Advent (Red Mage Book 1)
Page 2
“What is the hierarchy of grades?” Drew asked, falling back into his old gaming habits.
“Xatherite grades are as follows: primitive, undeveloped, basic, common, intermediate, rare, advanced, master, and legendary. Those same grades are used for all equipment, statistics, and evaluations within the mana system.”
“That answers my question. How do I see what combinations will create linked abilities?”
“Only trial and error. It is also important to note that you cannot remove a placed crystal; you can only replace it, destroying the original. Unfortunately, your time in the tutorial has elapsed. Humanity prevails.”
The last words Aevis said were in a different language, but he somehow knew that is what they meant. Humanity prevails. The question was, who do they prevail against?
Chapter Two — Xatherite
The tutorial faded, and Drew was back in the darkness of the watch floor. He turned his head from side to side, looking for any source of light, but he didn’t find any. The oppressive gloom added weight to everything he had just heard. He was here in a world that wasn’t anything like the one he had known before. Reaching behind him to find the chair he had been sitting in, he sat down with a heavy sigh.
Citizen, please slot a xatherite node to continue.
Grateful to have at least something for his eyes to focus on in the darkness, Drew accessed his node structure with a thought and it sprang into being before him. To the right of the map was the list of xatherite he had available.
Focusing on them one by one, he pulled up the info screens on each crystal.
Xatherite Crystal Name: Fireball
Xatherite Color: Red
Xatherite Grade: Intermediate
Type: Magic
Effect: Convert mana into a high energy blast of fire that will travel in a straight line until exploding, causing major fire damage in a 1m radius around the blast.
Mana recharge time: 10.5 seconds.
Xatherite Crystal Name: Storm
Xatherite Color: Red
Xatherite Grade: Intermediate
Type: Magic
Effect: Create a localized storm around a target. The storm will have a radius of 10m and will cause significant wind, water, and lightning damage within its radius.
Mana recharge time: 1 minute, 17 seconds
Xatherite Crystal Name: Cone of Frost
Xatherite Color: Red
Xatherite Grade: Intermediate
Type: Magic
Effect: Creates a cone of cold energy which causes significant freezing damage, originating from any part of your body. Has a chance to partially enclose the target in ice, slowing them down considerably. Cone will extend 4 meters and has an arc of 1/4pi radians.
Mana recharge time: 16.8 seconds
Xatherite Crystal Name: Minor Dancing Sword
Xatherite Color: Red
Xatherite Grade: Common
Type: Magic
Effect: Creates a mana construct of a sword that lasts for 30 seconds. The sword will move on its own and attack any target designated for the duration of the attack.
Mana recharge time: 1 minute, 45 seconds
Xatherite Crystal Name: Major Spark
Xatherite Color: Red
Xatherite Grade: Basic
Type: Magic
Effect: Creates an arc of electricity, dealing minor lightning damage from any body part to a target no more than 3m away.
Mana recharge time: 4.2 seconds
Xatherite Crystal Name: Major Refresh
Xatherite Color: Orange
Xatherite Grade: Basic
Type: Magic
Effect: Infuses mana into the target to reduce fatigue and lactic acid buildup.
Mana recharge time: 22 minutes, 24 seconds
Xatherite Crystal Name: Major Mana Guard
Xatherite Color: Yellow
Xatherite Grade: Basic
Type: Magic
Effect: Creates a shield of mana around the caster. This shield will absorb moderate amounts of energy and kinetic damage.
Mana recharge time: 4 minutes, 33 seconds
Xatherite Crystal Name: Minor Acid Dart
Xatherite Color: Red
Xatherite Grade: Primitive
Type: Magic
Effect: Creates a small globule of acid from a finger that travels in a straight line until it impacts a target, dealing minor acid damage.
Mana recharge time: 16.1 seconds
He was a little confused by the damage amounts he was given since they didn’t match up with the hierarchy he had been told to expect in the tutorial. He assumed minor was smaller than small, which was in turn smaller than moderate, but was significant higher than major? Also, Minor Dancing Sword didn’t list a damage at all. Did it not do any damage, or was it because it dealt kinetic damage while all the others dealt energy damage?
He glanced back over the units used. Meters and radians, really? He should have paid more attention in calculus. He was pretty sure 1/4 pi radians was approximately 45 degrees. And meters were easy enough to convert into feet. “I guess this means the system is more interested in math than politics.”
Also, judging by the weird recharge times, his stats must play some sort of effect on how long it took before he could cast the spell again. He also realized that there was no cast time. Did that mean they were all instant effects? Or was it a hidden value that he would have to figure out for each spell?
Glancing at his node structure Drew realized that he wasn’t going to be able to insert all his xatherite currently. Well, he could, but it would spread him out around his constellations and prevent him from fully populating any constellations. He would need to use the yellow and orange xatherite he had to bridge the locations to the other red nodes. This meant he needed to decide if it was more important to complete a constellation or to place all his xatherite.
There were obvious pros and cons to both. If he placed them all, he would begin the process of upgrading all of them, and there was a clear difference in value between his intermediate quality xatherite and the lower grade ones. Getting those lower grade crystals upgraded would make him significantly more powerful. But at the same time, completing a constellation or creating linked skills would do the same thing, giving him more power and hopefully a better survival rate.
Also, where he put them was important. Did he put his good crystals in the four-constellation node so that he could complete it, or in the six-constellation that required a blue and violet xatherite? He had no idea how common xatherite were; the only reference he had for getting more was that apparently killing other humans would allow him to get their xatherite in 100 days after the restriction was removed.
That was a worrisome prospect. It meant that xatherite was rare enough that killing another human for their crystals was part of the process. Which meant that it could be a long time before he got the purple and blue xatherite he needed in order to fully complete the six-node constellation. Perhaps he could trade with other people? Obviously, only ones that he didn’t have slotted, which would be another reason not to slot all his xatherite immediately.
He stared at the nodes in front of him. He simply didn’t have enough information to make the best choices. The gamer inside of him wanted to push him to make optimal choices. But what if he needed all those high-level xatherite to get away from the primary nexus? That was why he received them in the first place, because being near it was so dangerous. He didn’t think the world had suddenly given him multiple lives. So, he needed to focus on the options that would give him the most immediate survivability, while still not severely hindering his future growth.
His stomach rumbled, and he realized it had probably been a few hours since he last ate. He could probably crawl his way over to the snack bar, but the problem was the darkness. He couldn’t see anything, and if that continued, getting a light source was probably his highest priority.
Glancing over his options again, he looked for any options that would provide
light. All his attack spells would probably create small bursts of light, but they would also create quite a bit of damage in the area around him. Spark would probably damage considerably less than the higher-grade fireball. He wasn’t even sure if cone of frost would create any light at all. Storm seemed like a bad idea in an enclosed area like the bunker he was currently in, but he really wanted it to start getting attuned. The short cooldown on spark would also be helpful, but he just wasn’t sure how much light it would produce.
On the other hand, dancing sword and mana guard could or could not create light, it all depended on the game. In some games, mana shield would create a nimbus around him, which would give him at least a small amount of light to work with, but it could just as easily be an invisible effect. Dancing sword was in a similar category; it could be made of light, or it could be like a normal sword and not help at all. The same could be said of major refresh; there could be a light effect when he cast the spell. But the nearly half an hour cooldown on major refresh made it unlikely for that to be very useful.
Deciding that his best bet would probably be dancing sword. Most games would create an object of light for an effect like this. He didn’t anticipate it being very bright, and the gap during the spell being active to when he could recast it meant that he was going to spend about 2/3rds of the time in darkness. The question was, which slot was he going to put it into?
Looking at the other xatherite, then at the map. He decided that he needed to place cone of frost, fireball, minor dancing sword, major mana guard, and major refresh at least. That meant he could complete the easy constellation if he wanted. He could also get four out of six in the larger one or put some in the larger one and then slot more into the six-slot constellation that had two reds, two oranges, a yellow, and a white.
With a heavy sigh, convinced that he was making the wrong choice, but unsure what would be better, he put dancing sword and major mana guard in the first constellation on the right. He then put fireball in the white slot and major refresh in the orange before putting cone of frost and storm in the red slots of the six-slot constellation in the bottom right of the starmap, leaving minor acid dart and major spark unslotted for now.
Satisfied that he had made the best choices available to him according to the knowledge that he possessed, Drew confirmed the changes.
Congratulations citizen, you have taken your first step on your training. Fight well, survive, and prevail.
Drew grasped his skull as information suddenly flooded his brain. The correct actions to cast six spells burned paths into the neurons in his head. Then his eyes rolled up, and he slumped down into the chair, unconscious.
Waking up an unknown amount of time later, Drew groaned, a hand rubbing his temples as a massive headache prevented him from thinking straight for several minutes. The pain receded slowly, gradually allowing room for more coherent thought. As soon as it was at a manageable level, he cast his first spell. His fingers twisting in familiar patterns he had never made before implanting the xatherite.
There was a flash of orange light, the first color he had seen in the real world since the voice had said: “Begin.” His headache reduced to a much more manageable level, the pain in his neck from his abrupt collapse earlier disappearing as well.
“Guess that answers the question on cast times.” He felt like he had just woken up from a good night’s sleep as he stood up and stretched. Looking around at the darkness, he muttered, “Well, here goes nothing.”
His fingers twisted to form a circle between his thumb and pointer finger, then made a strange jerking motion. Then there was light. A translucent gladius, made of what appeared to be glass, came into being about two feet in front of him floating in midair and glowed with a faint red light. It wasn’t bright, but it was enough for him to see a few feet around him, which was all he needed. He turned towards the snack bar and made quick work of finding a bag of chips before the sword, following behind him over his shoulder, disappeared, plunging him into darkness yet again.
At least now it was darkness with a bag of chips. He ripped the bag open and began to stuff his face. He wasn’t sure how long it had been since last he ate, but his body certainly knew that it was hungry.
Six bags of chips, a soda, three candy bars, and two bags of peanuts later, the edge of his hunger was gone, replaced by a faint craving for something more substantial, which he had a feeling he wasn’t going to get in the near future.
Now armed with some light, his belly mostly full, and his thirst temporarily abated, his immediate issues had been solved. Now came the hard part... getting out of the bunker.
Chapter Three — The Door
Of course, to get out of the bunker, he first had to get out of the room. The watch floor, or rather the former watch floor, was about 100 feet wide, 80 feet long, and had large vaulted ceilings. There was a small changing room off to one side and then a heavy-duty metal door that required a key code to open. The door didn’t require a code to leave, a safety measure he was glad had been implemented. It did mean that he wasn’t going to be able to get back in without breaking down the door.
Not willing to risk leaving anything inside that he was going to need, he worked in short bursts. Waiting for the light from the sword to appear, he would then rummage through the various lockers and desks looking for anything of value. Throwing his civilian clothes in a duffle, he kept his uniform on; it was sturdier and would be able to protect him better from the monsters he expected to encounter. After all, the bunker would make a perfect dungeon.
Filling up the two duffle bags that he found in Marsh’s locker. They had Marsh’s distinctive smell--the larger man sweated even in the climate-controlled watch floor. He stuffed one with extra clothing and other supplies he thought might be useful; the other had all the snack bar food shoved into it. It also had the box of organic pop tarts that he found in Marsh’s locker; he’d tried one and determined that they were as disgusting as they sounded. He also grabbed the fire axe as it was the most effective melee weapon he could find.
Now with the two duffles at his feet and the shaft of the fire axe leaning against his hip, he stared into the darkness. A fear deep within him stirred, trying to pull him down to inaction. He was before the door but sensed that as soon as he stepped out of the quiet darkness of this room that all of this would become real. He was going to have to face monsters, more darkness, and who knew what else. The world had kept on moving while he had been in the tutorial. His partner hadn’t returned; he was five floors down in a bunker near the primary nexus, and he was alone.
Wallowing in the fear that threatened to swallow him, Drew let that wash over him, let it eat away at his resolve. Then he pushed it away. He had acknowledged his fear, had experienced it in full. It would not control him. “Out of the night that covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be for my unquenchable soul.” He quoted Invictus to himself as his fingers formed the seals and pushed down, activating major mana guard, the yellow light flashing briefly before disappearing into his skin.
He lifted the axe, holding it in one hand as he pushed open the door, the red light of dancing sword sending strange shadows around the antechamber.
Drew paused for a moment, looking around the small room. Then he slung both duffles over his shoulders and stepped forward. The silence here was the same, comfortingly without any of the wheezing breath or the clack of claws on cement that his brain had imagined monsters would be making.
He didn’t look up.
The only thing that saved him was the dancing sword responding to threats automatically, slashing up at the chitinous mass that clung to the ceiling above him.
It was impossible to see in the darkness. The sword’s quick movements sent dark-red shadows throughout the room. However, the creature had fallen to the floor a few feet away from Drew, knocked off course by the sword’s blow.
There were no floating damage meters. There wasn’t a floating HP bar above the creature’s head eith
er. So much for the system being like the games he used to play. With a thought, he struck out with cone of frost. The air immediately around him turned frigid instantly, but the creature reacted with a harrowing scream as it seemed to curl up around itself.
The sword’s duration ran out, and he was plunged into darkness yet again. But his axe was already swinging towards the body of the thing that had managed to sneak up on him. He could feel the blade bite into it deeply, and then it stuck when he tried to pull it out, the sound of metal grating against chitin. He lashed out with his boot, kicking at the thing while his other hand tried to cast another dancing blade.
He wanted the light; he needed it. The creature under his boot continued to thrash against his leg, long and hard legs or arms grasping at the thick fabric of his uniform pants. Yellow light flared every so often as mana guard protected him from damage. The spell’s cooldown wasn’t over yet and wouldn’t be for more than a minute. The thing was too close to use fireball. He should have slotted spark; it’s low recharge and single target nature was perfect for this sort of fighting.
Drew pushed the ax down, trying to drive it deeper into the creature, simultaneously causing damage and keeping the thing away from him.
Suddenly the mass under the axe twisted, a chunk of chitin bouncing off his shin as it was torn free by the action. Another shorthand movement and he thrust a finger in the direction of the thing, another blast of cold erupting into the room.
The creature screamed again and, judging by the sound, it was attempting to retreat. Shifting the shape of his hand slightly, a massive bloom of fire streaked towards the other side of the small room. Drew’s eyes were focused on the creature he was fighting. The burst of light from the fireball had been enough to give him a good look at it for the first time. It was a massive spider, it’s body as thick as a soccer ball. It was dripping blue ichor from the axe and sword wounds with three of its legs encased in ice, while the main body just happened to be directly in the path of the blast. He could see the chitin melting as the ball passed through its body and then exploded against the far wall.