The Land: Founding (Chaos Seeds Book 1) (16 page)

You are bleeding. You will lose three
health per second for the next fourteen seconds.

 Well that explains that. Sion
handed him several healing herbs and he stuffed all three into his mouth
chewing, trying to ignore the bitter flavor. He swallowed them all as quickly
as possible. It seemed the potion and herbs would work in conjunction allowing
for increased health regeneration over a period of time. For the next few
minutes Richter sat in pain waiting for his wounds to heal. Sion stood nearby
staring at the tall black doors at the end of the hall, but no further enemies
appeared.

 “
Futen
.”

 “Yes, my Lord.”

 “Are we going to run out of
time? Will the skeletons that we have killed come back if we don’t move fast
enough?”

 “No, my Lord. Some dungeons are
indeed bound with a power that brings back any vanquished enemies quickly, but
this dungeon is fixed. Unless you leave the dungeon for a prolonged period,
slain enemies will not reappear. I cannot give any assurance of new enemies
wandering in, however.”

 “Do you mean more skeletons
could be coming from outside,” Richter asked with alarm in his voice.

 “Yes, my Lord. I have been
scanning for enemies as instructed however, and have detected no hostile creatures
other than the skeletons you have encountered.”

 Not fully reassured, he tried
for a bit of levity. “You seem to make a habit of jumping onto enemy’s backs,
buddy,” Richter said.

 “Only because you seem to be making
a habit of lying on you back with big things on top of you. You should stop
that. It’s no way to find love,” Sion replied, a cocky grin spreading across
his face.

 “Shut up! I’m still healing,”
Richter groaned.

 Despite suffering not only
wounds, but also Sion’s twisted humor, there was a bright side to the fight.
Upon the death of the warriors Richter was award with:

TRING!

You have reached level 7! Through
hard work you have moved forward along your path. As a Chaos Seed you gain 6
points to distribute to characteristics instead of the usual 4. You also get
25% advancement to the skill of your choice! Crush your enemies, honor your
allies, LIVE!

Congratulations! You have reached
skill level 3 in Imbue Arrow. +5% damage. +5% speed of mana flow.

 Richter wasted no time and
allocated the necessary points needed to use the charm spell. Two points went
into Intelligence, two into Charisma and the last two he placed into Dexterity.
The increased attack speed of the sprite could not be underestimated. His 25%
proficiency increase he held off, as none his skills was far enough along to
level.

 Richter pulled out the spell
book. The blurry lines that were on the page the last time he had looked at it resolved
into clear text. He began to read and quickly finished the first page. The next
page turned of its own volition. After he read it the process repeated. This
happened faster and faster until the turning pages were a breeze on his face.
With the last page done, the book slammed shut and crumpled to dust.

Congratulations! You have learned the
spell: Charm! You can convince a target that they hold you in the highest
regard. If cast on an enemy during battle they will fight for you. Casting this
upon a creature lowers their regard for you after the spell wears off. This is
a spell of Life. Cost 60 mana. Duration: 1 hour. Range: 20 feet. Cast Time: 1
second. Cooldown: 10 minutes.

Congratulations! You have learned the
skill: Life Magic.

 His wound closed while he
learned the spell. Richter stood and looked at the black doors. It was time to
finish this.

 “Can you scout what’s inside
Futen
?”

 “No, my Lord, not until the
door is opened.”

 “Well then, no point waiting
around. Let’s do what we came for!
Futen
, as soon as
we open the door, illuminate the room, and find any traps as quickly as
possible. Sion, kill stuff,” Richter said, getting a
viscious
smile in return from his Companion.

 Striding to the end of the
chamber, Richter flung open the doors and moved inside.
Futen
lit the room, hovering above their heads. A black altar was in the middle of
the room. A skeleton stood behind it wearing black robes and holding a long
staff. The staff appeared to one large bone. It was at least five feet long,
and was blue in color. The top of it had
spiderweb
cracks that were black in color. Small spheres of black light shone in the
center of the skeletons eye sockets leaving no doubt that it was staring
directly at them. It was flanked by two skeletal warriors both holding
greatswords
. Next to the priest though, was the show
stopper. A grayish humanoid creature sat on haunches wearing tattered rags as a
loincloth. It had weeping skin and festering sores. The stench coming off of it
was horrible and overwhelming. It looked up at them with animal like
intelligence, arching its back as it prepared to leap.

 “A ghoul,” Sion shouted.

 The robed skeleton waved its
hand, and the doors slammed shut with an ominous boom, locking them in.

 Then Richter heard something
even more disturbing from his Companion.

 “Fuck my life!”

“Don’t let the ghoul touch you,” Sion
shouted, “it can paralyze.” The sprite drew, knocked and imbued an arrow,
firing it at the closest skeleton warrior. He then switched to the other
warrior. His shots made a constant staccato, buying time before they could
close the distance, and bring their horrible strength to bear. Richter fired
his golden arrow at the skeleton mage, but a blue disc of hazy energy appeared
from the tip of staff.  It acted as a shield.  His arrow stopped well
short of the skeletal mage creating a loud bang, but having little other
effect. The ghoul had jumped over the altar, and was quickly closing the distance
to Richter.

 Putting all of his faith in his
new spell, Richter cast out his hand and invoked Charm. The one second cast
time allowed the ghoul to leap. It was in the air by the time Richter had
finished the incantation. Its jump easily crossed the remaining distance
between them. The stinking weight of its body crushed Richter into the wall. He
held his arms out ready to wrestle the creature to the ground, but it easily
gave ground. It simply stood there staring at him. With a grim smile on his face
he pointed to the skeleton mage, “
Sick’em
boy!”

 The ghoul rushed at the mage
who had been chanting a spell that would almost definitely have ruined
Richter’s whole day. The mage was forced to break off its spell to fire a bolt
of frost at the ghoul knocking it to the side. Unfortunately, the caster did
not seem fazed by spell feedback from the interrupted spell.

 Richter pulled his attention
from the two fighting monsters. He drew and fired upon the skeletons that were
perilously close to Sion. His attack pulled the attention of the axe wielding
warrior. The energy seemed to flow easier than before, his increase in Imbue
Arrow level making a small but perceptible difference. He was able to land two
strikes on the warrior before it took a swing at him. Ducking under the blow,
he planted his feet and rammed it with his shoulder, knocking it back a step.
He quickly nocked another arrow and fired at point blank range directly into
its face. He had not had time to
Imbue
the arrow, but
the shot still connected solidly with its skull. It fell upon its back with a
loud clatter. Standing over it, he charged his arrow, and shot at the
connection of its neck and body. The skull flew free and the bones lost
cohesion.

 Looking to Sion, the sprite was
dodging his opponent’s swings with no chance of counterattack. Drawing a bead
on the warrior, Richter imbued his arrow, then shouted “Drop down!”

 Sion rolled to the right to
avoid the skeleton’s sword leaving Richter a clear shot. He took it, and the
second skeleton dropped into a pile of bones. Turning his attention back to the
altar he heard a piteous shriek. The skeleton mage had plunged its staff into
the chest of the ghoul. The creature still struggled to reach the mage and rend
it with its claws, but ice began to spread from where the staff had pierced its
body. After only three seconds, the ice had completely frozen its torso. With a
sharp twist, the skeleton freed its staff. The sudden jerk sent the two halves
of the ghoul’s body in different directions. Blue and red icy shards fell in a
tinkling sound around the base of the altar.

 Hoping to catch the mage off
balance, Richter drew an arrow, imbued it and released. He didn’t have Sion’s
speed though. The seconds that it took to do so was enough to allow the mage to
erect his shield again. The shot was stopped feet away, splashing harmlessly
against the blue circle. Sion regained his feet and fired an arrow, but with a
pulse of power from the staff, the circle widened in diameter, blocking his
shot as well.

 “Flank it,” Richter shouted,
not letting up on his rate of fire as he moved to the right. Seeing Sion’s
confusion, he exhaled in frustration and shouted again, “Move to the other side
and keep shooting!” They both kept hammering at the skeleton’s shield moving to
either side to get past its defenses. With another flare from its staff, the
shield grew into a sphere covering it from all directions. It now had a
distinctly softer shade of blue, however. They continued firing Imbued shots.
It was clear that it was a race to see who would run out of mana first, the
Companions or the skeleton mage.

 Taking a moment, Richter
swallowed his mana potion. While Sion continued the assault, Richter powered
his arrow for one, two, three, four, five and now six seconds. The black
streaks flowed thick over the golden arrow, and Richter felt the magic begin to
flare out of control. Not able to wait any longer, he released. The arrow hit
the sphere, but unlike the previous shots, the magic surrounding it did not immediately
wink out. The arrow seemed to push at the protective sphere, bowing it in. The
sphere buckled, and then, in a torrent of light and sound, it exploded. The
eruption knocked both Sion and Richter backwards to the ground. Blinking clear
the spots in his vision, Richter quickly made his way back to the altar. The
skeleton was laying on its back, frozen. This time, apparently the spell
backlash had stunned the mage. It was helpless for a few moments. Unsheathing
his sword, Richter delivered the coup de grace, severing its head. Looking
down, he saw the dark light fade from its eye sockets.

Congratulations! You have cleared
your first dungeon! Bonus +500 XP!

Congratulations! You have finished
the quest: Unlock your Power I. You have found and cleansed a site of ancient
magic. As Master of the local Place of Power you may choose one of the Powers
that comprise your domain. Your options are Life, Dark, Air or Water. Make your
choice to close the quest. Reward: 3,000 XP.

Choosing a Power will give you 50%
effectiveness increase to spells of that branch. You will also have 50%
resistance to spells of that Power. Unique to being a Master of a Place of
Power, however, is your access to each Power’s specialized ability.

Life Ability: “Bounty of Life” +30% growth for the physical
manifestation of your Place of Power
Dark Ability: “Hidden Treasures” +30% yield from treasure
Air Ability: “Winds of Change” +30% rate to skill advancement
Water Ability: “Tranquil Soul” -30% mana cost for spells

 
Richter’s exhaustion was overwhelmed
by his excitement! He closed his eyes and smiled. While Imbue Arrow was by far
his most useful skill so far, what had drawn him to RPGs, then MMORPGs and
finally VRMMORPGs was a desire to wield magic! The only reason he had played
the character Sion was that his best friends had pigeon holed him early on to
choose a rogue character. They had said it would round out the group. Even
though he never told them, he had a couple other accounts that let him throw
lightning bolts and cast curses with the best of them!

 Being a Master was amazingly
powerful. It basically made him a magical tank! While the bonus 50% resistance
and spell power was awesome, it wasn’t really a huge surprise. The abilities
though, might be real game changers! It made choosing one of the four so much
more complicated! He focused upon his four choices in the prompt, but no
further information offered itself. Oh for want of a Wiki! Based on the games
he had played in the past, Dark Magic was the often the province of curses, summons
for certain creatures, concealment spells and direct damage. Air magic usually
dealt with haste, weather and electricity. Water magic typically slowed
enemies, used ice based attacks, and some emotion based magic. Life magic of
course dealt with healing, but also blessings, death wards and protection
spells.

 What
should I
do, Richter thought with some anxiety! It occurred to him, after a second, that
this was not exactly Sophie’s choice. Unlocking all four of his Powers was now
a serious priority, and something he would definitely achieve! The real
question was, what would help him the most at this present moment.

 Now his Charm spell had saved
the day, there was no doubt about it. If the ghoul had resisted the spell, both
he and Sion would probably be dead right now. A 50% bump in its power would
seriously juice up the spell! Even high level enemies would probably succumb.
Also increased growth for his village would be clutch! On the other hand, he
wasn’t really ready to take advantage of the bonus yet.

 Dark Magic would certainly be
powerful. Also, the Hidden Treasures ability was insanely tempting. 30% better
loot, for like, ever! He knew people that would sell their grandma for that!
You also couldn’t discount Tranquil Soul. 30% less mana needed for ANY spell?!?
It was a magician’s wet dream!

But then there was Air Magic. The
power of haste and lightning spells. Maybe even flying or instant transport?
Ultimately it was the Air Ability that made the decision for him. The Winds of Change
Ability just seemed like the natural complement to his already existing
Limitless ability. He could already learn any skill, how could he resist
knowing that he would learn everything 30% faster? He made his choice.

You have chosen Mastery of Air!

Congratulations! You have obtained
the Ability: Winds of Change. All skills are obtained 30% faster.

Congratulations! You are a Master of
Air Magic. All Air spells cast by you are 50% stronger. You have 50% resistance
to Air magic. You can teach the skill Air Magic to anyone with over a 50%
affinity for the skill. You can teach specific Air spells to anyone with the
appropriate skill level to learn them.

Congratulations! You have learned the
skill: Air Magic. Increasing your skill will allow you to cast more advanced
spells.

Congratulations! You have learned the
spell: Haste! This spell will increase the speed of the target. This is a spell
of Air. Cost 25 mana. Duration: 10 min. Range: 5 feet. Cast Time: 1 second.
Cooldown: N/A.

Congratulations! You have learned the
spell Errant Wind! Increase the dodge of your party to projectiles. This spell
will only work when you are outside. This is a spell of Air. Cost 50 mana.
Duration: 20 min. Range: 50. Cast Time: 4 seconds. Cooldown: 45 min.

You have been awarded 5,000 XP for
your new Mastery.

TRING!

You have reached level 8! Through
hard work you have moved forward along your path. As a Chaos Seed you gain 6
points to distribute to characteristics instead of the usual 4. You also get
25% advancement to the skill of your choice! Crush your enemies, honor your
allies, LIVE!

You have either characteristic points
or skill percentage points to allocate from the previous level. Now that you
have progressed again, you must allocate your points within the next week or
they will randomly be assigned for you.

Congratulations! You have unlocked
the quest: Unlock Your Power II. Requirement: Level 10.

 The prompts almost brought a
tear to his eye. Instead he settled for a, “Hell yeah!” Sion looked at him like
he was crazy. He laughed and said, “Don’t worry. It’ll grow on you!” He hadn’t
known that he couldn’t store points indefinitely. He would have to be aware of
that in the future. He calmed his excitement and looked at his new spells. As
with the Charm spell, he suddenly just had the knowledge. He knew he could cast
the spells as if he had studied them for a great period of time. That brought
him to… “
Futen
,” Richter said loudly, “How do I teach
the spells that I know?”

 “Simply place your hands on the
desired recipient, and will the knowledge to them. For higher level spells
there may be additional requirement, but the level one spells you have learned
will only require your will, and that the recipient have at least 50% affinity
for that branch of magic.”

 It sounded too easy, “Can
anyone teach magic,” Richter asked.

 “No my Lord, as you progress in
skill levels, your rank progresses as well. Levels 1-9 you are a Novice.
 
Then levels 10-24 you are an Initiate, levels
25-44 an Apprentice, and levels 45-69 you are awarded the rank of Journeyman.
After Journeyman, you reach the rank of Adept, and remain there until level
100.
 
Level one hundred on, you are a
Master. In days past, there were stories of Grandmasters, rank 150 and above,
but I have never met any that I can recall. Only Adepts and Masters can teach
spells without the use of spell books.
Spellbooks
are
time consuming and costly to produce, and may require rare ingredients. Even
still, only Journeyman level and above can create
spellbooks
. 
It is obviously preferable to learn a spell directly from and Adept or Master.
As Master of a Place of Power, you gain the abilities of a Master despite your
skill level being less than 100.”