Magic School

by Phoenix Grey

  Congratulations! The skill: Archery has reached Level 5. This skill allows you to use a bow and arrow to defeat enemies. Aim strong and true.

  New Subskill Acquired: Focus – You can now zoom in on enemies and targets. Cost: 5 Mana

  A new subskill. Sweet!

  Azure wasted no time drawing his bow to try out his new subskill. He pretended to take aim without an arrow. He didn’t draw back the bowstring, just simply looked where he normally would if about to loose. Nothing happened. “Hmm.”

  Maybe an arrow had to be nocked for it to work.

  Azure drew an arrow from his quiver and set it on the arrow rest. Then he nocked it before drawing back, aiming at the lantern on the beside table. Focus, he thought, concentrating all of his energy on activating the subskill.

  In an instant, his vision zoomed in. Every tiny fiber of fabric making up the wick was clearly distinguishable. Azure loosened his pull on the bowstring and shook his head. Seeing everything amplify so quickly was a bit jarring.

  After a moment, he tried again, focusing on not zooming in quite so much. To his excitement, he found that he had full control over how much he could visually enlarge whatever was in front of him, though it still expended the same amount of Mana every time he used the subskill. This would take some getting used to, but it would definitely be helpful in battle.

  Sliding the arrow back into its quiver, Azure returned his attention on the task at hand. He still had characteristic points to assign and skills to level.

  While he had planned to wait and use his skill leveling ability on his Two-Handed Weapons skill, it was too far away from leveling, and he didn't want to compact too many skill leveling abilities by waiting for it. Archery was primed and ready to be leveled again, so Azure decided to double level it instead. It was a skill he used fairly often, after all.

  Congratulations! The skill: Archery has reached Level 6. This skill allows you to use a bow and arrow to defeat enemies. Aim strong and true.

  Congratulations! The skill: Archery has reached Level 7. This skill allows you to use a bow and arrow to defeat enemies. Aim strong and true.

  As for his characteristic points, Azure decided to dump his first one into Luck. He certainly hadn't felt very lucky during all of the Rock, Paper, Scissors games they'd played. To balance himself out more, Azure threw his last two points into Dexterity and Vitality. Losing Stamina hadn't been a big issue lately. It seemed that the stronger he got, the less of a problem it would be.

  Satisfied with his decisions, Azure closed his character sheet and moved to the bed. Since Lonnell and Uden weren't around, there was no harm in sleeping on it. Though he didn't doubt that Lonnell would wake him once they returned. For now, he just wanted to sleep off as much of his hangover as he could. It was going to be a long day tomorrow.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  THE REALM – Day 78

  By some miracle, Lonnell didn't chase Azure out of bed. He awoke early the next morning—earlier than he would have liked—to find both Lonnell and Uden curled up on the floor. Gently shaking Lonnell to wake him, Azure told him to get up onto the bed before taking his leave.

  Hawking's School of Land Magic was two hours away on foot, but he was able to make good time since he'd left so early. Upon arrival, Azure asked Miss Ogden, the receptionist, to point him in the direction of the school store so that he could buy the Teleportation Prisms he needed to complete his quest.

  For the first time, Azure was sent down the right side of the building instead of the left.

  The school store was small and filled with a variety of oddities. He spent a few minutes browsing around, noticing how expensive everything was. Honestly, Azure wasn't surprised. It seemed that anything to do with magic or alchemy cost a small fortune. Several of the potions he had seen at Jasmyne's alchemy shop lined one of the shelves, and the prices were even more inflated than they had been in Squall's End. He shook his head, wondering who actually bought these things. Probably desperate, wealthy students who didn't want to go to town for the supplies they needed to complete their quests. To only be so lucky as to not have to worry about money. As it was, just the two Teleportation Prisms were going to take a large chunk out of Azure's savings.

  A bored-looking woman stood behind the counter, her nose tucked into a book. Strands of sandy blonde hair fell in front of her face from her messy updo. She looked all the part of a student tasked with something she didn't give a shit about. Azure probably could have robbed the place blind in the time it took for her to notice him.

  He grabbed what he needed and headed to the counter, dropping the prisms next to the woman's book. She glanced at them, then up at him. “Quest paper,” she said in a monotone voice.

  Azure shuffled through his bag for it before handing the paper over. She took it and the prisms into a small room behind the counter, reappearing about five minutes later.

  Yup, I could definitely rob this place blind.

  “That will be 14 gold,” she told him unenthusiastically.

  He gave her the money, and she handed him back the prisms and his quest sheet.

  You have received the following item:

  Teleportation Prism

  Quantity: 2

  Item Class: Rare

  Quality: Average

  Weight: 0 kg

  Uses: Teleports user from one location to another. You must have two Teleportation Prisms of the same type for this to work.

  “Happy travels,” she told him dryly before burying her nose back in her book.

  “Thanks,” he replied weakly, turning away to leave.

  Azure wasn’t sure what she had done to the prisms. Perhaps calibrated them to the right destination. Whatever the case, he should be good to go.

  Part of him wanted to ask Miss Ogden, just to be sure, but when he returned to the front of the building, she wasn’t at her desk.

  Oh well. Time for another adventure.

  Azure waited until he was outside of the building. Then he placed one of the prisms in his Bag of Holding before staring down at the other one. From what he remembered from his quest with Valerio Smyth, all Azure needed to do was crush the Teleportation Prism in his palm, and it would whisk him away to his destination. It was crazy to think that such a small thing could teleport him such a long distance. And it was a bit disconcerting knowing that the location was unknown to him. There was no way for him to tell where he’d materialize.

  Thinking about it stressed Azure out, so he tried not to. No doubt, he’d end up somewhere safe. It wasn’t like the prism would drop him in the middle of a field full of monsters.

  Taking a deep breath, he looked down at the small green object in his hand, feeling hesitation warp through him as he tried to close his palm around it. This was the same thing that had happened to him last time. For some reason, the way the prisms worked spooked him.

  “Suck it up,” he whispered to himself, closing his eyes and forcing his fist to clench, the prism breaking.

  When Azure opened his eyes again, he was standing in the middle of a dark office. A gnome sat behind a miniature desk, his white hair parted in the middle and slicked to the sides, a monocle over his right eye. He looked up at Azure, not seeming startled by his sudden appearance at all.

  “Oh good, Hawking’s must have sent you to refill our barrels.” The gnome’s voice was low and gritty, like someone who had smoked about a thousand too many cigarettes.

  “Yes, sir. Azure Galvan reporting for duty.” He thought to salute but then stopped himself.

  “Right this way, lad.” The gnome walked around his desk to lead the way.

  Azure had expected the door to open to a hallway, but blindingly bright light greeted them as they stepped out into a large stone quarry. Machines drowned the world out with sound as they cut and processed the stone around them, each one manned by a gnome. It was one of the craziest things Azure had ever seen.

  The gnome foreman led Azure around the sid
e of his small shack where lines of barrels were waiting to be filled with oil. “Pry the top off and fill the ones that are empty. You’re limited to five, in case another student shows up. Come back inside when you’re done.” And with that, the gnome returned to his office.

  Azure began prying the lid off of one of the barrels, but the scene around him had him distracted. Thinking that he had traveled so far made him want to explore a bit after he was finished completing his quest. After all, he was now all the way across Patheana. Things here must be a lot different than in Squall’s End. The fact that only gnomes worked at the quarry was a testament to that.

  Better finish this first, Azure thought, finally removing the first lid.

  He placed his fingers over the barrel and cast Grease, filling it full before moving on to the next. It took him a little less than an hour to fill all the required barrels, a Very Easy quest, no doubt. When he was done, he considered wandering off to explore but decided to return to the foreman to check in first.

  Azure knocked twice, waiting for an invitation before entering. When he opened the door, the gnome offered him a soft smile. “Easy work, eh?”

  “Easy, indeed,” Azure agreed with a nod. “I was wondering if I might explore a bit before returning to the school.” He thumbed back toward the door.

  The gnome’s smile faltered, and he shook his head. “I’m sorry, kid, but roaming around here without a permit is prohibited.”

  Well, that sucks.

  “How do I get a permit?” It would probably be expensive, just like everything else in The Realm.

  “I could issue you a temporary, but I have no reason to. No offense, but we don’t much take to outsiders around here. Got to protect our secrets and all.” He sounded proud about that last bit.

  Azure frowned. “I just spent 14 gold on Teleportation Prisms. I traveled all the way across Patheana to get here. I had hoped I would at least be able to see more of this part of the...country,” he hesitated. Was Patheana a country?

  The gnome didn’t correct him. “Rules are rules.”

  It still didn’t seem fair. “Fine. I suppose I’ll head back then.”

  “Send my regards to Elise,” the gnome said before returning his attention to the paperwork on his desk.

  “I will,” Azure promised weakly before digging in his Bag of Holding for his second Teleportation Prism.

  Such a waste, he thought as he stared down at it, now afraid to crush it for a different reason. When would he get a chance to see this part of the country again? Was there really no way for him to explore? For once, he wasn’t broke. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to take a mini-vacation.

  Glancing at the gnome, it was as if Azure had already disappeared. The small man had no further interest in him, pretending that he wasn’t there.

  With a sigh, Azure forced his hand to shut on the prism, crushing it. This time, he didn’t close his eyes. Green sparks invaded his vision for a fraction of a second before it became distorted, the world sucking down with a dizzying effect. He blinked, opening his eyes to find himself standing in front of a shelf lined with Teleporation Prisms. Before he had time to process where he was, the clerk from the school store came around the corner.

  “How was your trip?” she asked, seeming no more excited to see him than before.

  “Short,” he grumbled.

  Looking around, there were a bunch of oddities lining the shelves. He wondered what they were all used for but didn’t have time to examine anything before she was leading him back to the customer side of the counter.

  Azure thanked her and took his leave, heading straight to the reception desk. Of course, there was no hope for a meeting with Elise today. Miss Ogden scheduled an appointment for him first thing in the morning, and he headed back toward Squall’s End, foraging along the way.

  He was able to level his Foraging skill one more time, but no new perks were garnered from it. Briefly, Azure considered fishing, but he really wanted to return to Zach’s stall and see if he had gotten a new shipment of alchemy components in. Work smarter, not harder, as they say.

  As luck would have it, the man had restocked. Azure was able to purchase 3 Empty Vials, 20 Red Mushrooms, and 78 Garlic for 2 gold and 2 copper. He sold the 9 Fireweed he had harvested for 1 silver thanks to his new Foraging perk.

  When he returned to his room at the inn, Uden and Lonnell were absent, so he sat in the same spot he had the day before and pulled out his mortar and pestle. Azure was able to complete 20 potions before his Stamina fell to the point that he was about to pass out from exhaustion. At least, he was able to level his Alchemy skill before that happened.

  Congratulations! The skill: Alchemy has reached Level 5. There are many uses for potions. Hone this skill to heal yourself in battle and thwart your enemies!

  You have received the following item:

  Potion of Minor Healing

  Quantity: 12

  Item Class: Common

  Quality: Average

  Weight: 0 kg

  Uses: Heals 30 HP

  Potion of Minor Healing

  Quantity: 8

  Item Class: Common

  Quality: Poor

  Weight: 0 kg

  Uses: Heals 25 HP.

  It still didn't feel like enough for him to sell. He had been entering dungeons mostly unprepared. Having at least fifty Potions of Minor Healing on hand before his next dangerous adventure would be nice. Maybe once he hit that number, he would cull out the Poor quality ones. They probably wouldn't be worth as much, but they should still sell for more than the cost of the ingredients needed to make them.

  Pleased with himself, Azure drifted off to sleep on the bed once more, feeling a bit spoiled for having gotten it two nights in a row.

  Lonnell and Uden didn’t return that night, which Azure assumed meant that they had gone on a quest for The Adventurers Guild. He left bright and early the next morning to make his appointment at Hawking’s, not bothering to Forage along the way since he wanted to be on time. Besides, he already had a pretty good stockpile of Blue Mushrooms and Wild Onions.

  Miss Ogden gestured for him to go back when he arrived, and Elise greeted him with a smile.

  “That didn’t take you anywhere near as long as you made it sound like it would,” she told him as he handed his quest sheet over.

  Congratulations! Magic School Quest: A Well-Oiled Machine has been completed.

  Thanks to your efforts, the gnomes of Oxbell will have the grease needed to oil their machines for a while. You have earned 180XP.

  “Very nice,” Azure said with a smile.

  “So I guess you’re ready to learn your last spell in novice land magic.” The land magic professor already had the spell scroll sitting on top of her desk.

  “I am definitely ready.” He took it from her when she handed it over.

  Azure unrolled the scroll and read its details.

  You have received the following item:

  Spell Scroll: Woodflesh

  Quantity: 1/1

  Weight: 0.0 kg

  Mana Cost: 20

  Range: Self

  Cooldown: Six Minutes

  Magic Class: Land

  Uses: Your skin stiffens into the consistency of wood. Adds +20 armor to the caster.

  The image on the scroll was that of a man-tree hybrid. Azure couldn’t help but wonder if that’s how he would look once he cast the spell.

  “I’m kind of excited for this one,” he confessed. Buffs were always nice to have, especially in difficult battles. Azure just wished he could use the skill on others.

  “Let’s go, then.” The dwarven woman stood and motioned for him to follow her outside.

  The process of absorbing the spell was the same as all the ones before it. Azure knelt and placed the scroll on the ground, then he rested one hand atop it and the other on the dirt, creating a chain between himself, the scroll, and the land. Closing his e
yes, words came to him unbidden as power flowed through the earth up into his arm, extending and spreading throughout the rest of his body. “I came from the land, and to the land, I will return. With the blessing of Finborh, I bring the land unto me, knowing that I will give back to it on my final day.”

  Congratulations! You have learned the land spell: Woodflesh. The strength of the forest will protect you in battles to come as long as you summon it.

  The energy and tingling that had flowed through him during the memorization process faded away, and Azure opened his eyes. A pictureless scroll lay beneath his palm, quickly disintegrating to join the earth.

  “Congratulations!” Elise clasped her hands together as he stood. “You now know all of the novice land magic spells. Now all you have left to do is complete the quest that I give you, then level up your land magic to 25, and you can start training to become an Apprentice Land Mage.”

  Azure nodded. Level 25 seemed so far away. None of his skills had reached anywhere near that yet. Considering all the other magic he wanted to learn, Azure wondered if he’d even ever get there.

  “Let’s go back inside.” The land magic professor turned and started walking back toward the building.

  He followed Elise to her office and waited patiently while she opened the drawer full of quest papers and sorted through them.

  “Ah. This one should do.” She slid a paper across to him. “Since this is your last quest for novice land magic, I feel that something a bit more complex than the last two is appropriate.”

  Azure leaned over to look at it.

  Magic School Quest: Clean Up Chelmsmont Hole

  Chelmsmont Hole is a great place to gather some rare alchemy components. Unfortunately, it's also one of the favorite nesting grounds for shade and gray beetles. Do the alchemy students a favor and go clear it out for them. Also, bring back 4 Shade Beetle Carapaces for the less melee-inclined students.