by Dakota Krout
There was a slight hiccup as the final layer activated, though it was expected. As soon as the draw of mana began, all of the people were forced to their knees screaming in pain, some of them fainting instantly. No access to mana meant no mana channels, no practice keeping their power under control. No open mana channels meant, well… intense pain until blackout, so he had expected this. Joe winced in sympathy pain for them. The three placed at the center quickly drank their first potion, jumping from about twenty percent recovered to seventy in an instant, then a boosted regeneration adding on more per second. Mana poured off of Joe, once again taking from him exclusively for a few long seconds before adding in the others. If he hadn’t been used to huge surges of power like this… he would have gone unconscious at the minimum.
The ritual had dipped down a tiny bit, and the entire thing was now rocking back and forth as though it were on a pendulum. The outermost circle seemed to create massive scoops and tore into the earth. That circle currently looked like a bladed Ferris wheel and was tossing tons of dirt and stone out of the ground. It was… digging a foundation perhaps? When the massive plot of land had been cleared, the blades of the wheel became colossal flat hammers and pounded the terrain to create a solid base. As the second round of Joe’s mana expenditure came to an end, he watched as golden power dripped from the accumulated divine energy.
Two shining drops landed on the ground and spread across hundreds of feet like oil in a pan, covering the bare rock and rising to fill the entire space. A streak of black appeared in the gold, and the energy changed. At the speed of a bubble bursting, the foundation had been converted into black marble with beautiful streaks of white running through it in an obviously-planned design. There were ragged cheers coming from the outer layers that were not currently under a mana-burden, but those died down quickly. After the initial laying of stone, golden drops fell as regularly as a leaky faucet. Each time they did, a new portion of the building was formed.
At first, it appeared that this building would be a pyramid, and there was quite a bit of confusion when that entire structure collapsed into itself and became level with the ground. Pillars appeared. Would this become an open-air structure like the Temple of Artemis? A castle? Was that a computer…? A twenty-foot gyroscope? All of it vanished, sinking into the black marble. Only Joe knew that these structures still existed, simply waiting for a Ritualist to call upon them for use. Just before the third round of mana-draining began, the Master ritual started to rise.
The outer ring began to drip golden power as it spun, and a structure began to form. Narrow at the base and widening, it wasn’t until the structure began to come together that it was recognized as a huge sphere, no, wait… it was a-
Just before the structure would have finished and closed the hole, the floating ritual dropped through the opening. A few shouts of shock rang out, but the ritual continued unabated. The third ring began to shine, and beams of light–consisting of mana and divine power–began to create strange objects and fanciful shapes like an industrial-sized three-dimensional printer. A floor appeared over these connected objects, and the expansive area began to form into a funnel. After the funnel had formed–a huge affair that looked like a stone tornado–the second circle began to cut shapes into it.
The patterns and spell diagrams on the fourth circle of the ritual were pulled away from it, leaving a simple and empty round platform for the participant to remain standing on. The second layer of the building had incorporated these designs and magical symbols into the funnel, adding an air of mystery to it. A similar thing happened to the patterns on the third circle, and then a translucent floor appeared over all of it. Looking through the floor allowed you to see deeply into what appeared to be a portal into a black hole. Sunbursts, specks of light, and raw mana were visible below, adding an allure and mysterious feel to the place.
Small rooms with spell circles in them began to be created, the circles raised or etched onto the floor. The entirety of the outer wall and ceiling became a single mirror, curved and reflecting all the light in the area. A single pillar began to form using the remaining ritual diagram of the second circle; the pillar twisted and lifted, heading toward the opening still remaining in the roof over a hundred feet above them. Power rolled off the ritual, the draw of mana coming in spurts from anyone who was able to produce it. Joe was sweating a disturbing amount; they were almost done, but more and more people in the outer circles were falling unconscious.
As they approached the ceiling, the fourth circle became horizontal and lifted up. It plastered itself to the roof and began rotating, leaving small platforms behind for the people that had been on it. Those people were slowly pulled to the ground, being gently deposited. Not one of them was awake to see it. The third ring followed suit, but it seemed to sink into the ceiling partly, somehow visible behind the mirrored surface. The second circle stopped just as they passed through the opening, leaving a rotating circle for the tower growing behind them to thread.
As that group of people was deposited back onto the ground, the barrier that had been keeping the mana generated from the first circle in check began to fail. Joe and the others that were in the first circle were straining to generate more power, and they drank their last potions. It wasn’t as effective as the others before it; after three potions in too short of a time, the ones following simply don’t have as much of an impact. In fact, it was only a quarter as potent as the first had been.
It was enough. The tower formed around them, surrounding the gem-like structure that had appeared. Mana that had nearly escaped was sucked in and repurposed. At this point, the first circle fell off and all but the main three were pulled to the ground by an invisible force. Joe, Terra, and Tim were gasping for air as the intense pressure of the mana in the air around them squeezed. The accumulated power began to collect into a spot directly above them, sucking in all of the thousands of points of mana that had been in there only moments previously.
Shining brilliantly, the chaotic ball of pure mana seemed to contain an ocean of power and generated a breeze that pushed the air away in a constant motion. Windows formed around them: single-piece, perfectly clear crystals. Only a drop of golden power remained, and it zipped upward and sank into the center of the ball of mana. For a bare instant, it seemed that the mana had grown a layer of diamond around itself. Then the world went white.
~ Chapter Thirty-three ~
You have created a Grand Ritual Hall (Pathfinder’s Hall)! This building provides a service needed by all; it allows for storage and access to the skills, titles, and experience needed to specialize into a class or gain a class. As a Ritualist, you are able to access a portion of the building that none other may: the ritual room. This room is fully configurable, allowing for nearly any shape, size, or complexity of ritual. Shifting this room consumes mana from the structure.
Many rituals are three-dimensional and require significant effort without access to an area such as this. This building is a shining beacon of knowledge in the darkness of ignorance and greed; all skill training in the area of effect of ‘Shining Enlightenment’ is twice as efficient. More effects will make themselves known as the building gains mana and class information! Structural integrity: 2,500,000/2,500,000. Mana supply: 100/1,000,000.
You have created an Artifact Structure! Congratulations! This is a feat that many will never complete. As the leader of the ritual that completed this structure, a new specialization has been unlocked for you. It will be denoted in your specialization menu with ‘*’ around it.
Achievement unlocked: Create an Artifact-rarity Structure. +5000 experience for each participant. You, specifically, have gained a new title: Architect of Artifacts.
Architect of Artifacts: Any action you take that will result in the construction of a new structure will boost the buildings’ overall statistics and potential boosts by 10%! +5 points to each characteristic stat permanently. (Excluding Karmic Luck.)
You are the owner of an Artifact Structure! You
have the right to admit/deny any entry, set fees for usage, restrict any of the knowledge contained within the building, and deny any the benefits it provides. Caution! There are some who will not take being denied entry gracefully. Your building can be attacked and broken into, though it will defend itself depending on mana levels.
Skill increased: Ritual Lore (Apprentice I). You have delved deeper into the secrets of rituals than anyone in an age. This requires both intelligence and luck with just a dash of blood loss. +1 intelligence, luck, and constitution.
“I can’t see!” Joe called out in the otherwise fairly quiet room. “It’s so bright in here!”
“Ow! You stepped on my hand!” Terra called from somewhere below him.
“Am I blind? Why does it hurt to have my eyes open?” Tim called into the echoing area. “It’s like I’m staring at an arc welder no matter where I look!”
“Ow! That is it; both of you get on the ground! If I get kicked or stepped on one more time, I’m gonna start throwing fire around!” Terra promised the two of them. “Joe, how do we get out of here?”
“There should be a…” Joe thought through the blueprints that had etched themselves into his mind, “trapdoor! It should be to the right of where we landed, check along the wall and see if you can find the handle; it opens by spinning it, not by lifting or lowering it!”
If they could have seen themselves crawling across the floor scrabbling for any change in the perfectly flat floor, they would have been laughing. As it was, they were getting a bit frustrated. Terra was the first to find a seam in the otherwise flawless floor, and soon after that, she had found the handle. The others had to crawl toward her voice, hoping that she didn’t fall through and leave them lost again.
There was a smooth *whirr*, and they felt an area open up. “There is a ladder. Try and find that; otherwise, it’s only about seven feet down.” After saying this, he pulled himself into the opening and fell the distance. His jumping skill allowed him to land correctly, but he was still having a hard time seeing anything. He healed himself just to make sure he wasn’t blind and waited for the others to come down the ladder. Not able to direct them for obvious reasons, he wasn’t able to tell Terra that her foot was in the wrong spot.
“*Oof*!” Air exploded from Tim’s mouth as Terra crashed down on him, taking him to the ground but saving her from an awkward fall. As they got up, Terra began to apologize, but Tim stopped her with an easy, “If you really want to make it up to me, let me take you out to dinner the next time you are in Ardania.”
“Um. Alright, but you should know that I’m a vegetarian.” Terra was grinning at Tim, even though she couldn’t see the crestfallen look on his face.
“Of course she is.” Joe chuckled quietly. The next part was said a bit louder, “And she goes jogging in the morning, Tim.”
“I’m willing to look past that,” Tim proclaimed grandly, snickering at Joe and the silent fury he could feel building from Terra. “If she will look past our terrible humor and pick which restaurant to go to. I have no idea which of them have good vegetarian meals.”
Joe moved over to the base of the ladder and spun a small wheel. The light from above rapidly vanished, but Joe left the door open a smidgen. It was more than enough to see by, but it still took a minute for all the spots in their vision to vanish. “Did you know that as the owner and creator of this building, I can open or shut almost anything in the entire structure with a mental command? This is the only door, trapdoor, or hidden wall I can’t. No idea why. There’s no lock on it; the trapdoor just needs to be opened and shut by hand.”
“Which way is out?” Terra inquired, looking at the circular room they were in.
“Down,” Joe pointed at the spiral staircase hidden from her view as he spoke. “No elevator, and of course, we are at the very top.” They started going down the stairs, showing that the pillar they were in actually consisted of two pillars, an outer one and an inner pillar which the stairs wrapped around. Ten minutes of descending later, they came to a door. “Here we go. You guys want to make a grand entrance?”
“Sure?” Tim answered with uncertainty. Joe grinned and closed his eyes. The inner pillar began to glow, and it appeared that the entire thing was glass or something very close. Light shown down from above into it, illuminating the entire thing. It kept getting brighter and brighter, so Joe motioned for them to open the door and get out. The door swung open into a silent room where almost two hundred people were focused on the suddenly brightly lit area of the building. The entire structure had been almost fully dark, and people had been worried about finding their way out.
Joe stepped forward and cleared his throat before proclaiming, “Everyone… we did it!” Cheers broke out among the crowd–some confused as they were still groggy from being unconscious–and a bunch of people rushed forward to chat with the various silhouetted figures. Joe commanded the door behind them to shut and lock, and it vanished seamlessly into the stone. He glanced at the pillar behind himself, pleased to note that the light from the inner glass was only blazing out of mystical symbols and lines, and near the ceiling were swirling ritual circles that now also allowed light through. Just cool. It looked so… magical.
Joe set the buff of the building to ‘anyone’ for now and laughed aloud as a wave of silence followed. After reading the notification, people ran off to train instead of partying. An odd but understandable shift. He looked over at his companions and nodded, then let them know that there were a few things he needed to check on. He walked off with a wave, heading to the area that currently only he could access, the Ritual Hall. He wanted no interruptions; it was time to specialize.
A small section of the floor lifted as he approached it, revealing a hidden ramp leading downward, and once again, he thought about how cool this building was proving to be. Joe walked down the tunnel which spiraled a few times before ending. He would have been confused as to his location, but the blueprints ingrained in his mind let him know exactly where he was at all times. Walking into a huge and empty room, he gave a mental command, and the entire thing shifted. Now he was on top of a pyramid, sitting on a throne. Grandiose? Yes. Needed? Not really. It was a big moment, though! Joe settled in and opened his specialization tab with an expression burning with excitement.
Congratulations! You have met the requirements to further advance your class or choose to walk another path that you feel suits you better. You do not need to specialize now, but know that each level you gain could have had the bonuses of your specialization applied.
After reading that, Joe realized why Tatum had set his level ahead by one. He cursed softly; he could have gained… something, some kind of bonus. He needed to see what he gave up. He read on.
Here are the higher classes you have attained the requirements for. Some simple details are provided; click on them for more explanation.
Abyssal Mage: Powerful elemental darkness magic. Dark creature summoning.
Archcleric++: An enhanced, more powerful version of the Archcleric Class. All bonuses and abilities increased by a large amount.
Coven Ritualist: Large-scale magics become more powerful.
Dark Ritualist: More effective anti-personnel rituals.
Eldritch Ritualist: Access to otherworldly, twisted rituals designed to warp the mind and use the lives of others to empower rituals.
Empowered Jumplomancer: Huge bonuses to jumping, performing, and falling.
Enchanting Ritualist: Better effectiveness toward enchanting and buffs placed on an individual or item.
Micro Ritualist: Small, singular effects are vastly improved.
Overhealer: Able to heal allies or damage enemies with healing power.
Psychomaster: Change the minds of others. By force.
Research Ritualist: Creation of rituals and ritual effects are easier.
‘*’Rituarchitect‘*’: Create powerful structures for boosts and defense. Shift places of power.
Scripture Ritualist: Single use simple rituals on pa
per are 90% faster to create and activate.
Waritualist: Large-scale attack rituals are easier to learn, create, and use.
Witch Hunter: Extra damage against Mages, bonus mana burn, magic resistance.
“Nice lineup here,” Joe muttered appreciatively. “Betcha money that half of them only appeared because my titles are better than their own requirements. Fairly certain I know what I’m getting, but I want more information on… you, you, and… this one.” Joe opened a few for more information, and while reading them, tried hard to gauge their rarity. It took a minute of staring greedily, but one by one, the information appeared.
Eldritch Ritualist (Unique). This class grants you access to twisted rituals designed to warp the mind and use the lives of others to empower rituals. Focusing on the sacrifice of creatures ranging from pigeons to dragons, the path of the Eldritch is a brutal shortcut to power. All are excited to see the Eldritch work for them, and all fear the inevitable corruption it leads to. Automatically grants the ritual ‘Overturn Graveyard’ and the knowledge of how to properly sacrifice any type of creature. Per two class levels: +4 Wisdom, +2 Intelligence.
‘*’Rituarchitect‘*’ (Artificially Artifact): Mana is the source of all rituals in this realm, and you have found a way to use mana to create permanent effects. Not only are you able to create powerful structures for boosts and defense, by taking this class, you automatically learn a ritual to scan any structure and create a blueprint ritual to help you make your own version. The creation of these buildings can shift places of power, creating wellsprings of mana over time. Per two class levels: +3 Wisdom, +2 Perception, +3 Intelligence, +2 Dexterity (Artificially Artifact bonus).
Waritualist (Artifact): Standing behind your army and working large-scale magics is the trademark of the Waritualist. Whether you are enhancing all of your allies or dropping meteorites on your foe, you instantly become the single greatest contributor to any war effort. Automatically grants the rituals ‘Boost All’ and ‘Low-Orbit Drop’. Per two class levels: +4 Wisdom, +2 Perception, +4 Intelligence, +2 Constitution.