by James Hunter
His robes, though oversized, looked expensive compared to Sam’s plain brown version. Not to mention, the ornately worked staff he carried in one hand probably ran his parents a small fortune. This kid, or more likely his family, had some seriously deep pockets. That meant he was either another wealthy Traveler or some kind of Eternium Noble. But why in the world would a wealthy Eternium Noble be tromping around in the sewers?
“Good, now that we’re all here,” Karren the Blade jumped into conversation before Sam had a chance to introduce himself to the newcomer, “we can get started. I see a couple of new faces, so let me explain what we’ll be about today. These sewers are full of all kinds of nasty things, though most are of the rather mundane variety—rats, spiders, the occasional fox that’s managed to breach the city perimeters. Those beasties avoid parties like ours, so I wouldn’t expect to see them, but there are also some nastier things. Most notably among them are the Jellies. Unnatural little buggers that grow as a result of Mana coalescing over time.”
“These Jellies,” she spat into the flowing muck, “most of ’em aren’t all that dangerous, but they are magic. Their abilities depend on what type of Mana clumped together to make them; which means they can have powers that range from fire to ice to acid. Most are dumb as a bucket full of rocks. They just sort of wander about, eating whatever they can find, growing more powerful over time as they gain experience. At the early stages, they aren’t much bigger than a house cat, but you leave ’em to their own devices for too long and they can grow into quite a nuisance. So, we come down here a couple times a week and do a sweep, make sure none of them get too big. Cull the herd as it were.”
Sam tentatively stuck his hand into the air, forehead furrowed in confusion. The tanky male guard, Geffrey the Red, grunted and nodded his head. “What, boy?”
“This sounds like you guys know what’re you’re doing, and you both look quite a bit higher level than the rest of us.” Sam paused, lips pursed into a thin line as he eyed their expensive-looking gear. Yeah, definitely higher level. “So, I guess my question is, why would you need a group of newbies like us on a mission like this?”
Geffrey grunted again, smacked his lips, and rolled his eyes. “Ya daft, lad? Were ya born yesterday, then?”
A blush crept into Sam’s cheeks. He had, in fact, been born yesterday—at least so far as Eternium was concerned—but he didn’t particularly want to admit it.
“It’s the nature of the Jellies,” the newcomer offered, his voice rather high pitched. “The City Guard currently has a contract to provide us with guides for the job, but since the Jellies themselves are formed from coalesced Mana, they can only be killed by magic. They do these patrols regularly, so the Jellies are pretty harmless. As a result, the new recruits and everyone at the bottom of the totem pole ends up running these missions. Especially if you’ve gotten on someone’s bad side, but listen to me chattering away as though you don’t know any of this!”
“Aye. What he said,” the taciturn Guard, Geffrey, grunted.
“Now,” Karren interjected, eyeing the smattering of young Mages, “we’ve deemed the threat to be minimal; these creatures are of a comparable difficulty with the foxes that roam the countryside with one exceptional difference—they are nearly invulnerable to normal weapons but are extremely susceptible to magic. So, to save time and cover more ground, we’ll be splitting up into two parties.”
“You two,” she jabbed a finger at the pair of Mages lingering not far off, “will be with me. While you two,” this time, she pointed at Sam and the helpful newcomer, “will be accompanying Geffrey. The requirement for today, for each group, is to finish off a total of fifty Jellies and retrieve any monster Cores that appear for the College. Word to the wise, don’t even think about trying to pocket those monster Cores; the College always finds out. Always.”
She paused, one hand resting on the pommel of her rapier, and speared each of them in turn with a withering glare. “Now, if there are no more questions, let’s get moving, people. We’re burning daylight, and I, for one, don’t want to wade around down here for a second longer than I need to.”
Quest alert: The Arcane Path II (Ongoing). As a Licensed Mage and Novice of the Mage College, you are required to complete daily chores or officially sanctioned assignments on behalf of the College! Today, you must clear the sewers beneath Ardania of living Jellies! 0/50 complete.
Super minor achievement: Joined a party! At least you’re doing something—have some experience. Exp: 5.
Without further instruction, the group split; a decision that instantly sent off warning bells inside Sam’s head—never split the party—but this wasn’t up to him, so he kept his mouth shut and followed his guide down a branching tunnel with his new friend trailing along just behind.
“Thanks for the info back there.” Sam smiled at the man as they made their way deeper into the warren of twisted passageways and disgusting muck. “This is my first time, and I’m new around here.”
“You’re a Traveler, then?” the kid in the glasses questioned, his eyes alive with excitement. Sam nodded, keeping his gaze fixed firmly on the waters for any sign of the creatures they were hunting. “I’d heard there were some new people making waves, but I didn’t think they’d stick you on a detail like this.”
“Yeah, me either,” Sam grumbled as he stepped on something that squished like a rotten tomato beneath his boot.
“Let me guess, you met Octavius first?”
Sam grinned and nodded again. “You too?”
“Quite,” the kid said, pushing his glasses up higher onto the bridge of his nose. “Octavius and I have something of… a history, so he goes out of his way to punish me pretty much any chance he gets. I’m Finn, by the way. Well, technically Lord Finneas Laustsen, but my friends call me Finn. At least, I imagine they would if I had friends, which I don’t. Mine is a family of traitors, so we have business acquaintances at best.”
“Sam.” He offered Finn his hand which the boy reluctantly took, giving it one weak pump, then quickly pulling away.
“It’s a pleasure,” Finn spoke a little too seriously for Sam’s comfort.
“What exactly do you mean ‘family of traitors’?” Sam quizzed him, feeling a flash of worry. Finn seemed nice enough, but he was already on the outs with the Mage’s College, so throwing in with someone who was deeply disliked might not be such a good idea.
“Old, old history, I’m afraid. History which puts me at odds with Octavius and his kin. House Laustsen and House Igenitor have had a blood feud for over two-hundred years, since before the centralization of power in the form of the Tyrants, King Henry and Queen Marie.” Finn stole a long look at the guard, busy trudging ahead through the waters, a torch in one hand, a curved axe in the other.
Finn dropped his voice, keeping a conspiratorial eye on Geffrey. “Few citizens of Ardania talk about the old history, of course, but there was something of a war before the line of King Henry took power. House Igenitor was one of the most vocal supporters of the current regime, while my house supported the losing faction, the Sect leader of Charibert. Naturally, most of the opposing Houses were scrubbed from existence, but my Household was seen as too valuable to simply remove from existence.”
“The decimation of House Laustsen would’ve thrown Ardania’s economy into a death spiral, so we were pardoned by the Throne after having seen the error of our ways. House Igenitor, however, has never forgiven us. Octavius seems to somehow hold me personally responsible for the centuries-old ‘insult’ of…” Finn faltered and shrugged, “well, I’m not sure exactly of what, but apparently, it’s bad. So, here I am, trudging through the sewers.”
Great, of course, the first decent person I’ve met inside the College would turn out to be Octavius’ mortal enemy. But, after thinking about it for a moment, Sam decided that actually made Finn even cooler. Anyone that Octavius hated was probably good to know, and Sam wasn’t about to let some petty bully ruin a potentially good friendship.
&
nbsp; “Well, you know what they say, any enemy of Octavius is a friend of mine.” Sam held out a hand with a grin.
“Hey, Magelings,” Geffrey barked over one shoulder, cutting off their conversation, “get ready. We got Jellies.”
The man broke into a lumbering run, darting out of the hallway and into a hub-like chamber with tunnels forking off in every direction. Sam picked up the pace, water splashing as he charged after Geffrey with his hands raised, ready to deal out some magical damage.
The room beyond was crawling with critters in a host of different shapes, sizes, and colors. All were gelatinous blobs of neon-bright goo, which reminded Sam of miniature versions of the colossal creature that had chased him through the jungle; though, admittedly, none of these were filled with bones. Some edged through the waters toward them, while others dotted the walls and ceilings like cancerous, multi-colored growths. Sam skidded to a halt, taking up a position behind Geffrey, who now had a shield out and strapped to his left arm.
Sam scanned the room, counting as he went. There were sixteen of the creatures, and though they didn’t appear to be particularly dangerous on the surface, he could vividly recall the sensation of being dissolved inside the belly of the monster from the jungle. With this many Jellies, if they all converged as one, it could prove to be problematic.
“Alright, you two,” Geffrey bellowed, “I’ll draw their ire, while you two dish out some damage, but make sure to keep your distance—even a touch might well send a young Mage like you off to an early grave. Now, who wants some, huh!” he shouted, wading forward and slamming axe against buckler, *clang-clang-clang*. The noise started drawing Jellies to him like a moth to a flame.
The first wave of creatures converged on the guard, swarming around him in a half-circle. Goopy tentacles lashed out like sentient whips. Those questing, gelatinous limbs slapped harmlessly against Geffrey’s armor, but the man let out muffled grunts whenever they connected against exposed flesh. Sam heard skin sizzle as plumes of greasy smoke wafted up into the air, carrying the stench of burnt hair. Super gross. If Sam was smelling it with his pitiful perception, to someone like Finn, the scent probably would’ve been unbearable, but a glance at his new friend showed just the opposite.
Finn seemed to be the bookish type, probably cozier in a library than a party, but here in the heat of battle, he looked like he was finally in his comfort zone. He slammed his staff down in the muck, and a dome of shifting, blue light erupted around him in a circle, radiating unfathomable cold. Finn thrust his right hand straight out, palm up, and conjured a spike of pale-blue ice a foot in length. The ice spear zipped through the air like an arrow, blasting through an oozing, purple Jelly with a glimmer of red at its center. The creature didn’t stand a chance and fell apart, disappearing into the muck.
Finn didn’t celebrate the kill but moved on, coldly and methodically targeting an encroaching Jelly on the left that was making its way toward them along the wall. Dead ahead, Geffrey was bellowing while his body smoked and his health lurched and dropped in steady increments. He absorbed a fair number of attacks on his shield and armor, but there were just so many of the creatures. The man was laying into them with his axe, splitting the Jellies in two to slow them down, but the damage never seemed to take.
The creatures quickly reformed, no worse for the wear but as angry as brainless lumps could be. There was a whoosh as a churning fireball erupted, exploding against Geffrey’s shield and rocking the big man back on his heels. The Jellies closed in even faster, more of the creatures working to flank him from the left and the right.
Sam felt a twinge of panic; Geffrey was going to die if he didn’t do something. But what could he do? He hadn’t even taken his Basics of Offensive Spell Casters course yet! He wasn’t prepared for this! Suddenly, he was wishing he’d taken the cleric class. After all, that tutorial was probably way more fun and gentle.
But this was no time for doubt. A word from his Trial floated up to the top of his mind: Decide. He could run away, or he could confront these monsters just as he’d confronted those Trollish bullies in the bathroom. The choice was a no brainer. “Finn, watch my back and make sure those things don’t get behind me!”
“What? I’m better at this than you are.” Finn scoffed as he readied his next spell.
Sam waded into a gap just behind Geffrey, keeping a safe distance from the nearest Jelly. He didn’t have a weapon, but he had finally remembered that he was a weapon. Acting on instinct—perhaps the single greatest tool in the Sorcerer’s arsenal—Sam stuck both arms out at an angle, so they made a ‘V’, and began spamming Wind Blade, firing compressed air blasts from each hand. Although Sam knew the spell would be invisible to the naked eye, the results were obvious to anyone who could see. Jellies staggered away, goo cartwheeling through the air as they fell, sliced cleanly apart.
Using both hands was slower than casting it with just one hand, and he had a misfire every third attack or so, but it hardly mattered. Sam was still casting a spell every two and a half seconds. Since he could alternate hands, he was firing continuously, blasting away Jellies to either side of his tanky guard. Wind Blade wasn’t powerful enough to kill the monsters straight out, but two or three shots seemed to do the trick in most cases.
Mana manipulation had reduced his overall reserve pool, true, but he still felt like he could do this all day. A surge of exhilaration sprinted through him. Now, this was what he’d come for! Action. Adventure. Monsters and battle! Magic!
“On your right!” Finn called out from behind him. “Above!”
Sam swiveled his head and caught sight of a basketball-sized Jelly clinging to the ceiling just above him. It dropped like a penny tossed from the Empire State building.
Frantic, Sam leaped to the right, throwing himself into a roll just as he’d done a hundred times in judo. Except, in judo, he hadn’t been wearing Mage robes and he hadn’t been in knee-deep sewage. Sam avoided the falling creature by inches but got a face full of rancid filth for his effort, and his health took a beating as well, costing him eight of his seventy HP.
He quickly gained his feet, gasping as he tried not to throw up all over himself. The blob was encroaching on his personal space, but an Ice Spike ripped through the air, parting the blob and killing it in an instant. Sam swiped a hand across his face, clearing the gunk from his eyes, then spun, searching for any other threats. There were none.
The fighting had happened so fast… and just like that, it was all over. Sixteen dead in a matter of a few seconds of desperate struggle. From the look of things, Finn had done the bulk of the heavy lifting. But a win was a win, and Sam felt inordinately excited, especially when he received an onslaught of notices, one right after the other:
Experience increased due to low average party level! Exp: 240 (Sentient Jelly x 16) (10 per Jelly * 1.5 difficulty).
Quest updated: The Arcane Path II (Ongoing). As a Licensed Mage and Novice of the Mage College, you are required to complete daily chores or officially sanctioned assignments on behalf of the College! Today you must clear the sewers beneath Ardania of Sentient Jellies! 16/50 complete.
Skill gained: Dual casting (Novice I). Not having a weapon in one hand may make it harder to fend off attacks, but you have found a way to make yourself deadly without needing to hold a stick or pointy chunk of metal! Whether casting the same spell or a different one, as long as you only need a single hand for each spell, you are able to cast two at once! Effect: Cast two spells at the same time. Increase casting time by 51-1n% where ‘n’ is skill level. 33% chance of failing due to faltering spell stability, +1n% spell stability per skill level.
Sam grinned like a maniac as he read over the messages. Was the College kind of the worst? Yes. Was Octavius the human equivalent of rotten milk? Sure. Was Sam covered in grime and sewage? Obviously. But boy oh boy was he having a blast right now.
“Alright, then.” Geffrey pulled a vial with red liquid from a pouch at his side. “You lot better get rooting around for the monster Core
s, and then we’re off. We have thirty-four more of these things to kill before we’re done for the day. Best to be quick about it.”
Sam didn’t relish the idea of clawing through raw sewage barehanded for monster Cores, but if this was the worst thing that he had to do with the college, maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Chapter Eleven
Clawing through raw sewage barehanded was not the worst thing Sam had to do. Not by a long shot. The next four days passed in a blur of too little sleep, too little food—all of it bad—too little fun, and too much of everything else.
In fact, Sam’s occasional trips into the sewers were actually the highlight of his time at the College because those were the few rare times where he got to adventure, earn combat experience, and do something that felt useful. The rest of the time felt like being a pledge at a frat—something Sam had rejected early on in his college days because he wasn’t a fan of merciless hazing. Octavius, on the other hand, seemed like he’d been raised from the crib in a frat house designed to break the spirit.
Every day, the Peak Student had Sam and the others up before sunrise doing chores—more sewer patrols, cleaning toilets, scrubbing floors with the Eternium equivalent of toothbrushes, serving in the mess hall, and endless cataloging of books that he wasn't even allowed to open. Then it was a quick bath, a bite to eat if Sam was lucky, and off to classes for the rest of the day.
When he was finally done with classes? Party time! Ha! Just kidding. More chores. Grounds maintenance was common, followed by a short and tasteless dinner and a stint in the restricted library where he helped Octavius with some sort of research. Though Sam’s part of the ‘research’ amounted to running books, balancing candles for hours at a time, fetching quills or fresh parchment, or holding down vellum maps of the surrounding countryside.
Though, if there was a bright side to all this, it was that his chore and class grind had earned Sam four thousand six hundred twenty experience. That meant that he had gained another two levels, bringing him up to level four. Nearly five thousand experience gained in the most demeaning way possible. Sam tried not to sigh too loudly. The Jellies in the sewers offered decent experience, and the classes—though boring for the most part—helped him increase his primary skills, which also contributed to level gain.