The Land: Swarm: A LitRPG Saga (Chaos Seeds Book 5)

by Aleron Kong

  If Richter was understanding correctly, level two of the Talent was like what a book editor was supposed to do, spell and content checking. Considering that he would be having to write everything by hand, he could see the value of the second level of Perfect Scribing. Abbas the trader had taught him that using a spell book was no guarantee to actually learning the spell. It wouldn’t make too much of a difference with low-level spells, but with a more complex spell, a lower quality product might mean failure when trying to learn new magic. The spell book would still be destroyed, and that could mean that you had basically just pissed away anywhere from dozens to thousands of gold. Richter saw the benefit in making his literary creations as perfect as possible. He might as well start and give it a shot.

  He opened a blank book to the first page, hoping for inspiration. After a few moments, he still felt fuckall. Hoping for some type of prompt to appear and guide him, Richter dipped a pen into enchanted ink. Tapping it against the inside of the bottle twice, he removed any excess and then moved his hand to put the metal tip to the page. He focused on the spell he wanted to write down, but before the pen touched paper two things appeared. A notification appeared in Richter’s vision, and a faint smirk appeared on his face.

  Do you wish to create the spellbook: Book of Summon Weak Bile Rats. This level one spell will require twenty-one hours and forty-nine minutes of scribing time to complete. You will have twenty-four hours to complete this task. Do you wish to start? Yes or No?

  His smirk disappeared. What the hell was this? It took a whole day to write this one spell? Did that include bathroom breaks? There had to be something he was missing. Richter put the pen back into the inkwell and asked the Scholars about it. It was Bea who answered.

  “Now you see one of the reasons that Scholars and scribes are so valued, Lord Richter. I believe I can explain. First, until your Scribing skill is leveled, writing anything more than short notes will be very time-consuming. One of the perks to leveling Scribing is that each level increases writing speed by 2%. I also know that the other factors that determine spellbook creation are the level of the spell and your personal skill level in that branch of magic. Mages may not have wanted to share information, but every one of them enjoyed complaining about what slowed them down. I learned that, at baseline, the level of the spell determines how many days are required to create the spellbook at a one to one ratio. A level one spell would take one day, and a level ten spell would take ten days. The maximum amount of time you have to create the spellbook is determined by your skill level, also at a one to one ratio. If you were level fifteen in Water magic, then you would have fifteen days to finish a spell book. Failure to finish in the allotted time will destroy the book and any work that you have done.”

  “Okay, that makes sense,” Richter said. “I’m hoping you have more to tell me. I can’t even devote one full day to making a spell book, let alone more for higher level spells. Also, waiting for my scribe skill to level is going to be a pain.”

  Bea nodded, “There is a third factor to consider, Lord Richter. Your skill level in a given spell school will reduce the total time required. Simply divide your skill level into the total number of hours required. If you were skill level twelve in Fire magic and attempted to create a level one Fire spellbook, it would only take two hours instead of the original twenty-four.”

  “Using more advanced writing styles will also increase your writing speed, Lord Richter,” Bartle added.

  Hmmm, Richter thought. He hadn’t consciously chosen to use one of the forms of penmanship he had just learned. He picked up the pen again and focused making the Death magic spellbook, but this time, Richter envisioned writing in olde writ. A prompt appeared.

  It appears you wish to create the spellbook: Book of Summon Weak Bile Rats. This level one spell will require twelve hours of scribing time to complete. You will have twenty-four hours to complete this task. Do you wish to start? Yes or No?

  Richter selected ‘No’ again and reached for the scratch paper they had been writing on. Now that he knew how expensive paper was in The Land, it kind of made his stomach hurt to waste even this page. The damage was already done, though, so he didn’t stop. He didn’t quite understand how the hours required had changed. After a few quick calculations, he felt that he had a handle on it.

  With a level one skill level in Death magic, his base writing speed could be called one hour, or one point one hours, if his 10% increase in speed from his talent, Faster Creation Time I, was taken into account. That was why at baseline it would take twenty-one hours and forty-nine minutes to finish the level one Death spell. The shorter time frame on the latest prompt came from his ability to write using olde writ, making the process 40% faster. So his base speed of one hour speed had become one point five hours. Richter paused his calculations with a self-satisfied smile. His Gift of Tongues ability had always been something that just made things easier for him in The Land. By giving him mastery of an advanced writing style, though, it had effectively increased his speed to be the same as a scribe of skill level twenty. Watch out enemies of the free press! Lord Richter of the MV is coming at cha! He turned his attention back to the scrap paper

  Even though the time required had dropped a good deal, Richter decided to hold off on trying to make the summon rats spell until he had leveled his Death magic skill. He pulled up his status page quickly and checked his magic skill levels. Air and Fire magic were his most advanced skills. He could share any Air spells directly in light of his Mastery of the Power so making a spellbook was kind of a waste of time. Richter decided to try his hand at creating a spellbook of one of his go-to magics, Weak Flame.

  Before he started, he remembered that there was another opportunity that creating his own spellbooks would allow him. Richter looked at his chamberlain, “It’s time that I learned the spells that my new aeromancers received when I awakened their magic. Who is the villager that learned Glitterdust?”

  “May I borrow the knowledge tablet, my lord?” Randolphus asked.

  Richter handed it over but kept staring at the man. Randolphus noticed his attention and returned his lord’s gaze. Richter looked pointedly at the chamberlain’s clipboard then back to the knowledge tablet while arching an eyebrow. Analog had always been good enough for the stolid man before. Randy took his meaning and said defensively, “It is faster this way!” Richter raised both hands with his palms out and just chuckled. Randy kept going through this villagers’ info with a slight grimace.

  After a minute, Randolphus had the answer, “Her name is Telena, my lord. She is an arcane gnome and serves with the guard.” The chamberlain started flipping through his clipboard, eliciting a cough from Richter. The chamberlain closed his eyes momentarily as if asking for strength, then flipped through until he found the appropriate page. “She is currently on duty at the wall. Would you like me to send for her?”

  Richter nodded, and Randolphus called out into the hall. A guard jogged up and was given instructions to find Telena and take over her shift on the wall. That done, Richter decided to focus on starting his first spell book. He held the pen over the book again and waited for the prompt, focusing on the spell Weak Flame.

  Do you wish to create the spellbook: Book of Weak Flame. This level one spell will require one hour and thirty-six minutes of scribing time to complete. You will have ten days to complete this task. Do you wish to start? Yes or No?

  That’s more like it! Richter selected ‘Yes,’ and the most amazing thing happened. The page in front of him took on the appearance of a watermark. His hand also adopted a red glow. He realized that he was summoning his magic without actually forming it into a spell. It was similar to the technique his ship builder, Shiovana, used to make the ships she built stronger.

  Richter also noticed that the end of his mana bar was flickering. The blue bar wasn’t falling, but something was clearly happening, so he checked his action log. Reading for a moment, he discovered that his mana was falling at a rate of zero point one per seco
nd. It looked like the spell level was subtracted by his skill level and was then divided by ten to determine the mana drain. Since his skill level was higher than the spell level, the drain defaulted to the lowest number, point one.

  He finally understood why only casters normally made spellbooks. Mana needed to be infused into the pages. Even enchanters needed to be in the presence of a caster who knew a spell if they wanted to make a book. Richter wondered if he would be able to split the mana cost if he was working with someone else. It could definitely come in handy. Right now, his mana regen was higher than the mana drain, so there was no issue, but if the drain ever rose above forty mana a minute, then his pool would begin to drain. He would have to stop periodically because of mana loss. Suddenly, he felt a lot more understanding of the inflated prices Abbas had been charging for the spellbooks he had bought.

  After learning of the small leak in his mana pool, he was reminded to channel the rest of his mana regen to unlocking the second level of his shock enchantment. Dismissing the action log, he got to work. Almost without effort, his hand started moving, supplying ink where the watermark indicated. Mathematical and mystical calculations began to fill the page. Without even noticing, he turned to the next page and continued writing. His hand wavered from time to time. Small mistakes were made, and he quickly came to appreciate the fact that he had the pen to work with rather than a quill. Despite his intermittent errors, Richter quickly began filling the pages of the spell book. Occasionally, he dipped his pen into the ink again, but it was done absently. The task filled him with contentment, the simple act of creation reassuring and comforting in an unexpected way. A hand shook his shoulder.

  “What?” Richter asked absentmindedly. He looked up to see Randolphus smiling bemusedly at him. A black smear was on Richter’s cheek where he had scratched an itch after using his thumb to blot an ink drop.

  “I said that guard Telena is here now, my lord.”

  Richter looked beyond the chamberlain to the slight guard behind him. The woman was wearing light leather armor, marking her as both a guard and a caster. The chainmail worn by the other guards would have raised the possibility of a spell miscast to an unacceptable level. Ideally, as a mage, she would be wearing cloth armor or a robe, but Terrod had decided that his guards would have at least minimal protection. Telana clapped a fist over her heart in salute and bowed her head, “Reporting as ordered, my lord.”

  Richter smiled and waved her over, telling her to bring a chair. While she brought one over, he looked down at the book he had been working on and saw two small sets of numbers hovering in the right-hand corner. They had the same translucent appearance as his prompts, and he knew they were a small application of his interface, visible only to him. The top number showed the time remaining to complete the book and the second set showed the amount of time required to finish the project and the percentage done. Happy with his progress, he blew on the latest words he had written and then closed the book. The partially completed work went into his bag. Telena pulled her chair up and sat next to him.

  “I would like to make a spell book based on your spell Glitterdust. Are you alright with that?” he asked.

  “Of course, Lord Richter. I am not sure how to help you accomplish that goal, however. I do not know how I cast the spell exactly, my lord. I simply will it to happen.”

  Richter laughed, “Then we are in the same boat. Let’s just give it a shot.”

  The chaos seed opened another one of the above average quality books. After sprinkling another measure of powdered crystal through the pages, he received a prompt saying the book was enchanted. Richter dipped his pen in the inkwell, but before he could even hold it over the blank book, Telena asked a question.

  “Would it be helpful if I were closer, Lord Richter? Should we be touching?”

  Richter looked at the woman. For a gnome, her face was thinner than normal, but she had the same short stature and large bosom typical of her people. The days training with the guards had given her a firm and narrow waist. Soft brown eyes looked at him from beneath raven black hair. He was still watching her full lips when she spoke again.

  “My lord?”

  Randolphus coughed, and one of the scribes snickered.

  Richter shook his head slightly to jostle free the impure thoughts, “We can just try it without touching first.” Then with a smile, he added, “Stay close, though.” She smiled back. Oh, Richter, you’re going to hell, he thought. Then another part of him thought, what a way to go!

  Tapping away the excess ink, Richter held the pen above the enchanted book. A moment later, a prompt appeared.

  Do you wish to create the spellbook: Book of Glitterdust. You have been given permission to create this book by the mage who knows this spell. This will be a collective effort with another, and so all scribing values will be averaged. Mana regen rates will also be combined to offset mana drain. Average skill level in Air Magic: 10. This level one spell will require one hour and thirty-six minutes of scribing time to complete. You will have ten days to complete this task. Do you wish to start? Yes or No?

  Richter asked Telena what her skill level in Air magic was. She proudly told him that she had reached level seven. He had suspected that would be her answer seeing as how he was level thirteen in Air magic but wanted to confirm. It meant that it would take more time to scribe spells with the pretty guard than if he knew the spell himself. On the other hand, it meant that making spellbooks with Quasea or Zarr might go faster because of their high level. Richter chose ‘Yes’ on his prompt and started writing.

  A yellow glow surrounded his hand and one of Telena’s. Again, his mana bar flickered, but the overall amount in his mana pool remained constant. Looking at the book, a watermark appeared, and he started scribing in olde writ. Richter went back into the zone. His hand moved smoothly, filling in the marks that only he could see and he did his best to follow the outline. Again and again, his pen dipped into the ink, and the pages turned. He absently heard Randolphus and the scribes speaking around him, but he remained focused on his task. Glitterdust was one of the spells that he had coveted when he unlocked Air magic in his villagers. The ability to not only blind enemies but also to reveal hidden opponents was something he needed in his magical toolbox. Richter only stopped when a prompt appeared.

  The mage you are working with has left the effective area for you to be able to scribe her spell.

  Richter blinked and realized he could no longer see the watermark. Looking around, he saw that Telena was at the door to the chamber. A slightly strained expression was on her face, and she was shuffling from foot to foot. He had to stop himself from laughing at seeing the Air mage doing the pee pee dance. He shooed her out the door, asking her to come back as soon as she could. It looked like she could be about ten yards away from him while he worked, but no further. Richter made small talk until she came back. Once she reentered the room, the watermark reappeared in the book, and he got back to work with single-minded intensity. Before he knew it, he finished his spell. Several blank pages were left, but the watermark had disappeared. The book smacked shut of its own accord and rose a foot into the air. A soft yellow glow surrounded the book, reassuring and tranquil. He smelled a clean scent, like a fresh wind coming through new pines.

  Congratulations! You have created a spellbook: Book of Glitterdust. Durability 13/13. Item Class: Common. Quality: Well Crafted. Weight: 0.4 kg. Creates a 5x5 area filled with shimmering dust. Anyone in the AoE will be covered by the particles, revealing invisible or stealthed enemies. This is a spell of Air.

  Know This! Your use of Olde Writ has increased the quality of your Book of Glitterdust from Above Average to Well Crafted.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 2 in Scribing. +2% to scribing speed. +2% more likely to successfully scribe a document.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 3 in Scribing. +2% to scribing speed. +2% more likely to successfully scribe a document.

  Richter dismissed the promp
ts, pleased with both his skill progression and the increase in book quality. He reached up and grabbed the hovering book. When his hand came in contact with it, the yellow light winked out.

  “Congratulations, Lord Richter,” Bea said respectfully. “If you do not mind, I would love to examine that book. It might give me insight into Olde Writ, and there should be no conflict of interest this time.” The same avarice as before was in the man’s eyes.

  Quest Update: The Right Words. You have been given a second chance to share an example of Olde Writ wth Scholar Bea. Do you wish to lend him the Book of Glitterdust? Yes or No?

  Hmmm. Richter had never been given a second shot to fulfill a failed quest before. Of course, he didn’t make a habit of failing quests either. He could definitely wait a day or two to learn the spell, but before he agreed, he needed to know a thing or two.

  “Can you copy this?” Richter asked holding his new spellbook.

  Both Scholars shook their heads. “I have leveled my Copy Talent to level two,” Bartle said, “but spell books are beyond me. I can copy any scrolls you might have, however, Lord Richter.”

  “And, unfortunately, my Copy Talent is only level one, Lord Richter,” Bea said. “I can only copy non-magical documents.”