In the two weeks leading up to the unlocking of the minor artifact collection, Sen quested aggressively alongside his friends. The leaderboards were competitive, and the other students on it were working hard to climb as well. Dueling was slow, and after their first few forays into the world to take on assignments for Bright Sail, Sen had realized it was the best way to move forward. Not only could he progress, but his allies could as well.
His party changed from time to time, but Milim almost always tagged along. She was ranked twenty-third now. Mori managed to hit the ranking again as well, though that hadn’t been intentional. He was hoping to stay behind the scenes, and anytime he hit the list, he would accept a duel with someone ranked below him and surrender immediately. It resulted in students who normally might not stand a chance getting to touch the top 100, so Dean Withershade offered to remove Mori’s ability to land on the leaderboard altogether. He gladly accepted.
Ilm’s focus was on classes, so she rarely quested with them, though she did today. Other than that, they often had a few others who regularly joined them: Samara, Joseia, and Oliver.
Sen was just one spot away from his goal, at rank twenty one and it was the day before the minor artifact collection opened up.
Today he fought alongside Milim, Samara, and Ilm. Mori was spending time on a special project for Sen, and Joseia and Oliver were busy with schoolwork.
Samara trudged along the path leading deeper into the forest. “Ugh, what are we even doing out here? We’ve been walking all day. I’m dying.” Her long, purple ponytail swung as she walked. She wore a great-sword on her back, one she’d recently commissioned with coin she’d earned during their quest. Sen estimated it was on the lower end of mid-grade, but it was an impressive weapon for a second-year student at Brightsail Academy. Sweat rolled down her neck, and she tugged at her shirt every once in a while in an effort to cool off.
Ilm walked beside her. She’d cut her hair recently, so it wasn’t as wide as Sen's or Mori’s. Now, her pure white hair hung straight down her back. He didn’t mind it; it helped him feel less weird about the fact that a replica of him was a woman. He still didn’t quite understand how that had happened, but then again, creation magic didn’t come naturally to Mori. Even replicas had strengths and weaknesses. They were, after-all, their own people. They shared his look and had loyalty to him, but once they were born, their environments shaped them as all people are shaped. Uniquely.
Ilm attended her classes more religiously than Mori, and it was doing her good. She hadn’t had many opportunities to practice in the past, and she was still young. Mori had only made her some eighteen years before Sen’s return. Physically, they were around the same age, but she’d spent most of her days sleeping in the castle's library, so a lot of things were still new to her. She’d started to favor certain spells over others, and was developing her own fighting style. It was like watching a younger sibling come into their own, and Sen enjoyed it.
Milim walked beside him. The last few weeks had made her more confident. She was learning what she could do with magic. She’d even progressed her control over Mana Encapsulation now, and Sen was impressed. As far as he knew, she was the only other person in the world who could use the technique, let alone knew about it.
Samara groaned again, as if nobody had heard her the first time. “What are we even doing out here!” she half-screamed.
Tutor sighed in Sen’s head. [Please relay the following information to Samara. I’m getting tired of her complaints.]
[Quest: Find and eliminate the creature hiding in the woods on the outskirts of Bright Sail Academy.]
The quest description was vague because the citizens who had seen this creature had run away in terror. The stories didn’t necessarily line up, so the town guilds had refused the quest. But all quests they refused were sent to the academy automatically. It was a sort of second chance for people to get help and for students to gain experience. It was the exact reason Sen had risen through the ranks so slowly. Quests were often duds. But this one, he had a good feeling about. There was certainly a presence in this forest, something strong.
The ground shook, and the group halted. Everyone looked around, trying to identify the source.
Sen squinted. The air in front of them was…off. It was as if he were looking at a distortion. He looked up, noticing movement and realized the distorted aura was rising in the air above them. It hit him what was happening.
“Scatter!” he yelled. Encapsulation wrapped around him, and Milim followed his lead. The two of them jumped to either side of the road, kicked off a tree, and then shot toward the distortion.
Ilm and Samara split up, creating distance between themselves and the road.
“Reveal Stealth Maxim!” Sen shouted.
Before them, a giant purple creature stood. It was about half as tall as the trees all around them. Sen and Milim hovered somewhere near its chest.
It held a club of stone in its hand, and it had been planning to smash them as they walked towards it.
[A Shadow Troll Giant Commander. Approximate level 356]
That was a recent development; Tutor had finally gathered enough data about creatures from this time that he could determine their levels more accurately. However, it would mostly apply to creatures of similar strength to the ones they’d already fought.
The creature had a round, bald head, and honestly, it looked fairly similar to a giant purple man. It had a thick gut, and wore crude clothing made of several bushes that had been lashed together around its waist. The creature reeked of spoiled food and rot. It adjusted its club, going to strike at Milim. It perceived she wasn’t as strong as Sen.
He called out a warning, but she was already reacting. “Dream of Me - Vivid Dream!” she chanted. The giant swung its club, missing Milim by several yards. It turned to look behind it, and Sen smiled. It was caught in a living dream, one that reflected reality perfectly with one exception. The illusory Milim that wasn’t anywhere near the real one. Mana Aggression flowed into his body and he brought a hand smashing down on the creature’s back. Milim fired several bursts of dream magic. Given time, they would slowly lull the creature to sleep. Though it was unlikely, that would work here. It was a bit stronger than her, so until she developed the technique further, it was unlikely she could gain full mental control over it.
But it did slow him down.
Milim kicked off a new tree, sailing backwards to land on the ground. Sen used the momentum of striking the creature to land on a branch and wait. Dream Milim led the troll to spin its club wildly, hoping to strike her. He managed to, apparently, because he suddenly seemed very confused as to how she was still moving around after a direct hit. The illusion broke. But it didn’t really matter. Samara and Ilm were in position now. He focused on watching so he could offer pointers later.
Samara struck first, a strength enhancement coursing through her body, and she wielded her greatsword with both hands. She jumped high into the air and stabbed downward with her blade. It traced down the creature’s spine, and it roared in agony.
It turned to swat Samara away and found Ilm standing still before it in the road. It reached back with its club, its movements disjointed from the damage Samara had caused. The crude weapon cut through the air, aimed directly at Ilm. She watched it casually and returned an attack of her own.
“Flame through Apparition Maxim,” she said. It was a technique she’d created herself. Moments before the club smashed into her, Milim grabbed her and dove out of the way. Sen frowned at that. Ilm was relying on her teammates a little too much. There wouldn’t always be someone to save her at the last moment. But her powerful spells took a toll on her body, and though he’d repaired her weak constitution, exerting the effort required for an attack like that still drained her. But he wouldn’t lecture her too badly later.
The giant blinked when it realized it had missed. But it quickly focused on the ghostly fire slowly moving toward it. It swatted at the flames with a hand, but the hand went right through it. It backed away, wondering what was going on. The flame still moved slowly, and the giant continued backing away.
Sen held up a hand. “Shatter Vine Maxim.” An enormous wall of vines erupted from the ground behind the creature. It backed into the wall, unable to go further. The flame passed through its chest. The giant dropped its club and patted itself, as if it could find the fire. But the fire was already inside. And then, suddenly, it was no longer ghostly fire, but actual fire.
The creature fell to its knees, clutching its chest. Sen tugged the metal necklace off his neck, and it broke free of its clasp. In his hands, it became a sword.
He pushed Mana Aggression to its limits and shot forward as he struck.
A second later he skidded to a stop in front as the giant’s decapitated head landed behind him. His sword returned to its metal necklace form and slowly floated until it clasped around his neck once more.
[Status Update]
[Level Up]
[Mana Aggression +4]
[Mana Encapsulation +2]
Name: Sen Locke
Class: God of Magic
Level: 4
Strength/Mana Aggression: 112
Speed/Mana Encapsulation: 119
Magic: 129
Constitution/Mana Protection: 106
Mana Points: 999,999,999+
[You have received ten stat points.]
[You may select a mid-grade magic essence sphere of your choice.]
Sen waved a hand, dismissing his status and allocating the points to his magic stat, bringing it up to 139. Their work over the last few weeks had gained him a level and increased his hybrid stats as well. That wasn’t bad at all. He’d be sure to collect the essence sphere later.
“I’ll never get over how cool that weapon of yours is. What did you say you called it again?” Samara asked, sheathing her own sword.
Ilm answered for him. “Malleore.”
A malleable weapon fit for any scenario. .
Marrow
He walked into the halls of the Cult of Harpis. If you could call it that, it was the abandoned husk of a failed bar on the outskirts of Bright Sail. Nobody who lived like this could call themselves a cult. The only feeling a god would have gazing upon his subordinates in a place like this was shame. Still, they were capable enough for his purpose. Just barely. Though they were working very hard to prove him wrong with all their recent failings.
“Tatter, did I keep you waiting?”
His point of contact with the cult of Harpis dropped to his knees. “Master Marrow, of course not, my lord. We’ve been waiting with great…trepidation for your arrival.”
Marrow frowned. This uneducated swine of Harpis was using words he didn’t even understand. They truly were a lost cause. “Remind me, Tatter. How many chances did I say I would give you?”
Tatter looked up in fear. “Three…my lord.”
“And how many have you used?”
“Two,” Tatter swallowed.
Marrow nodded. “You’re really pushing your luck, aren’t ya? But that’s okay. I brought you a gift. I don’t normally like to get involved, so between you and me, you better make sure you don’t fail a third time. Especially after I drop the key to success into your hands.”
Tatter bowed faster than he meant to. His forehead hit the ground hard.
Marrow winced. He turned and whistled, and the tan-skinned, bald scoundrel of a man entered the old bar. “This is Professor Calabari. An esteemed professor at Bright Sail. He’s going to help you with your mission, and afterwards, he’s going to help you train your new…recruits.” He emphasized that last word to make sure his message was clear.
Tatter was an idiot, but he was the right kind of idiot. He’d understand. He stood and acknowledged Professor Calabri. “Welcome, Professor, we look forward to working with you,” he said.
Marrow waved, leaving the two to speak. As he exited, he couldn’t help but allow a grin to cross his face. Just briefly. They’d have everything they wanted soon. Or at least, he would.
It was too bad that what he wanted was really gonna suck for Brightsail Academy.
That thought made his grin even wider.
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