eyes turned piercing. ¡°If you need trackers or scouts, you just have to ask the Tower and you would get them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, I more than likely would get what I asked for.¡± He said with a smirk. ¡°But I would much rather rely on my own skills.¡±


    Durabo didn¡¯t feel a need to point out the fact his job practically required him to be self sufficient, and able to hunt down other sentient beings.


    ¡°Well if you want to learn I will teach you.¡± She replied with something not unlike respect in her voice.


    After she said that she rose and put the bow in a cloth bag before taking some arrows from a box and putting them in her back quiver. Without saying another word she headed out the door, clearly expecting him to follow.


    She set a fast pace, and in no more than five minutes they were outside the keep and the small village that surrounded it.


    The keep had been meticulously cleared of snow, the moment they stepped outside it Durabo felt glad he had invested in some prober boots.


    When the got to the outskirts of the village, she turned around and asked him:


    ¡°Anywhere in particular you need to go?¡±


    Durabo considered not telling her, but he needed to get there and how much could she guess from his destination alone?


    ¡°I was thinking of heading to Fursreach and after that further north.¡± He replied.


    Her eyes widened at that and she started heading north-northeast. As they went along she pointed out tracks of snow hares and foxes , explained how you could see when they had been made, what direction they were going and what speed the creature making them likely had and other useful things. When the sun started to set we stopped and she showed how to make a fireplace, dig a cold grave, set up small strings with bells around the camp, surprisingly she was a very thorough teacher and by the time they turned in for the night he had learned some life saving skills.


    Durabo helped her set up a small but warm tent so they could sleep in comfort, well so she could, he would read the Codai and meditate instead. That was the price of dealing with NPCs, had he been alone he would just have continued on. Well he had a lot of magic knowledge to assimilate anyway, so it was by no means a big hindrance.


    Durabo was brought out of his trance like meditative state by a hand gripping his shoulder and squeezing once.


    ¡°Have you been awake the whole night?¡± Asked the Elven scoutmaster.


    Durabo opened his eyes and gave her a small smile, the whole flirting with the Elven females having become an ingrained habit by now. Well he did have a thing for the outdoors sporty types as well, so it wasn¡¯t that shocking he found her attractive.


    ¡°My kind can stay awake for a long time so I like to use the time constructively.¡± He replied, then added as if an afterthought. ¡°We do go to sleep in our own world though and when we do our minds leave this world for a day or two.¡±


    She sat down at the small square of rock he had raised by the cold fireside and looked at the rising sun.


    ¡°How do you keep yourself safe when gone?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I surround myself with Earth walls on all sides.¡± He replied.


    ¡°That would make you secure enough I suppose.¡± Mirth entered her eyes, and her voice lowered suggestively. ¡° Had I known that, we would have been doing something else last night.¡±


    After her words she rose and started back towards Auril. Leaving a confused Durabo in her wake.


    Shaking his head he quickly dismantled and raised new Earth walls around himself before the system forcefully logged him off.


    *******


    As Durabo logged in he found his body shivering, as well as subjected to the freezing status. Leaving your body in a big stone square does not protect you from the cold it would seem. He really should have thought about that before logging off. He dismantled a wall and then cast the spell he had designed to be used as a fireplace. While he sat by the fire anyway he got out some of the basic supplies he had and ate them, pondering how to keep himself from having to do this every time he logged in. The hard bread and even harder jerky left him parched, so he cast another spell to create a stone bowl and then filled it with Water by manifesting some in it.


    Durabo dispelled the rest of the walls and rose, time to get going. He consulted his compass and started jogging towards the north-east. While he was jogging he kept his eyes out for tracks, both for the skill experience but also because he wanted to hunt some animals. Until now all his opponents had been both humanoid and sentient, well he wasn¡¯t certain Bloods counted as sentient, yet they clearly didn¡¯t operate in the same way as beasts. For that reason he wanted to hunt beasts, well he would also like some pelts because they would help immensely with the current problem pertaining to his log out shelter.


    Four hours after he started out he found some tracks, wolf tracks no less, and he felt his blood boil at the thought of fighting them. Normal adult wolves were level thirty to level forty so they should give good experience. Besides that, they also had good pelts and as pack animals they were in a sense the perfect prey for him.


    The tracks were even relatively fresh, and looked like they had been made within the last half hour or so. Durabo started following their tracks, keeping an eye out for them doubling back or doing other kinds of mischief.


    After twenty minutes he spotted them on the horizon at the same time they spotted him. There were five of them, and they were big black brutes. Maybe a click away from him, and coming at him fast. He started casting fireballs at them one after another, and while they did reach them, it became apparent that when they did the ambient temperature had reduced their damage quite a bit on their path to them as they barely burned the fur on the big wolves. Durabo tried to materialise the fireballs further away from himself before sending them towards the wolves, problem was that he could do so no further than ten meters away from himself. The spells simply wouldn¡¯t form if he tried doing it any further away than that.


    As if that wasn¡¯t problematic enough as the wolves got closer and his fireballs started doing real damage to them, they started dodging. Not only that, they also split up and came at him from several directions. He cast three of his biggest Earth walls around himself, leaving him in a box that was twenty by twenty meters. He dropped shooting at the wolves while they were closing in and instead cast some water magic quickly at the entrance to the box and then retreated to the back of it. The water from his spells became mirror like ice almost immediately.


    Since they had tried to surround him from all directions the first one to come at him was the one that had been running at him for their starting position. As it ran onto the ice he cast fireball upon fireball at the wolf and it died without even crossing it. Next came two wolves at a time, one from each of the sides, he cast an Earth wall in front of the one on the left letting the wolfs momentum carry it into it at high speed. The other he dealt with the same way he dealt with the first one, killing it before it got off the ice, but only barely. He dispelled his newly cast wall and prepared to shower the wolf behind it with fireballs. Only to find it already off the ice and running away from him, joined by the other two wolves of the pack.


    Result of the test run against beasts? He had something to work on, he couldn¡¯t kill them cleanly enough and had they rushed him he would probably be dead now. Well that was the conclusions he came to while he drew his knife and started skinning the two carcasses. Well he would get stronger if he started using Ice magic, but that would require him studying and training it for a while before he started using it.


    After having skinned the wolves he started heading towards Fursreach once more. The two fresh pelts should be more than enough to keep him warm, with the help of magic of course. So he just jogged and studied track until nightfall. Then he stopped and set up his shelter. When he had made his tone box he cast his Light spell to see and after that he sat down and designed a new spell. An hour later he cast his new spell which had the simple purpose of heating stone to a high temperature thereby making his walls work like radiators. After having done that he did what he did last night. Read some more of the Codai and meditated trying to perfect more spells as well as understand his new knowledge.


    *******


    The sun was setting while he was entering Fursreach after having traveled for most of his play session in much the same way as the last one.


    As Durabo strode through the town he noticed that it seemed rather dead, only the smoke in the wooden cabins attesting to the fact that the small village was even populated. Just as he came upon the town center the last rays of the sun flitted across the sky before the world became filled with shadow. The darkening sky was then pierced by howls of pain and anger, as he watched with horror the seven iron cages in front of him.


    <hr />


    Status Window:


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name:</td><td width="25%">Durabo</td><td width="25%">Gender:</td><td width="25%">Male</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level:</td><td width="25%">34</td><td width="25%">Experience:</td><td width="25%">57%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Job:</td><td width="25%">Silver Inquisitor</td><td width="25%">Race:</td><td width="25%">High Elf</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Combat Class:</td><td width="25%">Mage</td><td width="25%">Support Class:</td><td width="25%">None</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Titles:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Firecaller, Novice Eislonien Mage</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Expendable Stats:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">HP:</td><td width="25%">1230</td><td width="25%">HP/s:</td><td width="25%">9,7</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">MP:</td><td width="25%">14460</td><td width="25%">MP/s:</td><td width="25%">7,1</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina:</td><td width="25%">1230</td><td width="25%">STM/s:</td><td width="25%">19,4</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Satiety:</td><td width="25%">30k</td><td width="25%">SAT/s:</td><td width="25%">-1</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Basic Stats</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stat</td><td width="25%">Base</td><td width="25%">Bonus</td><td width="25%">Total</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Agility:</td><td width="25%">67</td><td width="25%">65</td><td width="25%">132</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Charisma:</td><td width="25%">52</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">62</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Endurance:</td><td width="25%">71</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">71</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Intelligence:</td><td width="25%">357</td><td width="25%">125</td><td width="25%">482</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Strength:</td><td width="25%">25</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">25</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Vitality:</td><td width="25%">123</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">123</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Wisdom:</td><td width="25%">102</td><td width="25%">40</td><td width="25%">142</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Advanced Stats:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Concentration:</td><td width="25%">173</td><td width="25%">Serenity:</td><td width="25%">31</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Willpower:</td><td width="25%">84</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Affinities:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Air:</td><td width="25%">25%</td><td width="25%">Earth:</td><td width="25%">26%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire:</td><td width="25%">30%</td><td width="25%">Ice:</td><td width="25%">5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Light:</td><td width="25%">25%</td><td width="25%">Lightning:</td><td width="25%">5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mind:</td><td width="25%">31%</td><td width="25%">Nature:</td><td width="25%">1%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Water:</td><td width="25%">25%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Resistances:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Air:</td><td width="25%">5%</td><td width="25%">Earth:</td><td width="25%">5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire:</td><td width="25%">11%</td><td width="25%">Ice:</td><td width="25%">5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Light:</td><td width="25%">5%</td><td width="25%">Mind:</td><td width="25%">5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Water:</td><td width="25%">5%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Skill Window:


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Skill List</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Combat Skills:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill name</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank</td><td width="25%">Skill Lvl</td><td width="25%">Skill EXP</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Controlled Manifestation: Fire (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">6</td><td width="25%">83%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grimoire (Passive/Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">89%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Intuition (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">89%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mana Feed (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">13</td><td width="25%">17%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Air (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">6</td><td width="25%">49%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Earth (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">22%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Light (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">37%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Mind (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">79%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Water (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">7</td><td width="25%">45%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Air Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">6</td><td width="25%">47%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Chants (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">84%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Earth Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">9</td><td width="25%">3%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Fire Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">12</td><td width="25%">96%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Hand To Hand (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">57%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Light Spells (passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">15</td><td width="25%">83%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Magic Staffs (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">8</td><td width="25%">7%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Mind Spells (passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">54%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Sigils (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">91%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Wands (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">12</td><td width="25%">9%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Water Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">11</td><td width="25%">21%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Running (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">23</td><td width="25%">18%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Third Eye (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">9</td><td width="25%">66%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Support Skills:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill name</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank</td><td width="25%">Skill Lvl</td><td width="25%">Skill EXP</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Cartography (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">15</td><td width="25%">94%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Charm (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">7%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Cooking (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Language: Rune Tongue (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">2</td><td width="25%">62%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Meditation (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">6</td><td width="25%">99%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Subconscious Note-taking (Passive):</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Survival Skills (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">7</td><td width="25%">88%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Tailoring (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Writing (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">18</td><td width="25%">36%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <hr />


    Hi there fellow penguins of our great empire :)


    So here''s a new chapter for you guys, and it''s even one of the long ones. I feel my writing has gotten more descriptive and while this is not a bad thing, it can get to be a little to much, I hope you guys tell me if it does.


    I promised Vincent1875 to do a skill description at the end of this chapter, I haven''t done that and I''m sorry. I will make a new thread with all of them some time this week though.


    I''m starting school tomorrow or well university and will have no where near the same amount of free time, this will result in a less frequent update schedule than the one I''ve had up till now. I hope you will still read my story even though it wont update as much. I will endeavor to update at least once every fortnight.


    Also this story broke into the top fifty list, and I just want to say thanks to you guys for rating and reviewing my story, it would not have happened without that support.


    As always I hope you enjoyed my story and do comment if you feel like it. :)

 Chapter 8: Trust is something earned, not given

    Chapter 8: Trust is something earned, not given


    Being sent on a witch hunt is all fine and dandy, right up until you see their handy work for yourself. At least that is what Durabo concluded as he watched the seven great iron cages with a quiet sense of dread while the shadows came out to play.


    Now what elicited this dread in him was not the cages themselves, although they were big ugly cages wrought from rusted and pitted pig iron. No it was as one might have guessed their contents. Inside the cages were seven people, well what was formerly people fast becoming something else. Both young and old, male and female, all turning into something else. Something beast like, massive and monstrous. The tearing of flesh, growth of fur and natural weapons was understandably quite painful for the victims subjected to the transformation.


    Yet what made Durabo truly fearful was not their pain albeit horrible, it was the knowledge that a witch capable of this sort of curse was incredibly powerful. This could prove to be a more troublesome task than first anticipated.


    While he stood there lost in dark thoughts he heard a slight clearing of a throat. The same sound used by people all over the world to call attention to themselves.


    He turned around and found himself facing a young woman, red eyed and harried looking. Although her natural beauty was quite apparent even tarnished as it was.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry miss, I was stunned by the horror before me and didn¡¯t notice you.¡± Durabo said while he, with the help of his stat, kept his face and tone neutral.


    She looked him over for a moment before answering, even in such a state the NPC gave him a once over.


    Her sad brown eyes studied the cages for a moment before replying.


    ¡°Polite for a traveler.¡± Her gentle almost inaudible voice said. ¡°If you¡¯ve come seeking adventure, there is little of that left in this place.¡±


    For a moment he contemplated telling her, he had come to solve this problem, then he stopped himself.


    According to the Codai a witch capable of this curse, would have a class of at least adept level if not higher. For the moment he did not have the power to defeat a witch of that level in single combat, therefore tipping the witch off too his purpose would be a bad idea until he had a better grasp of the situation.


    ¡°Well, I came here simply as a stop on my way to the north.¡± He flashed her a small smile. ¡°But what kind of adventurer would I be if I didn¡¯t try to help this village?¡±


    She almost smiled at his words, then she her eyes glanced at the cages and her face froze.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure a lot of the villagers can use your help. ¡° Her voice trembled as she spoke, and the tremble became even more pronounced when she continued. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that my family trouble is too big for any one person to solve. Even though we know who did it.¡±


    That was surprising, he would gladly take her suspect, but once burned twice shy. From now on he would know the motivations of those giving him info before trusting said info. Besides it¡¯s almost too easy to just get handed the name of the witch not even ten minutes after he sat foot in Fursreach.


    ¡°I hesitate to ask, but would you care to explain?¡± Durabo said, his face grim. It didn¡¯t need mentioning that anyone would ask that when confronted by the sight of the cages.


    Her hands balled into fists gripping the rough homespun of her winter dress as she answered.


    ¡°My name is Lisette, and if you want the story come with me.¡± Lisette said, then spun around on her heels and headed for the log house next to the biggest one in the town. Smoke curling its way out of the small stone chimney peaking out through the thatched roof.


    She was clearly a person of status in Fursreach since her house was one of the biggest and most well built in town.


    As Durabo followed her through the door and into the small hallway he noticed that Lisette took of her shoes so he did as well before following her into the small kitchen. The kitchen had a small oaken table with a bench on one side and small stools on the other. Durabo decided that sharing a bench with Lisette would not be advantageous and sat down on the stool opposite her instead.


    ¡°Well the one behind this is a local girl.¡± Lisette said and her voice turned sour. ¡°Because my husband married me not her, Rosalee cursed him and his family. They were merely childhood sweethearts and she still expected to marry the future Speaker.¡±


    Durabo¡¯s intuition twinged as Lisette spoke, indicating something didn¡¯t add up.  He just couldn¡¯t pinpoint what yet. He had questions, and he had every intention of finding the answers before killing the witch. There was still almost three ingame weeks before the time limit of the quest was up and he fully intended to use that to train before confronting the witch. Well that and figure out what was going on here, since he would never take a quest at face value anymore.


    ¡°I saw seven cages not one, who else did she curse?¡± Durabo asked, although he already had a good guess.


    The witch had cursed one of them with a bloodline curse, as evident by the family resemblance between most of those in the cages. Well the family resemblance before they turned into ravening beasts.


    A small tear drop appeared at the edge of Lisette¡¯s left eye as she replied.


    ¡°Not only my husband has she cursed, but also my children as well as my husbands parents and grandmother.¡± Lisette said and then continued with an oddly regretful voice. ¡°I¡¯m the only one with the family name Blackbriar that hasn¡¯t been cursed. Yet I can¡¯t do a thing about it¡±


    At the end of her last sentence Lisette started sobbing quietly, her eyes staring into nothing. Whatever emotion or thought that had driven her to speak to him had clearly lost the battle with the complex swath of emotions anyone would feel in her current situation.


    Durabo felt a sympathetic pang of pain in his own heart, how would he feel if everyone who meant something to him suffered while he stood by able to do nothing but watch?  In his opinion Lisette probably handled it better than he would, and if anyone told him she was a mere program, he would dare them to say it to her face, right after having given them a taste of Fire.


    He pondered for a moment, and then concluded that she would likely want some privacy. He therefore stood up and slowly left the house, trying as best he could to leave quietly.


    Now it was probably too late to hunt, and it would be a waste to do so if he could get a quest for it tomorrow anyway. So for now he would try to find an inn, a trusty source of both food, gossip and shelter.


    Fursreach was a small hunting settlement, and back on earth, towns with less than a hundred inhabitants would never have an inn, yet Nexus being a game world resulted in there being one right next to what is presumably the Speakers log house.


    To his surprise Durabo found that the taproom of the inn had people in it. Well customers to be exact he expected there to at least be an innkeeper present. The five forlorn people nursing some stale brews all turned to watch him the moment he opened the door. Clearly they were all regulars and no more people used to show up this time of day.


    Durabo just gave them a polite nod and headed for the bar where a young man stood, polishing a glass with a white piece of cloth of all things. The cliche was oddly reassuring for Durabo


    ¡°Evening, would it be possible to rent a room for a while?¡± Durabo asked, while studying the young innkeeper.


    The man looked him over, and as always there was a sense of scales weighing him behind the young man''s eyes.


    ¡°Well it will cost ya some coin, but it¡¯s possible.¡± The innkeeper said, then asked. ¡°What brings an elf like you all the way up here from your cozy Tower?¡±


    Now that was a surprise. That he was an elf was clear, pointed ears had a way of making that obvious. The surprising thing was the fact a relatively sheltered innkeeper was able to spot that he was mage.


    ¡°Coin is no problem, and if you need a deposit I¡¯m more than willing to put one down as well.¡± Durabo said and then a hint of mirth crinkled the corners of his eyes as he continued. ¡°How did you know I was a mage?¡±


    ¡°Well I have a touch of the sight and you¡¯re brimming with mana.¡± The man grinned while answering proudly. ¡°Now I just need two silvers and I¡¯ll get you your room key. Oh and I think mom still have something hot in the kitchen if you have a need for something to eat.¡±


    Durabo took a the coins out of his inventory and handed them over while he considered the offer of hot food. He had no idea when he would get his hands on more money and truthfully he only needed to stave off the decline of his satiety, but like most people he enjoyed warm food and good drink more than some dried jerky or other alternative semi preserved food. In the end it wasn¡¯t that hard of a choice, he had plenty of gold from having monopolized a dungeon and he wanted to enjoy the little things in this game as well as the big ones.


    ¡°I would love some hot food.¡± Durabo said smiling, and then added. ¡°Can I get it sent to my room?¡±


    ¡°Sure, It¡¯ll be about ten minutes before I bring it up though.¡± The young man said, then put forth his hand. ¡°By the way my name is Lucas.¡±


    Durabo just stared at the proffered hand for a moment, and then force of habit kicked in making him shake it.


    ¡°Durabo, nice to meet ya.¡± He said, slipping into the more informal mode of speech he uses in the real world.


    Durabo got an odd look from Lucas as he did so, a hint of surprise evident on the NPCs face.


    ¡°Well your room is just up the stairs third on the left.¡± Lucas said, the hint of surprise still on his face as he left to go get his food.


    Lucas was not the only one feeling something was off, how come he hadn¡¯t just shaken the hand like a normal human being? Well that might actually be it, like a human being. Thinking it over he could only name two elves and both were someone he was more than familiar with. Well one was a colleague and the other something else, a deep breath and his heart once more calmed along with his mind. Durabo only spent eight real life hours a day in Nexus, yet that resulted in him spending a day ingame for every day he spends in the real world. Clearly the habits off his new second home had rubbed off on him.


    While he pondered these things, Durabo ascended the narrow wooden stairs and found his new room. Now the room was just that, a room. No more no less, a small bed with the classic white linens and a small rug placed right beside it between the door and the bed. Everything made of the same light colored wood as both the house itself and all the other furniture around. It actually looked a little like a Swedish log house.


    Durabo moved  the soft rug a little further away from the bed and sat down on it, settling into the now old and familiar lotus position. He would have time to come up with a plan for what needed to be done during this nights meditation before dinner was served.


    Before heading up here in the cold north he had absorbed some new books on magic into his grimoire. Two of them had special relevance to what he would be doing for the rest of the night. One was the book about split streams and drawing more than one type of mana from his mana pool at a time, the other was the book about Ice magic.


    Since he was in the north anyways, he might as well grab the chance to get ahead in the type of magic that was reinforced by the climate instead of using one that is weakened by it.


    To understand how Ice magic works, one would first have to understand how the mana pool of all living beings work or some of its limitations at least. Well how the mana pool of all normal living beings work, there must be exceptions out there somewhere.


    At any given point in time two types of mana is all that can be pulled from the mana pool. Why is this relevant one might ask? Because Ice mana is really just a combination of Fire and Water mana. The plan for tonight should be to find the best type of  Ice mana for direct damage attacks, that is the Ice mana with moderate to high durability and high sharpness.


    A knock sounded on the door, a moment before it opened and Lucas stepped in with a tray on which something smelled delicious.  He placed the tray right in front of Durabo and straightened his back before heading for the door.


    ¡°Thank you Lucas, it smells absolutely delicious by the way.¡± Durabo said as he opened his eyes and looked up at Lucas.


    ¡°I thought you were meditating, so I didn¡¯t want to disturb you.¡± Lucas answered then added with a grin. ¡°And of course it smells delicious it my ma¡¯s long simmer stew.¡±


    Durabo couldn¡¯t help but smile a little at the young mans obvious pride in his mother''s cooking, it reminded him of his own near worship of his mother¡¯s home cooked meals.


    ¡°Is it alright to come down with the tray tomorrow or do you need it when I¡¯m done?¡±


    ¡°Tomorrows fine, I¡¯ll just wash it first thing along with our own bowls.¡± Lucas said and then left closing the gently behind him.


    After Lucas had left, Durabo took the white cloth away from the bowl and took a sip of the ale in the mug beside it. The smell of old fashioned stew and the earthy taste of a good dark ale lit a fire under his hunger and he consumed all of it within five minutes. He was forced to admit that Lucas¡¯ mom did indeed make a mean stew, it might even come close to his own mother¡¯s.


    Done eating he once more closed his eyes and sought out the place within himself where he could make new spells.


    As he had gotten more experienced in meditation time had started to lose all meaning, so he was by no means surprised when it felt like days before his five minutes to log off alarm sounded. He was just about to lay down on the bed and log off when he realized that he wouldn¡¯t be back before a day had passed. So with a certain amount of haste he ran down the stairs, placed the tray on the small bar counter and hurried up into his room and lay down on the bed, just as he was forcefully logged off.


    ********


    Sebastian logged into DTUs teaching space in the hub and quickly found a place somewhere in the back of the lecture hall he was assigned today. While he did spend a lot of time in Nexus it had not impacted his grades notably and he had little difficulties following any of the lectures or completing their assignments.


    Today they had a lecture on the finer details regarding the time dilation of capsules and what it might mean. It was something he found quite interesting so he was immersed in the words of the young woman giving the lecture, when he sensed someone sit down in the chair beside him. He turned his head about to give the customary head nod to his fellow student when he saw who it was.


    ¡°What can I do for you today Michael?¡± Sebastian asked, his voice and face neutral.


    Michael raked his right hand through his shoulder length brown hair, a nervous tick of his, and then seemed to steel himself as he answered.


    ¡°Kevin and I have thought things over and we might¡¯ve been too hasty when we left you out.¡± Michael said, and continued with a small hopeful smile. ¡°We were kinda hoping you would be willing to patch things up. Twelve years are a long time to just throw away over a disagreement.¡±


    Four months is a long time to think about things, especially when he had used about the same amount of time in Nexus. His anger had subsided quite a bit, on the other hand he had some time to think about their friendship and a few things had become apparent.


    Sebastian locked his eyes upon Michael''s warm brown eyes and asked.


    ¡°What has changed since you two come seeking my friendship once more? Let me guess you need me for something or at least think I could provide you with some advantage.¡±


    Michael looked hurt as he answered.


    ¡°I admit we were wondering whether you played Nexus and hoping you would join us, but for me at least that¡¯s secondary to getting my old friend back.¡±


    Seeing the look of both hope and hurt in Michael¡¯s eyes Sebastian determination faltered.Then something occurred to him.


    ¡°Why would you want a mage on your team?¡± Sebastian asked his steely eyes piercing.


    ¡°Hah I knew it.¡± Michael said with a huge grin, his old self appearing for a minute. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to say it Frost, but someone beat you to the punch.¡±


    Sebastian couldn¡¯t keep the frown of his face.


    ¡°What punch would that be?¡± The frown coloring even his voice.


    ¡°The one where you prove to us and the rest of the world that we were idiots for ditching you because you would choose to be a mage.


    There have been a few gameplay videos uploaded in the last month by a group of mages calling themselves The Prime Elements, they¡¯ve cleared content that no one else would have been able to do. Frankly they terrify me, especially their leader Gaia. ¡± Michael shook his head and took a breath before adding. ¡°Well them and others have proven mages are just as useful as every other standard class, they just take a little longer to get off the ground.¡±


    Sebastian had for a bit forgotten the simple fact that for a decade Michael, Kevin and him had been inseparable. Of course he knew that Sebastian had set out to prove them wrong.


    That someone else had already done it for him drained a lot of his motivation for being the best mage he could be. With a thorough mental shake  he got himself together and his mind found it usual equilibrium. He would deal with his former friend first, then he could get down to figuring out his new goals and motivations.


    ¡°So now you come wanting to be friends again, since it has been proven I could be of use ingame?¡± Sebastian couldn¡¯t keep a hint of anger out of his voice as his eyes grew stormy.


    ¡°Come on man, it¡¯s not about that. ¡° Michael said, his voice entreating.


    ¡°Well if that¡¯s the case I¡¯ll consider it, but know that I won''t under any circumstances play Nexus with you. You blew that chance.¡± Sebastian said while smiling, but not a friendly one rather one that showed his incisors.


    Michael studied his face for a bit, then nodded. Clearly he could see that he would get no more than that out of him at the moment.


    *******


    Durabo logged back into the game to the warm glow of the afternoon sun through his rooms window. As well as a message floating in the air in front of him.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Update  01.00.00</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Gateway To Nexus has now been updated with its first ever update to ensure that the players can play the best game possible.


    Due to player feedback indicating a large amount of the games difficulty lies in the lack of sound information and not the content itself which is not what we wanted from this game.


    The greatest challenge of a game should be finding solutions to problems by cooperating with fellow players and using your resources in creative ways, not trying to figure out how the most basic things in the game actually works. Therefore a large amount of content has been changed so as to increase transparency as well as a new game manual have been released.


    The game still has mysteries even when it comes to skills, but they are no longer something that are integral to the game. Those seeking the thrill of discovery and experimentation still have the chance to do so, but players are no longer forced to.


    Examples of  changes:<ul>


    <li>All skills text now include a section called Factors indicating how the skill was acquired as well as its progression.</li>


    <li>Class change notification now shows the class information for the available class.</li>


    <li>Quests now indicate the probable rewards and not only the ones you have negotiated or been informed about.</li>


    <li>Quests also have a recommended level to indicate the difficulty of the quest.</li>


    <li>Update screens can now show what activities led to the increase  if enabled in options.</li>


    <li>A myriad other things have been changed as well.


    </li></ul>


    The details of the changes and reasoning can be found online on our website, as well as through customer service.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Reading the message Durabo nods to himself, smart company. No one likes to be frustrated just because they can¡¯t activate a skill or find a class. This way the true challenge comes into focus, be it how to defeat a certain boss or how to make the perfect weapon.


    Even though he hadn¡¯t found a new reason to play this game yet, he was not the type to leave a task undone that he had committed to.


    First up, leveling so he actually had a chance against this witch.


    To make the leveling faster he went down to the notice board in the inn. Notice boards in the game was a way for NPCs to recruit people to do their quests, They could be found in inns and market squares around Nexus, basically a quest hub.


    He had already decided that the quest he would take should be hunting, extermination and all other types of quest that gets him into combat. That would reward the most exp as well as make him improve his skills the fastest.


    Looking at the board he started to regret that decision, since every single quest involving the killing of a beast required you to take the carcass back to the city for consecration. Apparently the speaker had to talk to the beast spirit and get it too rest in peace before you could do anything to its body.


    That part of the quests really put a twist in his plans. On the upside all quest would be turned in at the square after the consecration ritual at midday.


    There were standing quests asking for wolves, snow hares and rabbits, snow leopards and snow foxes. The quest rewards per carcass so it should be farmable. Besides it makes sense for a fur trappers village to need creatures that normally provide fur. There was also a quest to exterminate a nest of Black Bloods to the east. As well as quests to kill special beasts but they were way out of his league at the moment.


    Well the Black Bloods was definitely a go since it only required the gem like substance from their brains as proof, thereby making that the easiest one to do.


    Now Durabo had at least the semblance of a plan. He would head east and kill Black Bloods until he hit the early forties level wise and then he would travel back towards Fursreach, along the way back he would kill and collect any of the beast that where on the farmable list until his inventory was full. This would both serve to raise his level to the bare minimum as well as hopefully gain him the trust of the people living seeing as he would have helped them contain a threat in the form of Black Bloods.


    After his run in with the Bloods in the depths below the library Durabo had done what he always does, and read up on his homework. In this case Bloods and how they function.


    There was a lot of different strains among them including elemental variants, yet at their core they all came from the same base stock, the grey skinned bloods like the ones he encountered. The type of nest all depended on their Broodmother, for it was from her genetics that all the others were made, if she was born a variant her whole nest from the lowliest to the biggest would become variant of the same type.


    As a matter of fact he found the Bloods to be quite fascinating, seeing as they reminded him of a cross between the insect like species from an old school RTS game and goblinoids from fantasy.


    That fascination might also be a big part of his reasoning for heading towards their nest first, seeing as he has never fought them when they had a Broodmother.


    Problem was how the hell would he get there, he could of course run but that was a highly inefficient mode of transportation, even though it was good training. Then again the whole reason that they wanted them gone or culled was because the nest was no more than two days travel by foot away. Meaning the village was within the rooming range of some of the bigger and more brutal types of Bloods when the nest got to that point in its cycle.


    In the end it all came down to money, as with so many other things in this world. He would take a look around Fursreach and see if someone had a mount or something like it for an affordable price.


    Plan now set he walked away from the board after accepting all the farmable quests as well as the Black Bloods one, and walked over to the counter. This time it apparently was Lucas¡¯ shift seeing as it was a twenty-something years old woman standing behind the counter.


    ¡°Hi there, my names Durabo.¡± Durabo asked her, a small smirk lifting the corner of his lips as he saw her look him up and down in a way that suggested something besides professional interest. ¡°Mind if I ask you a few questions?¡±


    ¡°Not at all, ask me anything you like.¡± She answered smiling. ¡°And you can call me Anna.¡±


    ¡°A pleasure to meet you, Anna. Now do you know where I can acquire a mount of some sort or some other form of transportation?¡±


    Anna looked pensive for a moment, clearly thinking about something more than just a mount.


    ¡°Well, I might know where you can get one. Problem is it¡¯s a Hawthorne mount, and they are no longer sanctioned by the speaker.¡± Anna said, clearly not comfortable giving him that tip.


    Durabo smiled a boyish smile and said with a hint of mischief in his eyes. The speaker did not frighten him in the least.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never been one to follow the rules too closely, where might I find the Hawthorne¡¯s?¡±


    Anna studied him for a bit, clearly deciding whether to tell him or not. Then she breathed a small sigh and told him.


    ¡°If you¡¯re determined, I¡¯ll mark her house and ranch on your map. Don¡¯t get your hopes up though, apparently there was some plague or something amongst the stock some years ago.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Anna, I owe you one.¡± Durabo said with a wink and a smirk.


    The blush all the way too her ears seemed to suggest what she would like to do with that favor.


    Durabo¡¯s habit of training his charm skill and charisma stat every chance he got seems to be working well, almost every female NPC reacts to him in some way now. Well flirting had always been something he enjoyed, so he would probably be doing it anyway even if he didn¡¯t get anything but fun out of it.


    His map was something new though, he didn¡¯t think the game had one. Yet when Anna fiddled around a bit a window appeared before them and she marked the ranch at the edge of Fursreach on the very basic but still functional map.


    It took Durabo an embarrassingly long time to figure out that this was probably one of the many changes the update had made to the game. He thanked Anna once more and then walked out of the inn. First thing he did was not to head towards the north where the Hawthorne ranch where, no it was to open the map once more and check it out.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    What he saw surprised him a great deal. The map might seem utilitarian here in the north, but everywhere he had been personally had greater details, equal to what a normal map would have based upon basic observations. What really got him riled up though was the map of the Catacombs, every thing was there, all the measurements taken by him to the best of his abilities with cartography.


    His interest and curiosity now thoroughly peaked he opened up his info on his cartography skill.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Cartography(Passive)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Rarity:</td><td colspan=''15''>Uncommon</td><td colspan=''15''>Rank:</td><td colspan=''15''>Novice</td><td colspan=''15''>Level:</td><td colspan=''15''>16 23%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>Description:</td><td colspan=''30''>Effects:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>You have mastered the art of making simple maps and have learned to make a great variety of maps. As well as using different tools in order to make precise maps with a great amount of information.


    Sub Skills:


    Auto Mapping(Passive):


    Factors:


    Taught by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in Vetas</td><td colspan=''30''>Able to use complex tools of the trade.


    Able to create a variety of maps.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Durabo couldn¡¯t help a smug smirk from appearing on his face, and then he thought:


    ¡®Show skill: Auto Mapping.¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Auto Mapping(Passive)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Rarity:</td><td colspan=''15''>Rare</td><td colspan=''15''>Rank:</td><td colspan=''15''>Sub skill</td><td colspan=''15''>Level:</td><td colspan=''15''>N/a</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>Description:</td><td colspan=''30''>Effects:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>You are able to gather and record information subconsciously on your minimap.


    Factors:


    Gained by having the Cartography skill as well as the Subconscious Note Taking skill.</td><td colspan=''30''>Your minimap will automatically be updated with all pertinent information.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    His face froze, she was the one responsible for him having that skill. Yet another thing to remind him of her.


    A few deep breaths and his mind fled into the calm of serenity. He had things to do, monsters to kill and while he could not make his feelings disappear he could make them insignificant, at least for a little while.


    Durabo¡¯s mind once more nominally calm, he headed towards the northern edge of Fursreach. The Hawthorne¡¯s had mounts to sell, and he planned to buy one if he didn¡¯t have to sell his arm to pay for it.


    Five minutes later he found himself in front of yet another of the ever present log houses. This one if anything bigger than the speakers. Behind it was a big barn looking thing that might be the stable made of stone. Well if one needs to house, big and ferocious beasts with different abilities scrimping on the materials might not be the brightest of ideas.


    He had barely knocked on the door  when it opened and a young woman with mousy brown hair and a soft face answered it.


    ¡°What do you want?¡±


    Durabo surprised by her hostility stalled for a moment, speechless. Until  he realized that not everyone would be friendly, and it wasn¡¯t necessary for them to be so.


    ¡°Well I was hoping to purchase a mount from you.¡± Durabo said and then added with a small smile in an attempt to charm her. ¡°That is if you are miss Hawthorne?¡±


    She froze for a moment, a hint of some deep emotion flickering across her face. In the wake of this emotion her anger seemed to only have increased.


    ¡°I have no mounts to sell, least of all to a traveler.¡± She said seconds before she closed the door on his face with more a bit more force than was strictly necessary.


    A big sigh sounded in the frigid air. That had proven to be a big waste of his time he couldn¡¯t help but conclude.


    He checked his minimap once more, and then set out towards the local nest. If it was impossible to get a mount, he would simply have to run.


    *******


    Durabo stood on a small rise, looking down on a big round opening in the earth bathed in the cool morning light. A whole lot of the goblin like Bloods were going to and from the tunnel, dragging kills and the like down into the depths. No doubt in order to feed their Broodmother.


    They were all naked as the day they were spawned, and their skin wasn¡¯t the grayish green that he had seen before. No they had white skin, with hints of purple at  their joints.


    If it weren¡¯t for his Third Eye he might have wondered about that, but with it he could clearly see the deep purple light of mixed Fire and Water mana flowing through their veins. This nest wasn¡¯t just a nest, no it was a nest of Ice Bloods.


    He almost felt regret for the fact he had to kill the lot of them, they were a rare breed.


    Then again, had they been normal Bloods this would almost have been too easy, he had only seen a few of the orc like Bloods. Indicating that this nest was a young one, if they weren¡¯t resistant to his new favorite magic they would have no chance at all.


    The rise he was on was about forty meters from the opening, meaning that the Bloods were barely within reach of his magical might.


    With some sigils and a two second chant Durabo cast two spears of clear blue ice towards the cluster of Bloods below, killing two of them instantly.


    The plan was for them to now come running at him all at once, well all the ones in sight while he rained down death upon them. All the Bloods he had met until now had been ferocious mindless beasts unless under the direct control of an elf.


    Things did not go as planned, instead of the twenty plus small Bloods rushing him they all turned around and headed towards the tunnel the moment the bodies dropped. Eerily in step with each other.


    That  gave him the hint he needed to figure out their behavior, the god damned Broodmother. The ones he fought had all been without a mother, of course they would behave differently.


    Well a new plan would have to be enacted, this Broodmother could not be too experienced, else she would have simply swarmed him instead of retreating to protect her underlings. If she wanted him to come down there and get her, she was gonna be more than a little surprised. As if he would step foot in there without knowing what awaited him.


    Oh well, time for some good old school sieging.


    With his eyes constantly moving he walked down the small hill at a leisurely pace. When he got to the two Bloods he drew his knife split their skulls open and dug out the big crystal filling almost their entire cranial cavity. Removing the small amount of viscous brain matter surrounding them in the process. Looting was definitely not always the fun and rainbows people make it out to be.


    Done with the gory stuff for now he once more rose and walked closer to the tunnel entrance. About the size of a small gate albeit rounder and with more jagged edges. How the hell had they made a nest in this densely packed earth and bedrock? It did not look like it had naturally formed.


    When he stood just inside the entrance on the steep ramp going down and looked at the almost horizontal edges it made sense. Toolmarks were clearly visible and seeing as all the Black Bloods he had ever read about didn¡¯t use tools, it could only mean this had been done by something else. Perfect.


    With a loud thump he placed his biggest earth wall as a lid and set out in the same direction as the tunnel were headed. If this cave had been made by intelligent beings there must be at least one more exit, he needed to find it and set up shop there as well. If he played his cards right he wouldn¡¯t even have to kill all of them in order to loot them. Judging by the influx of food he saw, they had a rather high consumption of it.


    It took him half a day to find the other entrance, it was not in a direct line from the other ones tunnel, instead it was south a bit and hidden in a small valley half a kilometer away.  Durabo put a lid on that one also and then sat down to await the return of the Bloods out hunting.


    Regrettably he could not use the time to meditate, he no longer had any awareness of his surroundings when doing so.


    He was counting on the Broodmother being naive not stupid. The only chance she had now was to kill him, and even a child would realize that.


    Since he had been the last thing the Bloods saw before retreating it would be a logical thing to conclude he was behind the blockades, if so might there not be a chance they would disappear if he died?


    As he sat there with nothing better to do, he pondered what reason he had to keep playing the game. Since he had decided not to play with his old friends, and the world already knew the worth of mages he felt like a rudderless boat, adrift without destination or purpose.


    By the time the sun set he had come no closer to an answer. The drive to become the best had been lost, it no longer mattered. On the other hand it was also a weight of his shoulders, he had never cared much for the limelight, he always thought being in it tended to blind you to too many things.


    When dusk turned to true dark he cast a spell, one that acted as a normal campfire, just without the firewood.This Broodmother might be really clever waiting for him to get tired and less alert before initiating the attack. That or she was stupid enough to already have all her Bloods inside.


    There in the dark, he sat not watching the fire and thought deep thoughts. Not about his purpose for that line of thinking clearly would have no end anytime soon. No he thought about all the different things that could be done with magic. He thought of healing and curses, debuffs and dots. Trying to figure out what made those spells tick. For if this game was in any way, shape or form like most other VRMMORPGs the four elements should be the basic building blocks of all magic. Well Mana would be the most basic, but that were neither here nor there. If so he should be able to do spells that had at least some of the same characteristics as those magical abilities.


    When he thought that last thought his passive twigged, clearly stating he was onto something, just as he was about to chase down that though he heard the sound of snow being deformed. The advantage of a magical fire, soundless if one wants it to be.


    He stood up and found himself surrounded by a hundred or so Bloods. Just at the edge of the fires light. He really should have thought this thing through. They might all be level ten or below, but a hundred of them could still kill him.


    Durabo couldn¡¯t help a grin from appearing on his face. Now this was going to be a battle.


    As if the Bloods knew what the smile meant, their ghostly white shapes rushed him from all sides.


    Durabo threw up walls of ice, diverting them, making them come at him from one place, in the one opening he then made clear ice appear.


    After that it was basically a turkey shoot for him as they rushed him across the slippery surface. He could hear the scratching of small claws on the walls around him, but he knew they would not fall any time soon. He killed them two at a time with ice spears, and if they came within ten meters of him they got pushed back with an Air spell. After twenty of them were killed that way they withdrew.


    They were not far away though, he could hear them behind his walls of Ice.


    This would be the point in time where things could get interesting. He did not think the Broodmother would let him be or give up, she knew that if she didn¡¯t break him here and now she probably never would and that would be the doom of her nest.


    All motion behind the wall stopped. The thought of the Broodmother deciding to give up crossed his mind, the the first Bloods appeared over the rims of his walls. There feet barely hit the ground before the rushed towards him. Dashing across the ten meters between them and him. He killed two with his Ice spears spell and then started casting the second spell just as three more appeared over the wall.


    The sound of his pulse sped up in his ears. He might have underestimated this Broodmother. As the thrill of the battle started to rise within him, he quashed it. This was not the time for feelings, no now was the time for the calm of serenity.


    Durabo killed two more and was then forced to use an Air spell to get some breathing space, now they were too close for spears he started using Ice shards instead. Going after their eyes and joints, hoping to slow down and hinder them.


    Dodging and weaving, using an Air spell here, a patch of Ice there.  His clothes started getting torn, his blood flowing, yet they paid for every drop with ten of their own.


    He started missing, having to compensate with more spells for the mistakes.


    His focus started slipping he reverted to using single Ice shards instead of two because he simply couldn¡¯t handle two at a time anymore.


    He could feel an ebb in the flow of opponents and saw himself surrounded by corpses. Their corpses as big a hindrance for them as for him, but they can afford to pay the price of slipping or tripping, he can not.


    The arcane sounds of the rune language once more flowed from his lips, as his hands flowed through the sigils of the Ice shard spell while he dodged yet another Bloods attack. When he was finished with the spell pain seared a path through his head, and to his horror he saw the little blue bar in the corner of his vision blink. Out of Mana.


    Thoughts that were so clear now turned sluggish. Resorting to pure instinct Durabo started breaking joints and throwing Bloods.


    Time flowed and he found himself looking around waiting for the next attacker yet found no one alive near him.


    Air rasped in and out of his mouth in big gulps, his body and clothes drenched. The two bars in the corner of his vision both blinked.


    He opened his status window, and then laughed like a maniac. He had twenty HP left. So close, but man had that been fun.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Compiled gains report: </td></tr><tr><td width="25%">449% Experience


    2% Affinity: Ice


    6 Agility


    12 Endurance


    8 Serenity


    11 Strength


    7 Vitality


    If you wish to see a detailed report including skill experience and factors please go look at your play logs.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <hr />


    Status Window:


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name:</td><td width="25%">Durabo</td><td width="25%">Gender:</td><td width="25%">Male</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level:</td><td width="25%">39</td><td width="25%">Experience:</td><td width="25%">37%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Job:</td><td width="25%">Silver Inquisitor</td><td width="25%">Race:</td><td width="25%">High Elf</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Combat Class:</td><td width="25%">Mage</td><td width="25%">Support Class:</td><td width="25%">None</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Titles:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Firecaller, Novice Eislonien Mage</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Expendable Stats:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">HP:</td><td width="25%">1430</td><td width="25%">HP/s:</td><td width="25%">11,3</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">MP:</td><td width="25%">16981</td><td width="25%">MP/s:</td><td width="25%">7,1</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina:</td><td width="25%">1430</td><td width="25%">STM/s:</td><td width="25%">22,6</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Satiety:</td><td width="25%">30k</td><td width="25%">SAT/s:</td><td width="25%">-1</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Basic Stats</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stat</td><td width="25%">Base</td><td width="25%">Bonus</td><td width="25%">Total</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Agility:</td><td width="25%">73</td><td width="25%">67</td><td width="25%">140</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Charisma:</td><td width="25%">55</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">65</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Endurance:</td><td width="25%">83</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">83</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Intelligence:</td><td width="25%">405</td><td width="25%">129</td><td width="25%">534</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Strength:</td><td width="25%">36</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">36</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Vitality:</td><td width="25%">143</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">143</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Wisdom:</td><td width="25%">102</td><td width="25%">40</td><td width="25%">142</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Advanced Stats:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Concentration:</td><td width="25%">173</td><td width="25%">Serenity:</td><td width="25%">39</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Willpower:</td><td width="25%">84</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Affinities:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Air:</td><td width="25%">25%</td><td width="25%">Earth:</td><td width="25%">26%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire:</td><td width="25%">30%</td><td width="25%">Ice:</td><td width="25%">7%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Light:</td><td width="25%">25%</td><td width="25%">Lightning:</td><td width="25%">5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mind:</td><td width="25%">31%</td><td width="25%">Nature:</td><td width="25%">1%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Water:</td><td width="25%">25%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Resistances:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Air:</td><td width="25%">5%</td><td width="25%">Earth:</td><td width="25%">5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire:</td><td width="25%">11%</td><td width="25%">Ice:</td><td width="25%">5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Light:</td><td width="25%">5%</td><td width="25%">Mind:</td><td width="25%">5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Water:</td><td width="25%">5%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Skill Window:


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Skill List</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Combat Skills:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill name</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank</td><td width="25%">Skill Lvl</td><td width="25%">Skill EXP</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Controlled Manifestation: Fire (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">7</td><td width="25%">10%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Focus: Spells(Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">11</td><td width="25%">23%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grimoire (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">13</td><td width="25%">77%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Intuition (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">11</td><td width="25%">2%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mana Feed (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">14</td><td width="25%">39%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Air (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">7</td><td width="25%">54%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Earth (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">2%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Light (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">37%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Mind (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">7</td><td width="25%">3%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Water (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">8</td><td width="25%">65%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Air Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">6</td><td width="25%">89%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Chants (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">12</td><td width="25%">1%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Earth Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">9</td><td width="25%">4%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Fire Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">12</td><td width="25%">96%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Hand To Hand (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">17</td><td width="25%">45%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Ice Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">15</td><td width="25%">94%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Light Spells (passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">15</td><td width="25%">83%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Magic Staffs (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">8</td><td width="25%">7%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Mind Spells (passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">5</td><td width="25%">7%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Sigils (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">11</td><td width="25%">64%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Wands (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">12</td><td width="25%">9%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Water Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">11</td><td width="25%">21%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Running (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">18%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Third Eye (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">9</td><td width="25%">77%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Support Skills:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill name</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank</td><td width="25%">Skill Lvl</td><td width="25%">Skill EXP</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Cartography (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">16</td><td width="25%">3%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Charm (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">17</td><td width="25%">12%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Cooking (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">3</td><td width="25%">2%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Language: Rune Tongue (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">2</td><td width="25%">63%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Meditation (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">7</td><td width="25%">52%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Subconscious Note-taking (Passive):</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Survival Skills (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">8</td><td width="25%">44%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Tailoring (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Writing (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">18</td><td width="25%">36%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <hr />


    Hi there fellow penguins.


    Long time no see, or write¡­


    I will not apologise for my long absence as this is a hobby and something I enjoy, not a job. That being said I will explain. I just started going to uni and the 50-60 hour weeks has left me drained and a tad bit myopic.


    Good news though, I am now back and ready for action and do hope you will still read my story even though it hasn¡¯t updated for so long.


    I have made a slight update to my way of handling skills. I tried to avoid sub skills as they are a pain to handle but have now included them. This has forced me to change one skill as far as I know, but there might be one or two more of those directly mentioned in the story that should be changed.


    The text describing the grimoire skill in chapter 2 has been changed as a result.


    I have also been doing some hardcore worldbuilding and planning while I was away and I look forward to telling all you penguins my story.


    The promised info page will go up at some point this week, but it will not contain anything near all the info regarding skills at once.


    I will instead try to do a little bit of work on it every once in awhile.


    Now see ya around penguins, and as always I hope you enjoyed my humble story.

 Info page: Updated to chapter 9

    Info page


    This is not a chapter.


    This is a page detailing all info related to the story. The info on this page will be updated piecemeal and when I¡¯m done with the big haul of starting it up I will keep it up to date with info up to the current chapter. No spoilers will appear here, all info is something Durabo would have access to, and you should have so as well.


    I will start with writing out all the skill information. It will not be in boxes tho.


    I plan to do a character section, stat section, class section and stuff like that as I find the time to update and improve this page. As such it will most likely forever be a work in progress.


    If you feel a need for clarification or have questions please do ask them and I will try my best to answer them. Don¡¯t be shy, if you have the question most likely others have thought about it as well.


    While writing this I tweaked the skills a bit, and so a few of them might have slightly different effects or wording than when shown in the story. Besides that I have also included sub skills an so some skills have disappeared from Durabo''s skill list as they are now sub skills instead.


    Skills


    The skills here will have five parts:


    Description:


    Which is where the skill is described.


    As well as shows how rare the skill is, and its tier.


    The tier is how many times the skill has combined or evolved. A skill will generally become more powerful as the tiers rise. But also harder to level.


    Possible Factors:


    Which show how it¡¯s possible to get the skill.


    Effects:


    Which shows what you gain for each level on any given rank of a skill.


    It is worth noting here that when you reach level twenty-five of a rank it becomes level one of the next rank.


    You gain the benefits from both level twenty-five of the first rank and level one of the second.


    Sub Skills:


    This is where any sub skills the skill might have are described. Sub skills power is directly proportionate to the main skills. What that means is, that the sub skill will not level, and any effect that scale, scale with the main skill.


    Notes:


    This is where I tell you stuff like how some skills are the same with different elements or what typically happens.


    Active Combat Skills:


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Controlled Manifestation: Element


    Rarity: Varies from rare to unique.


    Tier: 2


    You have mastered the art of manifesting an element and have therefore been granted an evolved form of the skill.


    Possible Factors:


    Doing something stupid like almost getting burned to death by your own fire. :P


    Effects:


    Novice: 8% Spell Creation Speed


    Notes:


    Controlled manifestation is an evolved form of manifestation.


    It gains all the benefits of manifestation which is.


    -75% spell cost


    300% Mana density.


    Manifestation: Element


    Rarity: Varies from common to very rare.


    Tier: 1


    You are able to convert your internal mana into a given type of elemental mana.


    Possible Factors:


    The four basic elements are taught from books in any major library.


    Gaining the affinity of the element, and having the manifestation skill for another element.


    Effects:


    Novice: 4% Mana Density per level.


    Adept: 8% Mana Density per level.


    Notes:


    All Manifestation skills follow the same template and I have therefore only written out the info in general.


    Third Eye:


    Rarity: Common


    Tier: 1


    You are able to perceive mana as visual information


    Possible Factors:


    Changing your class to Mage


    Effects:


    Novice: Able to perceive manifested mana, as well as what type of Mana it is.


    Adept: Able to perceive Natural mana, as well as type of Natural Mana.


    Notes:


    The effects of this skill rises with the skill level.


    Passive Combat Skill:


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Focus: Spells


    Rarity: Uncommon


    Tier: 1


    You have trained your mind in order to make it more adept at manipulating and controlling spells.


    Possible Factors:


    Using a lot of spells, and trying to either release and cast a split spell like dual fireballs, or trying to control the trajectory of one spell even after release.


    Effects:


    Novice: Can control 1 spell or Release 2 spells


    Grimoire


    Rarity: Common


    Tier: 1


    Your personal spellbook that will record all spells you learn and all information you find related to magic and mana.


    Possible Factors:


    Changing your class to Mage.


    Effects:


    Novice: 4% spell damage


    Adept: 8% spell speed


    Sub Skills:


    Summon Grimoire:


    Rarity: Common


    Tier: 1


    You can summon your Grimoire.


    Effect:


    Costs 100 mana per skill rank.


    Absorb Knowledge:


    Rarity: Common


    Tier: 1


    You are able to absorb knowledge related to spellcraft and mages.


    Effect:


    Cost 1 Mana per page.


    Intuition


    Rarity: Uncommon


    Tier: 1


    You are more intuitive than most.


    Possible Factors:


    Being exposed to a lot of situations where knowledge and information is scarce, and being forced to still make calculated guesses based on hunches.


    Effects:


    You feel a special sensation when a thought or observation is relevant to a bigger whole.


    Mana Feed


    Rarity: Racial


    Your heritage has granted you a deep connection with magic.


    Possible Factors:


    Be a High Elf


    Effects:


    50% Mana based skill cost


    Novice: 4% of Mana used Heals you.


    Adept: 8% More Mana


    Mastery: Element Spells


    Rarity: Varies from common to unique


    Tier: 1


    You are able to control and utilize Element spells.


    Possible Factors:


    Creating and casting an Element spell with the use of the Meditation skill and Manifestation: Element skill.


    Effects:


    Novice: 4% Spell effectiveness


    Adept: 8% Spell effectiveness


    Notes:


    This skill is the same for all element type skills. Effectiveness here is how well the skill can do something.


    Mastery: Chants


    Rarity: Common


    Tier: 1


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    You are experienced in the use of chants.


    Possible Factors:


    Changing your class to Mage.


    Effects:


    Novice: 2% Chant speed and 1 Intellect


    Mastery: Hand-to-Hand


    Rarity: Common


    Tier: 1


    You are trained in the use of your body as a weapon.


    Possible Factors:


    Killing something bare handed


    Effects:


    Novice: -4% Lashback damage


    Mastery: Magic Staffs


    Rarity: Common


    Tier: 1


    You are experienced in the use of staffs as a magical foci to enable you to cast spells without using sigils, but it requires a longer chant.


    Possible Factors:


    Change your class to Mage


    Effects:


    50% Spell cost


    Novice: -4% Spell cost


    Mastery: Sigils


    Rarity: Common


    Tier: 1


    You are experienced in the use of sigils.


    Possible Factors:


    Changing your class to Mage


    Effects:


    Novice: 2% Sigil speed and 1 Agility


    Adept: 4% Sigil damage and 2 Agility


    Passive Support Skills:


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Cartography


    Rarity: Uncommon


    Tier: 2


    You have mastered the art of making simple maps and have learned to make a greater variety of maps. As well as using different tools in order to make precise maps with a great amount of information.


    Possible Factors:


    Being taught by a member of the Adventurer''s Guild


    Sub Skills:


    Auto Mapping:


    Rarity: Common


    Tier: 1


    You are able to gather and record information subconsciously on your map.


    Effects:


    Your map will automatically be updated with all pertinent information.


    Notes:


    As a crafting skill, cartography does not gain any effects as it levels, mainly because the level of a crafting skill indicates how experienced you are at the given craft, and there are way too many factors involved in crafting to try and make stats for it.


    The reward for mastering a craft skill besides being able to craft stuff is in the Sub skills that can have many diverse effects, including influencing combat.


    Charm


    Rarity: Uncommon


    Tier: 1


    You are more charming than most.


    Possible Factors:


    Being found incredibly charming by one person.


    Effects:


    Novice: 4% Effectiveness of Charisma


    Notes:


    Effectiveness of charisma here mean stat the effect of charisma is increased by that percentage, but not any skills that use charisma as a modifier.


    Cooking


    Rarity: Common


    Tier: 1


    You are able to cook meals using simple tools and techniques.


    Possible Factors:


    Being taught by a Scout Master.


    Language: Rune tongue


    Rarity: Rare


    Tier: 1


    You are able to speak Rune Tongue an ancient language now mostly forgotten in the mists of time.


    Possible Factors:


    Learning it from a book.


    Effects:


    Novice: ??


    Meditation


    Rarity: Common


    Tier: 1


    You are able to enter a meditative trance.


    Possible Factors:


    Being learning how from a book.


    Effects:


    Novice: Able to design spells as well as train Wisdom and Concentration.


    Adept: 8% Mana Regeneration when meditating.


    Subconscious Note-taking


    Rarity: Rare


    Tier: 1


    You are able to use your hand while reading to collect all relevant information found during research.


    This skill is at max level.


    Possible Factors:


    Having idle hands, and a high natural ability for compartmentalized thinking.


    Effect:


    Writes down all relevant information.


    Writes down thoughts or musings.


    No control of what''s written


    Survival Skills


    Rarity: Common


    Tier: 1


    You have learned how to survive in the wild.


    Possible Factors:


    Being taught by a Scout Master


    Sub Skills:


    Skinning:


    Rarity: Common


    Tier: 1


    You have learned how to skin various beast using a blade.


    Effects:


    Novice: 1% damage caused by blades.


    Tracking:


    Rarity: Common


    Tier: 1


    You have learned how to read the signs beings leave behind.


    Effects:


    Novice: Tracks now glow.


    Trapping:


    Rarity: Common


    Tier: 1


    You have learned how to create simple traps and use them to gather food or secure a


    camp.


    Effects:


    Novice: 1% Extra environmental damage to opponents if caused by you.


    Tailoring


    Rarity: Common


    Tier: 1


    You have learned how to make and repair simple cloth armor and clothes.


    Possible Factors:


    Being taught by a Seamstress.


    Sub Skills:


    Tailor''s Hands


    Rarity: Common


    Tier: 1


    You are able to use your hands with precision and speed.


    Effects:


    Novice: 1% Hand control


    Writing


    Rarity: Common


    Tier: 1


    You are able to write.


    Possible Factors:


    Writing something. (Duh :D)


    Effects:


    Novice: 2% writing speed and control


    Adept: 4% writing speed and control


    Expert: 6% writing speed and control


    Master: 8% writing speed and control


    <hr />


    Edit Log:


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    25/04-2015: Added effect to sub skills Tracking and Trapping.


    11/9-2015: Changed skill description and effect of sub skill Auto Mapping. It now mentions a map and not a minimap.

 Chapter 9: The hand of vengeance must dig two graves 1/2

    Chapter 9: The hand of vengeance must dig two graves 1/2


    Violence and combat with your life on the line, even if its merely a game, might be quite exciting.


    Looting on the other hand is decidedly not, at least not when the looting consists of cutting the heads open and scooping out the brains of a hundred and twelve goblinoid Bloods. It was gory and tiring work, that even took the rest of the night. Durabo barely managed to get it done and recast the two Earth walls before he entombed himself and logged off.


    *******


    When Durabo returned to Nexus, it was with a newfound respect for the tactics involved in small scale armed conflicts like this. He had used the whole lecture to research it and discovered that things were not quite as simple and straightforward as he had thought them to be.


    Well the sum of it is that he has now concluded that what he needed most in the upcoming battle was not more damage. It was more control.


    The worst of it was that he had the perfect tool for control, Mind magic. With it the previous battle would have been pure slaughter. Well might have been, he was not quite certain how something with a hive mind like the Bloods would react to it.


    In the end when he was pressured the most, he had not even considered using Mind magic. Instead he had relied on his martial arts. Why was that?


    He had no answer, yet it would be a shame to let a skill set go unused if it could save him in a pinch. With a mental sigh Durabo set thoughts of Mind magic aside for a different time, now was not the time to contemplate how or if, he would use it.


    Durabo had planned to wait another play session and rest, before going down into the depths and killing the survivors.


    At first he had simply planned to perfect some of his Ice spells, that plan had now been scrapped. Instead he would focus on getting some more solid cc spells.


    He would also try to develop some aoe spells, since they would make the fight against the numerous but drastically weaker opponents easier.


    Aoe damage should be one of the major strengths of his class, yet the books never mentioned how to actually make aoe spells. Might be that was one of things you had to learn from a master and he had yet to meet an NPC ingame that he wanted to be apprenticed to. Well in all truthfulness he really had not tried to find one.


    Before beginning his meditation he would need to have at least an outline of what he wanted to do. He needed a spell to slow down their movement, without fouling his own. He had a few spells designed to mess with opponents footing, as well as one to move them by force.


    In other games Ice nearly always had way to slow down opponents, or freeze them if powerful enough. Maybe that was the way to go, try to force them to move slower.


    When the sun set and he opened his eyes after having tried to find an Ice spell that slows down opponents without making ice appear he gave op. The shape was not the problem, the problem was what type of Water and Fire mana would create slowing Ice mana when combined. No matter what he tried it simply would not work.


    Frustrated by his lack of success, Durabo decided to return to the basics.


    The book he had read about Ice magic, taught that you made Ice mana by taking Water mana, and modifying it with Fire. The modifications results in the ice made by spells.


    With a start his eyes opened wide, that was it. The key lay in the physics of water becoming ice. The removal of thermal energy.


    Slowly his lips stretched into a wide grin, that was it, Fire magic is the manipulation of energy.


    He did not have to figure out how to slow someone down directly. No what he needed to do was leech away his opponents energy, causing them to slow down through a lack of resources.


    As he slowed down his thoughts and calmed his mind, slowly sinking into the part of his mind used for spell design he heard the clear bell like sound of a system message.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Stats have changed and you have gained stat points</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Affinity is now no longer a percentage but instead a value.


    +25 Affinity Fire.


    Factor:


    By catching a true glimpse of the inner workings of Fire by realising that it has to do with the manipulation of energy.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Durabo was clearly on the right track, a slight problem occurred to him though. If Fire is energy, why the hell is it called Fire, and how come its basic manifested form is fire?


    He would have to figure out the nature of the other basic elements, but that was a task for another time. Now he had to use his newfound knowledge to make some cool spells.


    The last thing he did before beginning to utilize his discovery, was setting the ingame alarm clock to fifteen minutes before his forced logoff. Time would more than likely fly when he first got going, and he needed the broodmother to be trapped when he returned for his next play session.


    It was more difficult than usual to find the place within himself to create spells. Mostly because he was way too excited by the complexity and adaptability of magic in this world.


    Submerging himself in the spell creation process and intellectual challenge of getting the most out of his discovery, time flew by fast as lightning.


    When he opened his eyes at the alarms sound in his mind he had designed only one spell. But it was beyond cool and when he had some free time he would be able to make a lot of new spells with his first status effect. He had made a spell that could drain the stamina of opponents. Well in truth he had discovered a type of Fire mana that he could combine with other elements granting them the ability to drain an opponent''s stamina.


    After that he had combined that with Air mana and made a set of spells that both control opponents movement as well as drains their stamina.


    Well he would just have to slowly expand upon his repertoire of spells, as always he planned to analyze every fight and improve or design spells as needed. Now he just had a little more to work with when doing the design part.


    Durabo settled down in his stone shelter cast the Fire spell and covered himself with the rough pelts. Satisfied with the days work. Although it was more than a little tedious to keep recasting the two stone lids.


    *******


    Now was the time to see whether the siege had taken it toll on the besieged. He had already sealed the other entrance anew, so he really had no excuse not to get started.


    With a few words and some sigils he made an Earth wall appear on top of the one before him, yet unlike usual this one was a tad smaller not quite reaching from one end to another. With a thought the old wall disappeared and the new fell to the ground with a loud thump. There was now a small strip of darkness at the back of the entrance, the place where the Bloods was most unlikely to be able to reach.


    The wisdom of that quickly became apparent when he dropped his Light spell down into the dark.


    Bloods as many as could be packed into the space available on the floor. It took him by surprise, but only for a moment before he started casting Ice spears killing them from above. He only got four of them before they retreated to the safety of the dark tunnel.


    He cast another Earth wall closing of the tunnel as far in as he could materialize. About nine meters into the tunnel, then he dispelled the lid and hopped down unto the slope of the entrance.


    Durabo contemplated how to go about this, he had a lot of low level opponents to kill and the Broodmother had proven herself to be a little troublesome. All of this would have been so much easier were Bloods but mere beasts.


    In the end he decided that he would simply have to kill as many as he can then erect a new Earth wall while he had the mana to do so and when he had rested he would begin the cycle again.


    Ensuring that the Bloods could not escape by casting yet another Earth wall behind himself, Durabo mentally prepared himself for what would more than likely be a long tiring battle.


    He first cast a sheet of clear Ice in front of the wall and then summoned two Ice spears before he with a thought dismissed the wall.


    He was met by a scaly pale Orc, ten pale Orcs, and Goblins as far as the eye could see. Once more the thrill of battle nearly overcame him, but the thought of the reduction in stats kept him cool and level headed.


    The first Ice spear took the head of the scaly Orc, more than likely a high level Blood. The next took a normal Orcs head as well and then he cast three gusts of wind pushing back the horde.


    All his Air spells now drained stamina as well since the effect synergizes well with the need for pushback. The chant and sigils were a tad bit more difficult and time consuming though, so it was not without its downsides.


    With the horde pushed back he tried throwing shards and the Orcs instead of spears.  To his delight that killed them in one shot as well. Gotta love the whole low level thing.


    For the next ten minutes Durabo slaughtered the Bloods, then he checked his mana and found it nearly empty, so with yet more gusts of wind he pushed them back and erected a new Earth wall cutting the stream of Bloods off.


    He had killed quite a few of the bloods, but for every time he cast the shard spell he had to cast quite a few of the gusts.


    After twenty minutes of meditation Durabo once more started the slaughter. Only a tenth of his time was used in battle the rest was recovery, resulting in him having to use a lot more time than predicted. At least the queen seemed intent on throwing anything she had at him, probably she was at her wits end.


    *******


    Three play sessions it took him to kill them all. Well all but whatever she had hidden down in the spawn pool besides herself.


    When Durabo entered the center cave of the old mine, it was more than a little anticlimactic. There she was in all her glory, sitting on a rock besides a beachball sized egg.


    Her eyes a deep purple tore into him as she raised her pale purple haired head and watched him enter.


    ¡°Why did you kill me?¡± She asked, her voice sad and confused.


    ¡°Because this was not the place you should set up a nest. ¡° He considered for a moment and then said. ¡°Well in truth this is the way of this world. I need strength, your death provides that.¡±


    Something akin to a spark of defiance entered her eyes.


    ¡°Come claim your new strength then, slayer.¡± She answered anger rampant on her face, and as she did so Ice crystals started to form all around Durabo.


    He was outside the ten meter materialization limit of magic he thought. Clearly he was wrong to believe that everyone had that limitation.


    Durabo realized he had no spell designed to counter this, he was surrounded by Ice shards.


    A precious second was spent just coming up with a suitable alternative. With a few words and some sigils he cast a tall and broad Earth wall tilted behind himself and ducked beneath it before getting pelted with the other shards.


    A quick glance at his health bar showed it as nearly depleted. He rose and quickly cast a new spell, this time his Ice spear one, and threw them at the Broodmother. That got his health back to a nice two thirds of full. Gotta love that racial.


    She dodged one spear and took the other full in the face, taking some damage although he couldn¡¯t see her health bar to determine how much.


    He dodged her retaliatory Ice spears with relative ease. It did jerk his chain a bit that she could cast five at the same time though.


    Apparently she was not that into one-on-one fights for she kept throwing spears and he kept dodging trying to tag her with his own spears.


    She didn¡¯t use that aoe Ice shard attack either, Durabo was more than a little convinced it had a cooldown or needed the target to be stationary.


    A spear pierced his shoulder making him miss his step. Seeing the bar blink in his upper right hand vision he cast the Ice spear spell by reflex, managing to tag both her right shoulder and left side. She had gotten cocky after her successful hit.


    Durabo could feel irritation lurking just beneath the calm of his serene state of mind. She should not be any higher than level thirty, why was she so hard to defeat?


    He dodged yet another barrage of spears and then a glimmer of inspiration hit him. He cast his Light spell and threw the orb in her face blinding her for a moment. While she was blinded he got two Ice spear spells off. All four of the spears hitting her in the chest.


    Seeing her stunned by the large amount of damage he advanced quickly, swept her of her feet and fired two Fireballs point blank at her chest. Hoping that the opposite Element would damage her more. It did, at least she stopped moving.


    The second the fight was over he closed of all entrances to the center room and its four shallow spawn pools.


    He then started meditating going over every single spell and dodge during the fight. Durabo had faults to correct in his repertoire.


    Four hours later he had his sphere of last defense spell made.  A spell cast with the most durable Earth mana he could get without adding to the chants length. It would take a hit of a thousand damage or so and had a chant of a second with two sigils. Not perfect but it was the best he could do for the moment.


    He did make a mental note to study how to make his general spell casting faster besides leveling his chant and sigil mastery skills. It would help to alleviate more than a few of his problems and weaknesses.


    Now that he had taken care of a glaring weakness in his combat potential it was time to do the more unpleasant tasks.


    The removal of mind stones had become something akin to second nature for Durabo. So he had already broken her head open and retrieved it when he stopped and realized she looked nearly human, making him question his own sanity for doing it so calmly.


    Next up was the extermination of all the eggs in the spawn pools. There was four of them, equally spread across the rooms dark grey stone floor. In the center of the room was the rock she had sat on, with the huge Brood egg next to it. She had fled almost all the way to one of  the three exits while dodging and throwing magic at him.


    It took him him all of two minutes to squash all the eggs in the pools and he now found himself studying the big white purple veined egg.


    Durabo could not help but think it a shame to wipe out such a rare variant of the Bloods. The unborn Broodmother before him represented a choice, he could save or doom this strain of Ice Bloods.


    In the end he could not do it, he chose to take the egg. If for no other reason than it might get him some gold in Vetas, mages will study anything related to magic including magical beasts.


    With that done Durabo headed towards Fursreach, managing to get quite far before nightfall. While his four hour meditation had been in a sense necessary, he still regretted that he could not stop himself from doing it immediately.


    Shaking his head at his own eagerness he surrounded himself with Earth walls and started meditating.


    *******


    Durabo¡¯s run back to Fursreach had been uneventful, he had seen the tracks of wolves and other beasts. Yet when push comes to shove, he was satisfied with being forty-five, it should be enough to at least challenge an adept class witch depending upon her level of course.


    That he had enough mindstones to almost overburden his carrying capacity had nothing to do with that decision of course. Well truthfully a single wolf or greater beasts carcass would slow him down to a crawl, that whole you need to bring the corpses back rule being quite the hindrance.


    Feet hitting the snow in a slow and steady rhythm Durabo¡¯s mind once more drifted back to the problem of motivation. What should he do within this beautiful world now that his thirst for proving old friends wrong had been preempted.


    Well he did have his martial arts, and his rate of improvement would definitely benefit from the pseudo practical experience that Nexus had to offer. However that would mean giving up magic.


    That thought triggered something within him, he would really not like to give up magic. Not at all actually. Both exploring all the theory of magic and its intricacies as well as utilizing that knowledge in combat was something he enjoyed immensely.


    A grin appeared on his face as he reached the end of that line of reasoning. In the end Nexus was a game world, it was supposed to be fun and exciting.


    It was of course at that time his passive twinged alerting him of something. Durabo stopped to figure out what, just as a massive paw swept through the air in front of him.


    The clear and obvious irony of this was not lost on Durabo as he dodged the next paw and sized up his opponent. A massive wolf a meter and fifty at the shoulders, grey pelt with white highlights and purple eyes. Oh and according to his Third Eye overflowing with Ice mana.


    Second mob in the north he wound up fighting with Ice affinity and something gave him the distinct impression this one would be a tad bit more difficult to handle.


    Once more the Minor Frostwolf swiped at him while advancing faster than a beast that size had a right to. By pure reflex Durabo cast a gust spell and dodged behind the wolf while it moved further away than it had planned. He did notice that its claws did not skid across the snow, just perfect snowproof paws.


    While it presented its back to him from just over a meter away he quickly fired two Fireballs at it all the while retreating backwards. Since the distance was small enough to allow them to keep most of their heat. Judging by the wolfs growl it was quite displeased by that.


    The wolf almost contorted as it turned around and flashed at him again, once more he cast gust and dodged thinking that this beast might not be that hard to defeat.


    The searing pain from his stomach stopped that thought right quick. The pain almost broke through his calm, which would have been even more troublesome.  The bastard had tagged him with its back leg while passing by him, shaving off two thirds of his health in one hit, how it had done so he was not quite certain.


    The purple mana running through its veins had visibly lessened, yet he had not observed the wolf use any magic.


    A couple of fireballs hit is flank once again, since the wolf was so kind as to present it to him. Instead of a growl though, he was rewarded by a howl of obvious pain.


    For a complex AI this wolf seemed to have a simplistic attack pattern, relying on its speed and strength to defeat opponents.


    That thought was of course bound to jinx a fight that was otherwise going quite well for Durabo.


    Purple eyes gleamed as the air became frigid. Once more the wolf attacked, but unlike before he could not dodge in time and took a hit. His body seemed to be moving slightly slower than usual, checking his stamina to see whether it was low he saw he still had some left before the debuffs so it could not be that.


    The wolf followed up its solid swipe with a roar combined with teeth sinking into his neck. Durabo barely had time to discover what happened before he blacked out.


    *******


    Sebastian found himself in the white room once more. He was not quite sure how to tackle his second death in Nexus. On one hand the beast had clearly been toying with him, on the other hand he felt like he still should have been able to defeat it anyway.  Failure had no place in his modus operandi.


    With a flash of light Sophia¡¯s slim form appeared before him, as it did so several other flashes of light brought back the sofa and table as well.


    ¡°Hi there Sophia, I presume you saw me getting toyed with by that mutt?¡± Sebastian asked, with a rueful shake of his head.


    The corner of her eyes crinkled a little as she smiled.


    ¡°Well yes I did see that, although to be fair it was a variant and affinity beast. Most would have a tough job of killing it.¡± Sophia said, rubbing it in even more.


    Sebastian was not irritated by this though, for in that little sentence was some information he did not have before.


    At Sophia¡¯s gesture he sat down in the sofa, and as he did so he felt the gentle warmth of another human being beside him.


    ¡°Well in the end there is always something out there that can kill you.¡± He said, with a small smile.


    Sophia¡¯s eyes gleamed as she flashed him a big smile.


    ¡°Indeed there is. Especially when you are a frail mage.¡±


    Now that was surprising, if he didn¡¯t know better he would think she was actually developing a playful side.


    ¡°Well at least I ain¡¯t no glass canon.¡± Sebastian said, secretly waiting to see whether she would pick up the bait.


    Her smile turned into a smirk as she replied.


    ¡°Indeed, that would require you to have high damage.¡± Her voice sweet and pleasant as she delivered that barb.


    Well wasn¡¯t that something, the shy little AI had developed some chops.


    ¡°I seem to remember something  about us discussing things besides Nexus. How about we do that now?¡± He said, acknowledging her teasing hit as he did so.


    Her gentle bell like laughter was his reward for letting her win their verbal joust.


    ¡°Well we can do that as well, Sebastian, what would you like to discuss?¡± She answered as her clear voice wrapped around his name. Her dark eyes more than a touch alluring.


    Now he had no feelings except the friendly kind for her, yet those eyes and that voice was enough to make him doubt that for a second or two.


    Time to get back at her for her teasing.


    ¡°Well, let me see¡­ Whatever could I want to discuss with a beautiful young woman like you in private?¡± He said with a crooked smirk.


    All the while looking her straight in the eye, she did have a nice, albeit petite, figure but eyes were the windows to the soul and he always found them the most fascinating.


    The blush in her cheeks followed by her breaking eye contact seemed to indicate his revenge was achieved.


    ¡°Managed to beat your dad in chess yet?¡± Sebastian asked, giving her a way out.


    ¡°No, there is simply way too many possibilities for me to compute them all. Which I am certain is the reason that is the game we play.¡±


    That actually made sense. Sebastian had a buddy who was rather good at chess.


    He said that after each player made a move there was over four-hundred possible combinations and from there the number grew so fast that after the third turn there was more than nine billion combinations. Even Sophia with a processing power greater than most western nations couldn¡¯t figure them all out, at least not within a reasonable timeframe.


    ¡°Well, I would think the trick is to not try and foresee everything and instead try to control it. But hey that¡¯s probably just me.¡± He smiled, then continued. ¡°Then again, that might be why I have never been anything but a mediocre chess player.¡°


    Sophia studied him for a moment, her eyes searching.


    ¡°You keep saying that, Sebastian, but I get the feeling you know more about it than you say.¡± She said and a small grin appeared. ¡°I might just have to force you to play with me sometime.¡±


    A chance like that should always be grasped in his humble opinion.


    ¡°Well you won''t have to force me to, how did you call it, play with you, Sophia, I will do so quite willingly.¡± Sebastian said all the while his grey eyes bubbled with barely restrained mirth.


    The lightning fast hit to his right shoulder was not at all gentle. He even had to stop his hand from rising up to rub it, would not do to show weakness in front of a lady now would it.


    ¡°That was not what I meant and you know it. ¡° Yet as she denied that, Sebastian, could see a hint of heat in her eyes. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to play chess with me I will just have to survive without.¡±


    ¡°Hmm come to think of it, do you ever do anything like sports?¡± Sebastian asked, as he thought about her hobbies trying to decide what to talk about next.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t really see the point of doing so. Whatever I want my so called body to do it does, perfectly I might add. Besides who would I do such things with?¡±


    She had a fair point as far a Sebastion could discern at least. How the hell could he have thought sports would be of any interest to her? Then again, she could handicap her body to normal human standards and try it, he thought she might even find it fun.


    ¡°Hmm are you able to compartmentalize enough to make your body control and perceptions like a humans?¡± He asked, an idea forming in his mind ever so slowly.


    Sophia looked intrigued as she thought about it, taking her time to figure out whether or not she could.


    While she looked into that Sebastian thought about how she would blush and fidget sometimes. If her body only did what she wanted, why did she react like that? No obvious answers presented itself, but he would sure like to know.


    After a few minutes, which is bound to be a whole lot of thought for her, Sophia answered his question.


    ¡°Well, I can do that, but it requires a separation of this avatar and my main code. This would in essence make this avatar a split personality that is then reabsorbed.¡± She showed him a small smile before speaking once more. ¡°I would like to know what we would do in the case I decided to try it.¡±


    Mulling it over for a moment, Sebastian could see more than a few possibilities.


    ¡°Well, we could try soccer, bowling, dart, pool, we could even try martial arts if you were interested in that sort of thing.¡± He said, mentioning a few of the things he could come up with on the top of his head.


    Her face lit up when he mentioned martial arts, her eyes almost shimmering with anticipation and something else he couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on. Well seemed like the sport we would try had been decided already.


    ¡°I would really like to try martial arts, Sebastian. I¡¯ve seen you use some in Nexus and it looks so fun. ¡° Sophia said, her sweet voice eager.


    Sebastian smiled gently at her enthusiasm, he himself had thought the same after he saw a shaolin monk show as a child. Now he was well aware of the fact he couldn¡¯t even be compared to those guys, a lifetime of training is hard to beat. It was nice to hear his form was at least good enough to make Sophia think it looks fun.


    ¡°Well if we are going to practice martial arts, then we need a few things. I am sure you have some way to rustle those up Sophia.¡° He said, certain that she knew the things needed, she had access to the hub after all as well as the internet.


    Her smirk and nod was all the confirmation he needed. Light flashed and he found himself facing a large room, within which the black matted floor and austere furnishings of a traditional dojo resided. The only wall that held anything besides bamboo and rice paper was the one at the end. That one had sets of simple wooden weapons in every shape and size imaginable.


    The dojo felt quite comfortable to Sebastian. It resembled the one where he was first taught Jiu Jitsu albeit with a better selection of practice weapons.


    ¡°Well I must say, you never fail to impress me Sophia. Now before you separate your main code and avatar I would like you to keep all martial art knowledge away from the avatar.¡°


    ¡°Why, I will only learn it again a later?¡± Sophia asked her porcelain face wearing a puzzled expression.


    ¡°Trust me Sophia, you will get more out of it that way.¡± Sebastian said, his eyes earnest and tone mild.


    Beautiful dark eyes searched his for a moment, before she nodded once.


    ¡°Okay, I will try it and see what it feels like. Give me a second to get separated.¡±


    After she said that, she closed her eyes, then both their clothes changed from his slacks and t-shirt and her kimono, into simple white Qi¡¯s. A moment later she opened them again, no obvious change in her demeanor indicating the separation.


    ¡°Well, Sebastian, I¡¯m ready if you are.¡±


    A smirk and a after you gesture was all she got for that sass.


    After they had found their way to the middle of the dojo¡¯s matted floor, Sebastian stopped and collected his thoughts for a moment.


    ¡°Alright we will start at the very basics. That is to say we will practice a couple of falling techniques and decided after that what else we¡¯ll do. Sound good?¡±


    Sophia nodded her head yes, but said nothing. Sebastian took this in stride, his mind already slipping into its old and familiar tracks.


    ¡°Perfect. We will start with side break falls since I presume stretching and the like is irrelevant.¡± Sebastian said, then added with a grin. ¡°Watch what I do closely, I¡¯ll just fall for you.¡±


    Having said that he swept his right foot forward, simulating being put off balance by a push or shove, and fell backwards landing on his right side while slapping the floor hard with his right hand at the moment of impact. After that he made sure to show Sophia how he had tugged his head into his chest and placed his legs so they did not hit each other on landing.


    ¡°Now the slap might seem dramatic and all, but it does have a purpose.¡± Sebastian said while standing up. ¡°The physics are quite complex to explain but the effect is quite simple. If you time the slap so it coincides with the rest of your body hitting the floor it will reduce the impact of the fall.


    Problem is if you slap to soon all the impact including that added by you slap will affect your arm, more than likely resulting in injury.


    If you slap too late the slap is nothing more than sound effects.


    Now that I think about it I¡¯m certain you get the physics of it much better than I ever will.¡±


    Sophia took the little lecture in stride though, without interrupting him. She did have a small smirk on her face as he said the physics of it was complex.


    He demonstrated the side fall from both sides as well as how he got up in a basic fighting stance after.


    ¡°Now before you try it Sophia, remember to tug in your chin and exhale when you hit the floor. Although the chin is by far the most important part.¡±


    Sebastian had to strangle a laugh at Sophia¡¯s first attempt, she just sorta flopped to the floor not even remembering to slap and her head lolled around when she landed. The intense glare he got from the prone girl was more than enough motivation to stop it before it got out though.


    Helping her rise he couldn¡¯t stop himself from asking with a smirk.¡± Want me to show you once more?¡±


    The glare turned even hotter, while her delicate hand hit him hard in the chest, not one to let a chance pass him by Sebastian used that to demonstrate how to do a perfect side break fall.


    When her foot came stomping towards his chest, he rolled backwards and got to his feet in a relaxed fighting stance.


    ¡°My my, you do know violence doesn¡¯t solve anything right?¡± He said all the while flashing her a boyish grin.


    A decidedly unladylike snort was all he got for his troubles, that and another hit to his chest. Well another attempt at a hit, he simply dodged it caught her arm and put her in a back armlock.


    ¡°Are you ready to give up little miss violent?¡± Sebastian whispered with his lips close to her left ear while holding her right hand between her shoulder blades.


    Moments passed and she still hadn¡¯t answered him, and he was beginning to become quite aware of her closeness.


    ¡°I surrender.¡± she answered her voice containing a hint of both mirth and something else, something that sent a shiver down his back.


    His hand released her arm, and he stepped back with a certain amount of regret.


    ¡°Well not that this hasn''t been fun mind you, but I do need to get something to eat before logging back in.¡±


    Sophia turned around still standing close and flashed him a smile.


    ¡°We will just have to continue this another time then, Sebastian. Now shoo, I have falling to practice.¡±


    With that darkness swallowed him once more.


    *******


    When he logged back in, it was at the his rented room at the Inn. Which was also the reason why he hadn¡¯t checked out of the room when he went hunting. Nexus had a simply respawn system, the last safe place you slept is where you will respawn, as long as you still have the right to that bed. In the case you don¡¯t you end up at spawning the same place that you did when you started the game. Durabo had read rumors online about spawn stones and the like that would let you control the respawn point better, but if they truly existed the ones that had them did not divulge the information.


    Durabo looked at himself and couldn¡¯t help but frown. Nora would kill him if she ever discovered what sorry state he had allowed to let his clothes deteriorate to.


    There was gashes, cuts, rips and tears all over his jacket. Mud and blood had even stained both his trousers and jacket. Frankly he looked a mess.


    Taking needle and thread from his inventory he equipped his novice mage robes and sat down on the floor with the whole soiled mess of his battle set in his lap.


    While he had nothing but basic knowledge of how to sew, he had always had a meticulous nature so he set to it with the utmost care and diligence. Besides when push comes to shove, the clothes were simply too cool to neglect or do a half-assed repair job on.


    It ended up costing him about nine points of durability on the jacket and two points on the trousers when he was done. That they had magically cleaned themselves while he repaired them was something that reinforced that this world in truth was a game.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    That was not too surprising, no the two status windows that appeared as he finished was. He had disabled stat and skill gain reports completely unless he gained something new and not just experience or points. The constant windows when he was calm and begun to irritate him.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">New Stat Gained</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Dexterity</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">New Skill Gained</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Tailor¡¯s Hands(Passive) </td></tr></tbody></table>


    A quick thought brought up the information on his new stat and skill. .


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Dexterity</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Rarity:</td><td colspan=''15''>common</td><td colspan=''15''>Rank:</td><td colspan=''15''>Advanced stat</td><td colspan=''15''>Type:</td><td colspan=''15''>Physical</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>Description:</td><td colspan=''30''>Effects:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>The representation of your manual dexterity and skill.


    Factor:


    Repairing clothes using the tailoring skill.</td><td colspan=''30''>Increases your hand control.


    Increases the steadiness of your hands.


    Slightly increases your hand speed.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>Tailor¡¯s Hands</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Rarity:</td><td colspan=''15''>Common</td><td colspan=''15''>Rank:</td><td colspan=''15''>Sub Skill</td><td colspan=''15''>Level:</td><td colspan=''15''>N/a</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>Description:</td><td colspan=''30''>Effects:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''60''>You are able your hands with precision and speed.


    Factor:


    Having the Tailoring skill and the Dexterity stat.</td><td colspan=''30''>1% Hand control .</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Well the Sub skill wasn¡¯t bad, it could possibly help both his hand-to-hand and spell casting. The stat on the other hand seemed to be a waste of an advanced slot. Then again until he reached the limit of ten he might as well keep it. Who knows it might even prove useful down the line somehow.


    Durabo re-equipped his battle set and rose, time to turn in his extermination quest. The sun had not set yet, so the Speaker should still be human and available.


    When he got down the old wooden stairs of the inn and entered the tap room he spotted Anna at the bar. A boyish grin flashed across his face, as he saw her cheeks redden while his gaze swept over her. Ahh to be young and hormonal, well he had things to do, no time to tease the poor girl today.


    ¡°Where have you been the last week Durabo?¡± Anna half shouted from behind him.


    Durabo turned around and smirked.


    ¡°Ohh I have been out hunting a little. That nest of Bloods that was a problem isn¡¯t problematic anymore.¡± He answered, a note of quiet pride in his voice.


    That surprised her a little it would seem, at least he could see a clear widening of her blue eyes.


    ¡°Now I¡¯m in a little bit of a hurry Anna so I¡¯ll tell you all about it later if you want to hear it.¡± Durabo said, and walked out the door after he saw her hesitant nod. Seems she read more into that statement than he did.


    The sun above in the frost clear blue sky indicated it was only midday, yet he still felt a little time pressure because he thought that the Blackbriar¡¯s would more than likely want some privacy as the time neared sunset and their change.


    Durabo had forgotten all about the consecration ritual since it had no relevance to the quest he had done, so when he entered the square where the Speaker and his family¡¯s log houses where he was surprised to see a small crowd of townspeople gathered around a small stone platform. The stone platform was made from the same grey bedrock as the mine, and on it three adult wolfs, four snow hares and a snow fox lay ready to be consecrated it would seem.


    A tall and thin man stood before the platform, a gnarled wooden staff in one hand, a silver necklace with a dark gem in the other. The speaker had wings of grey at his temples, contrasting with his dark almost black hair.


    While Durabo stood there watching, the Speaker said something long winded in a language Durabo didn¡¯t understand and gestured to the carcasses. A hint of struggle creased his sharp face when he finished his monologue and a small barely noticeable flash of pale light appeared in the depths of  the black gemstone set in his silver necklace. There was a hint of something in that flash that twigged his passive, but he could not for the life of him figure out what. If only the passive was more clear.


    For all the fanfare Durabo had expected something a little more dramatic. Then again, they did this every day and repetition will make everything dull and commonplace in due time.


    As the hunters took away their kills Durabo strode up to the Speaker and waited while the man chatted with a young boy. The speaker was telling the boy that his father was missed here at the consecrations, apparently he hadn¡¯t hunted anything but small hares for a while.


    The brown eyes of the Speaker then turned to study Durabo as the boy ran of with the four hares his snares had caught.


    ¡°What can I do for you young traveler?¡± His tone was polite and inquisitive.


    ¡°Well Speaker, I have completed this quest for Fursreach and it indicates I should contact  you for the reward.¡± Durabo answered, his tone polite and forthright. He thought that might be the best tack to gaining this NPCs approval.


    ¡°Give me a second and I¡¯ll check the screens. Oh and call me Simon, there is no need to stand on formality young elf.¡± Simon said, while he opened a window only he could see and fiddled around a bit.


    The moment he spotted the work Durabo had done was quite apparent, the surprise evident on the otherwise calm and collected mans face.


    ¡°Now, that is indeed a quest I put up. But I must admit that I had not expected it to be resolved so fast.¡± Simon smiled a bit. ¡°Why don¡¯t you join me and my family for lunch? We can discuss a reward then, seeing as the payment for all the cores might bankrupt the village.¡±


    Durabo had to suppress a frown, the only reason he had bothered with so many low level enemies was the fact that each of their cores netted him two coppers. The cores from the other types were worth more per core, but he had so few of them that they did not matter much in the grand scheme of things.


    The experience from the Bloods, while alright, was nowhere near what it would have been had he hunted wolves and the like instead. Well in the end gold isn''t everything and he had learned some things from the whole ordeal.


    ¡°Well I would be honored Simon.¡± Durabo said, if nothing else he would get a good meal out of it.


    ¡°Perfect, I¡¯m sure Maggie has made plenty of food so you joining us shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± Simon smiled, and indicated that Durabo should follow him.


    Simon led him into the biggest log house near the square and through a long wooden hallway at the end of which a dark wooden door was placed.


    The hall behind the door was big enough to house forty people and had a long oaken table down the middle big enough to seat half of that. Two benches ran the length of the long table. One end of the table had a white tablecloth  and seven people of varying ages seated, yet Durabo barely saw them.


    On the wall at the end of the table a magnificent fur hang, snow white with a slight purple sheen and bigger than a grizzly skin by half yet it was clearly a wolfskin. That wasn¡¯t the fur of just any beast of that he was certain, no if he wasn¡¯t mistaken that there was the big bad elder brother to the tame little pup that sent him to see Sophia.The fur of a Greater Frostwolf. How the hell had the Speaker gotten his hands on that?


    A slight cough to his side brought him back to virtual reality.


    ¡°I see you can recognize a rare thing when you see it, if you are lucky I might even tell you the story of how I brought it down.¡± Simon said, his voice laced heavily with pride. Not that Durabo blamed him if what he said was true.


    Like every person with a lick of sense knows levels are not nearly the end all be all. Greater Frostwolves might only be level fifty to sixty or so, but they had the power of both a sorcerer and an alpha predator. They were some of the undisputed champions of this area, and if Simon had single handedly killed one he was way more formidable than Durabo had thought.


    Durabo would not be certain of his chances even if he outleveled that beast by ten or more levels. All of this was of course based upon knowledge gained from bestiaries, so it might not be true.


    ¡°I must say, I am impressed Simon.¡± Durabo said while he gave Simon a respectful nod, then added towards the whole room. ¡°Good day to you all, my name is Durabo and it is a pleasure to meet you.¡±


    Lisette gave him a small smile and a nod. The three children just looked up stared at his ears for a bit and promptly dismissed him in favor of the food in their bowls. The elderly woman at the end watched him carefully before giving him a curt nod, and the middle aged woman smiled a bit and indicated he should sit down and dig in. The only one not polite, but almost hostile was the young man sitting next to Lisette, that one gave him the evil eye for some reason.


    Durabo simply took the seat near the middle of the table opposite Lisette and her husband. The food was simple rabbit stew with a side of coarse brown bread, delicious in it own way, especially after three play sessions of jerky in a cold damp mine.


    There wasn¡¯t much talk, amongst the adults at least, the kids did keep pestering him with questions about what it was like to be an elf. They did not seem to realize they were being rude.


    The cider that was served with the stew was the real treat though. Durabo had developed a soft spot for ciders in Nexus after all the dinners he and Silendra had enjoyed while drinking it. That his enjoyment of the drink had become bittersweet and a pang wormed its way through his heart every time he had it did not stop him from drinking it.


    When the food was gone the others left and Simon came over and sat down beside him.


    ¡°Now I realize the quest promised gold for the cores and a bonus if you cleaned them all out, but we simply don¡¯t have that sort of coin Durabo.¡± Simon said, his voice earnest. ¡°What I can do is reward you with a tool that I have made myself. ¡°


    After he said that he produced a simple bone handled knife in an aged leather sheath. The blade was a ten centimeter drop point. Full tang and curved from handle to tip, the blade wasn¡¯t fancy but it looked like high quality metal work anyway.


    The real kicker came when he inspected it though.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''90''>IWolfbone knife</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''15''>Rarity:</td><td colspan=''15''>Rare</td><td colspan=''15''>Type:</td><td colspan=''15''>Tool(Knife)</td><td colspan=''30''>Soulbound</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''90''>Description:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''90''>This is an old hunting knife, with a bound wolf spirit. The spirit is an old alpha tired of killing and will only allow the knife to be used as a survival and utility tool.


    Made by Speaker  Simon of Fursreach. </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''30''>Stats:</td><td colspan=''30''>Restrictions</td><td colspan=''30''>Effects:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''30''>Durability: 1000</td><td colspan=''30''>Survival skill</td><td colspan=''30''>Grows through use.


    5% skinning speed.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    This knife was the perfect knife for him. Now no matter what happened to him in the future he would always have at least this basic survival tool. That the knife also gave him a hint as to what sort of class the speaker had was only a plus.


    ¡°Thank you Simon, it is more than I deserve.¡± Durabo said, humbled by the man¡¯s generosity.


    Even if the man could make this knife himself it was not something that could be easily done.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about, the safety of my village is more important than any knife.¡± Simon said as he rose and offered Durabo his hand. ¡°Besides I have a feeling you will appreciate it more than I do, he has been left unused for a long time.¡°


    Durabo rose as well and shook Simons hand, still a bit shell shocked by the reward.


    As he stepped out of the log house he looked down to his right hand holding the sheathed knife. This was truly a reward beyond expectations.


    When he did so he spotted that his ring had been turned around at some point and the flame was clearly visible, he twisted the ring so the symbol didn¡¯t show and silently hoped the witch hadn¡¯t spotted.


    Eager to try out his new knife, he couldn¡¯t stop himself from heading out of Fursreach in search of prey.


    Durabo had about four hours left before nightfall so he should have plenty of time to head out and kill a wolf or two and still get back in time for a cider and a story at the inn before his meditation.


    Two hours later and a slight glow alerted him to the tracks of a feline. This would be good prey, solo hunter max level forty. Just perfect for what he needed.


    Half an hour later his limited knowledge of tracking indicated that the tracks was fresh and recently made. Yet the beast was nowhere to be seen. It took him a moment to realize that the snow leopard was more than likely an ambush predator and he had walked right into an area with small rocky outcroppings and other semi mountainous terrain. Perfect for just that sort of tactic.


    Well, he should really learn to read and account for the terrain better. Sun Tzu would be ashamed of him.


    His intuition twinged so with the sound of runes on his tongue and his hands flowing through sigils he cast to Ice spears behind him while making a forward rolling breakfall angled slightly to the side.


    Durabo was rewarded by the dull thump of spears hitting flesh and a shadow flying over his head. His forward movement ended with him on his feet and the leopard two meters away from him rising slowly. Without any hesitation he cast two Ice shards, and actually managed to pierce its eyes with one of them, since he somehow could guide it even after release.


    With that the beast died, yet Durabo still felt a certain respect for it. Were he ever to play an assassin he would strive to emulate its tactical thinking. Heck he should and probably would do so anyway.


    Drawing his new knife from its sheath at his side Durabo started skinning the snow leopard with as much care and precision as he could. The knife cut through the skin like it was barely there and when separating the hide from the flesh beneath it it almost seemed like the skin did so by itself, truly a nice knife.


    Before leaving the rest of the carcass for the wild to reclaim he took its teeth intending to make a necklace from them, while he had won the fight it had been the wisest.


    *******


    When Durabo got back to the inn the sun was half a hand over the horizon. Time to get some cider and get to know the locals, his help with the nest should have spread by now given him at least some semblance of respect and trust around here.


    The taproom was nearly empty, an old man sat in the corner booth nursing an ale, and Lucas stood behind the bar looking bored while listening to the rant of a middle aged man wearing a fur hat sitting on a stool. Well there was bound to be more people coming judging from the amount of people that were here when he first arrived in town.


    Durabo decided to free Lucas from his misery, seeing as no one enjoys a drunken lecture.


    ¡°Hi there Lucas. Could I get a dark cider please?¡± Durabo asked cutting fur hat guy off mid sentence. Durabo was well aware of how rude that was, and he did it anyway.


    ¡°Oh welcome back Durabo, I hear you¡¯ve handled the Blood nest all by your lonesome. Guess magic gives you some advantages we normal folk don¡¯t have.¡± Lucas answered, all the while the drunk kept lecturing not even noticing he did not have an audience. ¡°We only have elven forest cider by the way.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine Lucas, that was the stuff that got me hooked anyway. ¡° He answered and while Lucas drew it from a keg beneath the bar Durabo added. ¡°Well I admit magic does provide some utility that is hard to get elsewhere. But like any other tool or weapon its worth is determined by the hand or mind wielding it.¡±


    Lucas nodded at that and handed Durabo the mug of cider. Too bad that it wasn¡¯t chilled. That was a spell he would have to design at some time soon, the drink chiller. Nothing worse than a drink that is warm when it really ought to be cold.


    While Lucas and Durabo had their little talk more people had come and a few of them had gotten in line, clearly the ones whose turn it was to give the round.


    Who should he go and talk to? He wanted some information while he enjoyed his drink, he planned to use a week or so hunting around town and getting to know the locals before acting in his quest. The Blood quest should give him a good foundation for that.


    In the end he settled on the man sitting in the corner booth. He looked like an old and grizzled man, so he had more than likely been here for many years.


    ¡°Mind if I join you?¡± Durabo asked, polite and respectful but not servile. In his experience most old folk get tired real fast of asskissers.


    The mans flinty black eyes weighed him for a moment, judging.


    ¡°Nah go ahead kid.¡±


    Durabo thanked the man and sat down across from him.


    For the next ten minutes time or so Durabo just enjoyed his cider, even lurk warm it was pretty good. While he sat there enjoying the cider he thought of things to talk with the old man about, the thing that helped him decide was the mans callouses. This man was a hunter.


    ¡°So I ran into a Minor Frostwolf while on my way back here.¡± Durabo said, his voice neutral.


    ¡°Hmm you don¡¯t say, how did that work out for ya kid?¡± Flinty said, with a glint in his eyes and mirth in his voice.


    ¡°Well for the first two or three minutes or so I thought it went great. I managed to score a couple of hits with my fireballs, taking a little damage but not much.¡± He said, and then added with a self deprecating smile. ¡°Turns out the bastard had been toying with me and it killed me in a flash using a slowing aura of some sort.¡±


    Flinty barked a laugh and looked at him with a smile.


    ¡°Well they will do that to young pups like you if they can get away with it. Must¡¯ve been an old brute though, few of them have an aura strong enough to noticeably slow you.¡± His eyes shined as he added. ¡°Good thing you¡¯re a traveler kid.¡±


    ¡°Indeed it is,  can¡¯t even imagine how the Speaker handled the one on his wall. If a Minor is like this, I would hate to fight a Greater.¡±


    Flinty snort was loud, reflexive and instantaneous.


    ¡°Simon still claims it as his kill does he?¡± Flinty sounded almost amused by the thought. ¡°Let me tell ya something. There has only ever been one family that could handle beasts like that around here, and it damn sure isn¡¯t the Blackbriar¡¯s.¡±


    It took him a second to figure it out, but if it wasn¡¯t the Blackbriar¡¯s then there was only one other family who had property and therefore status enough to match them.


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me that skin came from a Hawthorne kill aren¡¯t you.¡± Durabo asked, his voice serous.


    If that were true then things around here were not what they seemed, then again when are things ever as they seem at first glance?


    ¡°You damn right it¡¯s a Hawthorne kill, saw the former White hunter bring it in myself fifteen years ago I did.


    That was his last kill before the stuff with his wife happened.¡± At the end of that sentence flinty looked regretful, as if he had said too much.


    Durabo was just about to push his advantage when a blood curdling howl pierced the air. This was not simply the normal howl of the cursed beasts, no this was different more intense.


    As fast as he could Durabo rose and rushed towards the square, this might be something serious.


    When he got there he was met with yet another tragic and chilling visual tableau. Lisette was kneeling besides one of the smaller beastly forms its head resting on her thighs, her hands and the snow around her painted dark crimson by the beasts heartblood.


    ¡°Robert¡­ ohh robert, what have you ever done to deserve this?¡± Lisette said hulking while tears streamed down her face. Her hands stroking a face slowly becoming more human.


    Within the single minute Durabo stood stunned the form changed, turning into the youngest Blackbriar, his chest pierced by a simple hunters arrow. Something that shouldn¡¯t have been able to kill the childs cursed beastly form.


    <hr />


    Status Window:


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name:</td><td width="25%">Durabo</td><td width="25%">Gender:</td><td width="25%">Male</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level:</td><td width="25%">45</td><td width="25%">Experience:</td><td width="25%">2%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Job:</td><td width="25%">Silver Inquisitor</td><td width="25%">Race:</td><td width="25%">High Elf</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Combat Class:</td><td width="25%">Mage</td><td width="25%">Support Class:</td><td width="25%">None</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Titles:</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Firecaller, Novice Eislonien Mage</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Expendable Stats:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">HP:</td><td width="25%">1580</td><td width="25%">HP/s:</td><td width="25%">12,1</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">MP:</td><td width="25%">19939</td><td width="25%">MP/s:</td><td width="25%">7,2</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina:</td><td width="25%">1580</td><td width="25%">STM/s:</td><td width="25%">24,1</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Satiety:</td><td width="25%">30k</td><td width="25%">SAT/s:</td><td width="25%">-1</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Basic Stats</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stat</td><td width="25%">Base</td><td width="25%">Bonus</td><td width="25%">Total</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Agility:</td><td width="25%">76</td><td width="25%">73</td><td width="25%">149</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Charisma:</td><td width="25%">61</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">71</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Endurance:</td><td width="25%">85</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">85</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Intelligence:</td><td width="25%">450</td><td width="25%">133</td><td width="25%">583</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Strength:</td><td width="25%">37</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">37</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Vitality:</td><td width="25%">158</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">158</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Wisdom:</td><td width="25%">103</td><td width="25%">40</td><td width="25%">143</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Advanced Stats:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Concentration:</td><td width="25%">180</td><td width="25%">Dexterity:</td><td width="25%">12</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Serenity:</td><td width="25%">46</td><td width="25%">Willpower:</td><td width="25%">84</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Affinities:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Air:</td><td width="25%">29</td><td width="25%">Earth:</td><td width="25%">26</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire:</td><td width="25%">60</td><td width="25%">Ice:</td><td width="25%">21</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Light:</td><td width="25%">25</td><td width="25%">Lightning:</td><td width="25%">5</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mind:</td><td width="25%">31</td><td width="25%">Nature:</td><td width="25%">3</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Water:</td><td width="25%">26</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Resistances:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Air:</td><td width="25%">3%</td><td width="25%">Earth:</td><td width="25%">2.5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire:</td><td width="25%">16%</td><td width="25%">Ice:</td><td width="25%">7,1%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Light:</td><td width="25%">2,5%</td><td width="25%">Mind:</td><td width="25%">3%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Nature:</td><td width="25%">0.5%</td><td width="25%">Water:</td><td width="25%">3%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Skill Window:


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Skill List</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Combat Skills:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill name</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank</td><td width="25%">Skill Lvl</td><td width="25%">Skill EXP</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Controlled Manifestation: Fire (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">9</td><td width="25%">24%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Focus: Spells(Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">22</td><td width="25%">73%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grimoire (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">17</td><td width="25%">32%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Intuition (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">12</td><td width="25%">4%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mana Feed (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">16</td><td width="25%">81%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Air (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">19</td><td width="25%">43%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Earth (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">12</td><td width="25%">74%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Light (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">2</td><td width="25%">9%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Mind (Active):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">7</td><td width="25%">3%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Manifestation: Water (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">12</td><td width="25%">47%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Air Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">9</td><td width="25%">5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Chants (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">14</td><td width="25%">23%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Earth Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">9</td><td width="25%">12%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Fire Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">12</td><td width="25%">99%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Hand To Hand (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">18</td><td width="25%">65%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Ice Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">23</td><td width="25%">1%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Light Spells (passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">16</td><td width="25%">3%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Magic Staffs (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">8</td><td width="25%">7%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Mind Spells (passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">5</td><td width="25%">7%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Sigils (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">14</td><td width="25%">14%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Wands (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">12</td><td width="25%">9%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mastery: Water Spells (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">11</td><td width="25%">56%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Running (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">3</td><td width="25%">2%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Third Eye (Active):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">21%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Support Skills:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill name</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank</td><td width="25%">Skill Lvl</td><td width="25%">Skill EXP</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Cartography (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">22</td><td width="25%">54%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Charm (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">23</td><td width="25%">9%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Cooking (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">7</td><td width="25%">5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Language: Rune Tongue (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">2</td><td width="25%">77%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Meditation (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Adept</td><td width="25%">9</td><td width="25%">89%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Subconscious Note-taking (Passive):</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Survival Skills (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">8</td><td width="25%">47%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Tailoring (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">2</td><td width="25%">47%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Writing (Passive):</td><td width="25%">Novice</td><td width="25%">18</td><td width="25%">36%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <hr />


    Hello there fellow penguins of our great and eternal empire :)


    First of, let me say that I realized I should have added the little segment in the start to the end of the last chapter, but since I didn¡¯t do that do try to live with it.


    This chapter has by far the greatest amount of Sophia screen time, way more than I planned. Well I hope you like it, for I kinda think it¡¯s some of my better work.


    To think I hadn¡¯t even planned for Sophia to appear in this chapter. I just simply couldn¡¯t let Durabo beat that wolf :)


    Wow my chapters seem to get longer¡­ Hmm and I have even split it into two parts already. Well I¡¯m sure more is better right penguins? :P


    Ohh if you haven¡¯t noticed I have started a new story called Ouroboros</a>.


    My take on a darker more serious mc and reincarnation story. Check it out if you like that kinda thing. It is very much a side project though ;)


    Now see ya around penguins, and as always I hope you enjoyed my humble story.

 Announcement

    Hey guys and gals. :)


    I am still alive, and trying to write, yet I have hit a rough patch in my life and have therefore been forced to deal with that. Rest assured that I will continue the story, and I promise to have a chapter out at the end of the month at the latest.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    This time around I do apologize for my sudden unannounced hiatus :)

 Dropped

    I must be honest with myself and you guys.


    I started this story full of vigor and creative juice. Yet somewhere along the way I lost my way, I tried to take what should''ve been a lighthearted story due to the VR angle and inject it with greater tension than the premise could support. I have realized that the story I''m writing simply can''t ever become the story I want it to be, and for that reason I have to end it.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.I know I promised a proper end, and if you feel there are to many loose ends do let me know and I will at least tie those up.


    I am sorry for the way I have ended this. I should have let you guys know long before now.


    I hope that when I do post a new story on this site you readers wont hold this whole thing against me.


    With sincere apologies


    BurningBookworm