“Oh my…” Alexander said with wonder as he looked on at an old, abandoned rock quarry.
“This is the next level of foolishness… I know better than this.” He derided himself in a whisper.
Against his better judgment, Alexander had decided to use his other inferior magic stone on the Pedestal of Dominion before going out for his Sunday chores leading him to this new quest in a quarry long shut down.
No reason to be inefficient with my gas money.
He was beginning to regret his decision as this seemed a bit to adventure-like. Currently, he was sitting in a spot he had found to hide in behind a small hill, looking down into the bowl cut out of the earth. He had been a bit shocked to find tiny boulder people marching around. He guessed their height was about 3 ft. They had one large boulder making up their bodies but no heads. Several smaller rocks made up the arms and legs. Half a dozen of them marched around what appeared to be crystal deposit that seemed to be attached to a small mound of rocks.
^
New Quest!
Robbing the Rocks
The rock golems hold a treasure that might be useful to you.
Objective: Steal the crystal at the center of the quarry.
Quest rewards:
-500 xp
-4 silver
-Novice Wizard’s Hat
It seemed these quests would go out of their way to try and motivate him. He was not motivated however by experience, money or least of all, some silly Wizard’s Hat! He was interested to see if the crystal was a magic resource—or could be broken down into one—for the sake of upgrading his World Encyclopedia. With that end in mind he could justify this… foolishness. Somewhat.
He decided to do a risk analysis as he studied the boulders. They seemed, slow. Also unproductive as all they were doing was milling about, so maybe he could classify them as lazy? Maybe they wouldn’t care if he went up to the crystal and took it for research purposes? He could tell them he would put it back in a few days when his schedule permits…
He thought about the scout motto, be prepared. Better to assume the worst he decided. So he took stock of his current abilities.
^
Alexander Brewton - Human - Wizard (novice)- Level 4
Level progression: 27%
HP: 40/40
MP: 63/60
Stat bonus available: 1
Strength: 10
Endurance: 12
Dexterity: 8
Intelligence: 17
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Abilities:
Glyph
Enchanting
Spells:
Floating Disc
Prestidigitation
Advanced Shield
Small Illusion
Suggestion
Magic Items:
Ring of Fairy Light
He noted, but was not particularly interested, in the fact that his maximum hit points and magic points had about doubled in value since he first looked at his status. He had never lost more than a couple of hit points and never used enough magic points to run out. He wondered how he had gotten the small surplus of mana points. He would need to investigate later.
Deciding more information was beneficial he once again called Ben.
“Alexander… are you stuck on your game again?”
“…yes. Do you know anything about Rock Golems?”
“Well, likely. They sound very similar to Earth Elementals. Slow, strong and resistant to most types of damage?”
“That might be an accurate description.” He said looking at the one nearest him.
“If you are forced to fight them normally water or better yet ice works well on them.”
Alexander was confused about throwing chunk of ice at them. Maybe he could go the nearest gas station and buy a bag of ice.
“Worst case though you could likely outrun them as they are exceedingly slow.”
“Brilliant. Thanks”
“Look Alexander, I could probably help a lot more if you just told me what game…” Alexander ended the call.
He proceeded to form a plan with speed and misdirection in mind, he took out the Ring of Fairy Lights he had won from the coin dispenser.
^
Ring of Fairy Light
Rarity: Uncommon
Once per day, while wearing this ring, you may use fairy light to confuse nearby enemies for a brief time.
“Perfect.” Alexander said as he placed the ring on his pinky finger. As he gazed at the gaudy accessory he added. “It doesn’t suit me.”
Thinking of his encounter with Ridley, he wondered if his luck stats played into their little game at all. With his new pinky ring equipped he made a plan, and a backup plan… and an emergency backup plan.
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He first decided to wait on placing his extra status point. He needed to investigate a bit further into their influence over his mind and body. He had multiple spells available to him but likewise did not select any yet. He saved that for the backup plan. He first called up a floating disc to cast a small illusion on top of it. However, when he cast small illusion he got a notification.
^
Warning: At your current level you may only have the benefits of one spell at a time.
Well that didn’t make any sense to Alexander. He knew the spells and had the appropriate amount of mana points… was this just an arbitrary rule? He decided to try his sign language method. Pointer finger up—then shaking hands with his thumb and pinky—he finished the sign language expression for illusion by waving his hands in front of him mysteriously. This was the most humiliating thing he had done as a wizard so far. Fortunately for him—it was not wasted effort—as his small illusion took form.
^
You have discovered a hidden principle.
The Capacity of Magic I
Rewards:
-500 xp
+10% increased proficiency to all spells you cast.
Be aware that casting magic outside of the system established principles may cause unusual and unexpected results.
^
You have gained a level in the skill Spell-casting!
Spell-casting level 4
You have 4 points to distribute to your Spell-casting skill tree.
The illusion took the form of a small dog that he kept in a running pattern. Though the illusion could create movement it could only be cast onto the surface of something. It could only move about 50 ft away from him so he had to follow it slowly. He sent the disc forward skimming just above the ground.
As he neared the golems they seemed to pay the dog no mind so he followed. As the dog strolled to the center of the quarry he had to climb down several small layers of rocks which started uncomfortably, committing him to the task. Alexander finally broke the imaginary ring of golems to the center of the quarry and climbed down to the bottom-most layer. As soon as his feet touched the ground, the sound of the rhythmic low thuds of the golems movements stopped.
“That doesn’t seem like a particularly good sign.” Alexander mumbled as he turned to look at one of the golems nearest him. The golem starting swinging its arm in circles like a softball pitcher, faster and faster until it suddenly launched part of its rock arm at Alexander's face.
“SHIELD!” He shouted dropping the other two spells, as the blue tent of his hexagon patterned shield appeared before him. Just in time to block the rock projectile. He saw cracks appear where the rock had impacted—and seeing as his dog illusion was completely ignored—he decided it was time for the backup plan.
He quickly brought up his menu and selected a spell book that dropped into his hands. He chose to learn the spell and called out, “Piercing winds!” Before charging towards the crystal in the center of the quarry. The winds whipped up at no particular target but it created a dust storm to cover his movement for a time. As he reached out to grab the large crystal he was shocked as a rock smashed into his side, launching him sideways away from his target.
“Oww…” he groaned. The pain was so intense he felt his ribs may have cracked. Was it a lucky throw? Alternatively, did the dust storm have no effect? He postulated that as the golems had no eyes they might have a different sensory mechanism.
Calling up his shield again he used sign language to cast it a second time. Turning his elbow and fist parallel to the ground—he bounced his hand outwards—as if pounding on a door like a gangster. A second shield appeared mirroring the first as he sprinted for the mound that held the crystal. He tugged on it, but it didn’t even budge as it was connected to the rock mound. He dropped down as a rock flew just past his head. Placing his back against the mound he repositioned his shield to cover most of his surroundings.
He was beginning to feel a bit nervous… and tired. Whether that was from his ribs or mana usage, he was unsure. For the first time, he looked at his mana and hit points seriously.
^
HP: 24/40
MP: 8/60
Well he didn’t like this situation. A rock crashed into his left shield creating a large spider web of cracks on it. Alexander thought through his situation quickly. The emergency backup plan required more mana, one or two more hits from the rocks would put his hit points to zero and that would most likely be bad. With his current strength that crystal wasn’t likely to budge.
Alexander decided against his better judgement to wing it. First he placed all of his spell-casting points into the option -5% to spell costs making a compound percentage of 21.55% reduction to spells.
Second, he used his sign language to summon up a floating disc using the last few points of mana. Placing one hand on the other and making a dolphin like motion with his forearm, he then drew a circle in the air with his pointer finger. As the floating disc took shape before him he almost passed out as an incredible migraine nearly crippled him. He screamed in pain as another rock smashed into his shield.
^
You have discovered a hidden principle.
The Capacity of Magic II
Rewards:
-1000 xp
+10% increased proficiency to all spells you cast.
+10% increased effect to arcane creations.
You have gained 2 levels in the skill Spell-casting!
Spell-casting level 6
You have 4 points to distribute to your Spell-casting skill tree.
Tier 2 skills now unlocked in your Spell-casting skill tree.
As he stood back up he muttered, “Mental note, take an Advil before attempting to cast three spells simultaneously.” He gritted his teeth as he tried to push himself another step further. He mentally strained to change the shape of his floating disc to that of a hexagon in hopes he would reap a similar benefit to that of his advanced shield.
^
Your Floating Disc spell has upgraded to Advanced Floating Disc
If the integrity of the shield was increased by changing to advanced… Alexander climbed onto his own floating disc, something that was previously impossible… for reasons. He laid down on his belly near the edge then with a thought he lifted himself in the air staying close to the mound and crystal. As his eyes became level with the crystal he grabbed it with both arms. With all his strength he held it tight to his chest. He also mentally commanded the disc to move upward while moving the lip of the disk just under the edge of the crystal. Creating a leverage lifting pressure on it. Several popping sounds of breaking rock came from the base just before the mound gave out, releasing the crystal. As it separated he rolled the large crystal onto the disc with him. He maintained his prone position and place his shields to cover his head and torso. The image of his first flight was anything but glorious.
Though he felt he was doing well, the danger remained as it seemed he and his disc could not move more than ten feet off the ground. The dust he had kicked up had mostly cleared so he could see the golems moving into better positions to hurl their rocks. In addition the disc was slow. However, remaining prone made him a smaller target, and at the pace of a brisk jog Alexander felt it would be faster than if he were forced to carry the crystal.
As he glided up the first rock ledge he saw the golems attempting to congregate directly in his path on the next ledge up from him. He shifted his shield to partially overlap in front of his head as they started winding up their arms again.
He was about to change course when he recognized that—as they were all bunched up together—they had made a strategic blunder. He decided to push on straight towards the group as the golems began launching their rocks at him in full force. His shields quickly started cracking into spider webs. He was certain the non-advanced form of the shield would have broken several times by now.
He was only 20 feet from them as his first shield finally shattered. A few glancing blows landed on the corners of the second shield, before a rock smashed squarely in the center shattering it as well. As two of the rock golems started winding up their arms he held his breath.
15 feet… 10 feet… the golem would loose any second. As he was almost close enough to reach out and touch the first golem he used his Ring of Fairy Light. Small crystals sprayed from his hand refracting a rainbow of colors all around the golems causing them to stumble into each other and fall to the ground in a stupor.
He elevated his disk over their heads and charged past them to the final ledge feeling a buzz of exhilaration. This must be what they call a battle high. Dangerous. He thought as he grinned from ear to ear carrying away his prize. As he mentally began to relax a rock came crashing into his legs from below shattering the floating disc, causing him to flip over himself in the air and land on his back onto the final ledge. The crystal thudded to the ground inches from his head.
Alexander decided to lie perfectly still and catch his breath while listening for any golems that may try to climb out of the quarry towards him. Then slowly he rolled onto his stomach and panned his gaze around.
^
Quest Complete!
Robbing the Rocks
The rock golems hold a treasure that might be useful to you.
Objective: Steal the crystal at the center of the quarry.
Quest rewards:
-500 xp
-4 silver
-Novice Wizard’s Hat
Congratulations, you are now level 5!
Seeing he had cleared the quest he jumped up to his feet. He was near the hill he previously had hidden behind so he picked up his crystal and ducked behind the shelter of the hill again. The last few steps to safety had his knees buckling from the pain his body was finally processing.
He opened his cooking skills and selected his Tier 2 option.
Cooking Alchemy
Picking the skill instead of the percentage boost had cost 2 points instead of one. He had one remaining and added it to the healing option.
+5% to health regeneration
He went into his quest window and claimed his wizard's hat. A royal purple and gold trim monstrosity hovered in the air before him. He grabbed the hat and put it on his head. Chuckling as he had troubling thoughts.
You’ve done it now, Alexander. You have gone and had a voluntary adventure.
He opened up his cell phone and reversed camera to look at himself. The large purple hat sitting crooked on his head.
"You look ridiculous." He said to himself.
