Beginning of Arc 3! Anyone catch the reference of Zedd and his friends?

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Word spread that King Caligula had passed away in his sleep. Immediately after, Duke Gray ordered an investigation just to be sure.

"It has begun," said Duke Wellington. "They're going to announce that King Caligula was poisoned to death by someone under our service."

"Yes," said Anna. "I've already prepared to take Jasper and Jade to Anzio with Leeroy and Ruby. Louis will take over as head of the guards for now."

Anna wanted to avoid fighting at all costs. She was already tired of it and would only fight when she had to. Because of this, Garnet entrusted her with the safety of her children and sent her North with them. "Are you sure you don't want to go with them?" Duke Wellington asked Garnet.

"I'm sure," said Garnet. "I need to talk to Zedd."

Garnet had been training herself in order to prepare for the upcoming battle. However, it was not much. Her special skills and abilities allowed her to match up to someone twice her level despite being less than half that level. It was still not enough to overcome someone like Kiko or Zedd though. They were still tiers above her. Garnet felt relieved that levels were not everything though. It was a tough lesson that she learned from fighting the Siren.

"I'll take care of things here," said Duke Wellington. "We will be mass producing weapons and storing food for the upcoming war. I'll leave a few messengers here in case you need something."

"Teleportation!" Garnet warped back to Antium. This was the first time she returned since she departed. Zedd had kept to his agreement and not bothered Garnet. He was not to bother Garnet until Garnet wanted to talk to him.

Garnet arrived in the room that Zedd had set aside for Garnet to use. Everything was exactly the same as she left it. In three years, there was not a single change. There were voices. "Someone's here," said Zedd.

SLAM. The door slammed wide opened. "Who are you and what do you want?" asked Zedd with his hand raised at her. He did not recognize her. After all, Garnet became several years younger thanks to the effects of absorbing the Siren.

"Wait," said Garnet as she showed her hand with the crest. She still felt a hint of anger, but it was not as intense. Time had weakened it. "It's me."

"Garnet?" said Zedd. He looked closer and saw her eyes. It was the same blue eye and green eye. "What happened to you?"

"I kind of absorbed a Siren," said Garnet. "It messed me up pretty bad."

"Thank you for convincing the Duke to fix the wall," said Zedd. "It took them a while, but they did it and made it even better."

"I'm here on business today," said Garnet.

"Please wait a moment," said Zedd. "Come and meet the others."

"Others?" asked Garnet. "Other what?"

"The other important members of the Hero Research Society," said Zedd. "We are all people who were fascinated with the stories of heroes and hoped to meet one."

Garnet walked into the room. She recognized Rito, the doctor who had checked up on her from before. There were three people that she did not recognize.

Name: Zedd

Level: 80

Class: Grand Wizard

Sub-Class: Contracted Summoner

Stats: High Intelligence

Name: Rito

Level: 48

Class: Healer

Sub-class: Doctor

Stats: High Intelligence

Name: Rita

Level: 52

Class: Elementalist

Sub-Class: Alchemist / Transmutator / Magicrafter

Stats: High Intelligence

Name: Thrax

Level: 52

Class: Thaumaturgist

Sub-Class: Healer

Stats: High Intelligence

Name: Scorpina

Level: 50

Class: Shapeshifter

Sub-Class: Copycat (Empathetic Mimicry)

They all appeared to be high level mages of some kind. Each one of them was much stronger than Garnet. Zedd had also become much stronger and gained a whole nine levels since she last saw him. "Who are you people?" asked Garnet.

"We are people who have dedicated our lives to researching heroes," said Zedd.

"It's an honor to finally meet you," said Thrax. "I've been waiting for years."

They all crowded around her to greet her. "What brings you here today?" asked Zedd.

"I came to ask you for a favor," said Garnet. "I need you to do something about Duke Gray. I think he is going to announce that other Dukes are traitors who are responsible for the death of the King."

"And because you're not related to Duke Wellington, they will come after you too," said Rito.

"Baron Gray already tried to capture me once," said Garnet. "I think they will come after me again."

"What?!?" shouted Zedd. "When was this?"

"Shortly before I left Antium," said Garnet.

Zedd was thinking. "Alright, there's something that I can do," said Zedd. "Since it is going to be a report made by Duke Gray and not the officials of Antium, it is going to be by his word only."

"What will that do?" asked Garnet.

"It will make it look like he is the one who has been trying to overthrow the King," said Zedd. "At the same time, I will counter with an official statement that states that the King was most likely killed by a guard who was recommended by Duke Gray."

"Thank you," said Garnet. "I'm sorry for how I have treated you."

"No," said Zedd. "I should have told you everything from the start, but I was afraid that you would leave us and I drove you away myself. It is my fault."

"I know you meant to harm," said Garnet. "But when everyone around me was trying to take advantage of me and lie, I did not know who I could trust. So, I will forgive you."

"I understand," Zedd. "If there's anything you need, please ask us."

"Do any of you know how to create a vessel or spirit transmutation?" asked Garnet.

Everyone looked at Rita. Her class had read Transmutator. "I only do normal transmutation," said Rita. "Spirit transmutation is something different altogether."

"Can you teach me?" asked Garnet. There was a chance that this could be the key to Spirit Transmutation.

"It's not that easy," said Rita. "You have to understand what something is made up of and be able to change its form."

"What about just basic magicraft?" asked Thrax. "It should be easy enough."

"You need a contracted elemental spirit, enough mana, and a magic circle," said Rita. "Then, just study up from this book."

New Quest: Learn Magicraft

Make a contract with an elemental spirit.

Reward: New Skill

It was another book. There was a picture of a magic circle on one side of it but it was unmarked. "I'll take a look at it later," said Garnet. "Thank you." She stored it inside her Inventory. It was too valuable to lose. There was also one more thing that she needed.

"I can help you acquire the basic ones later," said Zedd. "But there are other things you should do first."

"Do you have any magic weaponry?" asked Garnet.

"That's something you have to make yourself," said Rito. "Otherwise, it is not as effective."

"I see," said Garnet. "Thank you for the information."

"What do you plan to do?" asked Zedd.

"I need to report to Duke Wellington," said Garnet.

"Let me do that," said Zedd. "I've spoken to him many times and I know about your plan to secure his power. You should go talk to Klarth, Kirk, and Clark."

"What would those three want?" asked Garnet.

"Clark had made a big name for himself since he started selling Wild Boar Meat," said Scorpina. "He's now the Head of the Chamber of Commerce and helps to manage the businesses. If you can get his support, you can probably convince the entire city of Antium to support you."

Zedd left to report to Duke Wellington. Garnet was now left with the others. Zedd placed great trust in them, so she felt like they could be relied on as well.

"What about Klarth and Kirk?" asked Garnet.

"Klarth was promoted to Captain of the Guards after displaying his strength among the other guards," said Rito. "If you convince him as well, Antium will most likely support your side instead of Duke Gray."

"How is this possible?" asked Garnet. "Don't tell me Kirk became someone important as well."

"Kirk is still Kirk," said Thrax. "Despite that, he's Vice Captain of the Guards."

"Anything else?" asked Rita.

"Will you lend your aid for me and Duke Wellington when the fighting begins?" asked Garnet.

"Of course," they all said together.

"That's why we met up today," said Rito. "We were considering it just now. Zedd placed his faith in you, and you put your faith in us. We will support you."

"Thank you," said Garnet. "Now I must hurry to the others."

"Be careful," said Scorpina. "You must avoid Baron Gray at all costs."

"Okay," said Garnet. She then left to search for the others.

As Garnet walked through Antium, it was much better than before. The East Wall was rebuilt and guarded now. The marketplace had a lot more people though most of them were merchants from the North and not other places. There was still a lot that needed to be done. There were still no merchants from the East, West, or South. Garnet saw the Chamber of Commerce Office, but it was swamped with people. There was no way she could get inside to meet Clark with that many people there.

Garnet headed to the castle. She figured that it would be where she could find Kirk or Klarth. Either one of them would do. There was a problem though. Garnet did not want to be seen because it might alert Baron Gray to her presence. As she waited, neither Kirk nor Klarth appeared.

Level Up: Stealth (Level 2)

Garnet decided to take a different approach and headed back to Zedd's Workshop. She tried to changed into the blue dress that Duke Wellington gave her, but it no longer fit. Since absorbing the Siren, her physique changed and she was a little smaller than before. She searched through the stuff that Zedd had given to her in the past, but none of it fit. She was stuck with what she wore. There was still something that she could do. "Teleportation!" She activated the magic circle and entired the room where she was summoned. She could hear the wind blowing from outside of the castle and the occasional footsteps from behind the door. She checked the door itself and found that it had no lock. It was strange.

Garnet was now inside the castle and needed to sneak around. As long as there was no one highly perceptive, she would not be caught with a combination of stealth and illusion. The problem was that she would have to reach the office of the Head of the Guards, which was two floors up. As long as the guards she encountered were weak, there would be something that she can do.

Garnet slowly made her way down the hallway with her stealth skill. It reduced the sound around her and made it difficult to see her if she stood in dark places, which there were actually quite a few of. There were also numerous corners to hide around.

Garnet heard two guards talking as they walked down the hall. She slipped down to the hallway on the side. "Illusion!" Garnet blocked their senses from being able to observe her.

Level Up: Illusion (Level 2)

The guards walked by with one of them looking in Garnet's direction as they were talking, but he did not see her. She made her way past several more. For some reason there were far more guards than she remembered. A lot of them were also heading downstairs to the basement. Garnet approached the stairs to the main floor.

"Who's there?!?" shouted a voice.

Garnet immediately stopped moving. She hid behind a curtain. "Illusion!" She hoped the combination of hiding herself from view and covering herself with magic would hide her. She heard the sound of footsteps approaching her. BUMP BUMP. She heard the sound of metal greaves landing on the rocks of the castle, it was getting closer.

The guard continued to move towards Garnet's location as he began to pull the curtains to the side. He was checking every corner and shadow as he approached. With each footstep, Garnet could hear it getting louder. BUMP BUMP. Then the sound of curtains and drapes being moved. BUMP BUMP. The sound was now right next to her.

The guard brushed the curtain to the side. Garnet immediately grabbed him by the neck. "Pleasure Inducement!"

"UGH," moaned the guard. His eyes closed and his mouth opened. He then immediately collapsed on the floor. It had somehow gone through the guard's armor.

"I was never here," said Garnet. It was to make sure that the guard would not remember her face. Garnet thought about all the things she could do to Charles, but immediately shook her head and re-focused on finding Kirk or Klarth.

When Garnet arrived on the main floor of the castle, there was fairly few people there. She only saw a few servants walk by and there were no guards. All of the guards seemed to be in the basement for some reason. She eventually found the Office of the Captain of the Guards. She leaned her ear against it and heard nothing. She gently pushed the door.

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"Who's there!" shouted a voice.

It was a familiar voice to Garnet. She pushed open the door and closed it behind her. "It's me," said Garnet.

The office itself was square. On the shelf were a few books. Opposite of it was a door that led to another room. Klarth had even gotten a bust of himself made with a crystal at the base of it.

It was Klarth. "What are you doing here?" whispered Klarth. "Baron Gray has been looking for you."

"I'm here to talk to you or Kirk," said Garnet. "Why is Baron Gray looking for me?"

"He said that you were responsible for the death of the King," said Klarth.

"Has the announcement been made yet?" asked Garnet.

"No," said Klarth. "It is only been circulated within the castle."

"That's what I came to speak to you about," said Garnet. "In a short time, he will declare that Dukes Wellington, Kiko, and Innes will have poisoned the King. I want you to support Zedd in saying that this is a claim made by Duke Gray alone and that officially, you stand by the Grand Wizard who claims that one of Duke Gray's guards murdered the King."

"Does anyone else know about it?" asked Klarth.

"Only you and Zedd," said Garnet. "I could not get to Clark."

"That merchant who became the Head of the Chamber of Commerce? What does this have to do with him?" asked Klarth.

"I want him to stop dealing with Duke Gray," said Garnet. "We need to cripple him before he acquires too much power."

"I'm afraid its not that easy," said Klarth.

"Why?" asked Garnet.

"Duke Gray took a lot of money from the treasury to fund a secret project down in the basement," said Klarth.

"Do you know what it is?" asked Garnet.

"Duke Gray said it is something that will make magicians pointless," said Klarth.

"How many were made?" asked Garnet.

"Only one," said Klarth. "There was not enough resources to make another as far as I know. Duke Gray tried to collect some more, but there was not enough available in the area."

"That must be what the guards are trying to protect down there," said Garnet.

"You snuck in from the basement?" asked Klarth.

"Yes," said Garnet. "That reminds me, wait one second."

Garnet laid a Teleportation Summoning Circle right in Klarth's office. "Now I can just come directly here."

"Magic is great," said Klarth. "I wish I could use it."

"Do you know where the project is?" asked Garnet.

"It is near where Zedd summoned you," said Klarth.

"Thank you," said Garnet. "I'll leave you now."

"If Zedd is on your side, then I'm on your side too," said Klarth. "I'll wait for his announcement and if it is made, I will be against Duke Gray as well."

"Teleportation!" Garnet activated the Summoning Circle and disappeared.

"I must go inform Kirk," thought Klarth as he ran outside.

Garnet returned to the spot where she was summoned. She made her way down to the other secret rooms in the basement. It was there that she spotted one that was guarded by four soldiers and a locked door. The patrols circled about every half hour, so she would have to somehow use that window of time to get through. The biggest problem was the guards. She could instantly take out two of them, but the other two would most likely fight her. It also had to be done quietly to not alert anyone else of her presence.

"Or maybe, I should alert them of my presence," thought Garnet. She immediately headed back to the room where she was summoned and left the door partially open. "Air Bullet!" VWOOM. A powerful burst of wind slammed against the door.

BANG. The door collided against the wall before closing shut again. Garnet ran to hide in a corner of the dark room. She heard foot steps coming from different directions. The steps got louder as the guards approached. Garnet could not tell how many of them there were, but it sounded like a lot.

CREAK. The door slowly opened and a guard carrying a sword slowly walked in. Others followed. A total of eight guards entered the room. Their average level, only ten. They were elite compared to most of the others, but still very poor. However, Garnet was able to see the reflective light of their armor from the light coming through the room.

Once the guards were in the room, Garnet was the only one who could see clearly because of how dark it was in there. All of the guards were blind by comparison. It would take a few minutes before their eyes adjusted to the darkness, and in that time, Garnet could probably kill them all if she wanted to. When the last guard entered, Garnet grabbed his arm. "UGH," moaned the guard as he fell on the floor.

"What happened?!?" shouted a guard.

BAM. The door closed shut. Garnet could see them, but they could not see her. Two down, six to go. Garnet's Pleasure Inducement skill immediately incapacitated someone for quite some time. She ran up to the guard that was giving orders and grabbed his hand. "UGH," he moaned as he collapsed.

"I saw something!" shouted a guard. "It was the figure of a woman, but I could not see what it was."

"Someone open the door to show some light in here," shouted another.

Garnet watched the guard ran towards her and the door. She immediately grabbed him around the waist. "UGH," he moaned as he collapsed. Three down, five to go.

Level Up: Pleasure Inducement (Level 3)

"Can anyone see it?" shouted a guard.

There was no one who could respond. Panic was beginning to spread among them. Even though the room was not that big, with the door closed and no other source of light, it was pitch black in there.

Garnet ran up to them. "Air Bullet!" She released a powerful burst of wind that scattered the remaining guards.

Level Up: Air Bullet (Level 3)

SLAM. The guards all collided against different parts of the room. Only one guard managed to get up. The others were all groaning in pain on the floor. Garnet circled around him and grabbed the back of his head. She watched as he fell to the ground and moaned in pleasure. "UGH," moaned the guard. Garnet went around and made sure she did the same to the remaining four before leaving the room. "None of you saw me," said Garnet as she left. All of them would be incapacitated long enough and would probably be too embarrassed to stay anything even if they could.

When Garnet approached the door that was previously guarded by four guards, there was only one left. "Illusion!" She walked up to him and grabbed him.

"UGH," the guard moaned as he fell onto the floor.

Pleasure Inducement was an extremely powerful ability. Because it pushed the sexual pleasure of the victim, they easily collapsed from the experience. It also left them unable to move for a while, unable to remember what recently happened, and allowed her to suggest thoughts. It was quite powerful and an improvement from Drain Will overall.

Garnet slowly opened the door and saw a cannon.

Name: Magitech Cannon

Class: Artillery

Element: Fire

Uses mana from any source to generate an explosive ball of fire that detonates on contact.

MP Cost: 1000 per shot

Garnet looked closer and was able to see the inside of it. She saw a large transparent crystal conduit with red crystals above and beneath it. The only thing she could do was sabotage it. Garnet took out a piece of Wild Boar Meat and tossed it under the crystal. Nothing happened so it was most likely not a trap. She reached her hand in it and took out the crystal.

Name: Crystal Conduit

Class: Catalyst

Element: None

Allows mana to be focused through the item in order to amplify it.

It was a high quality crystal of some kind. Garnet had an idea. She stored the crystal she just obtained inside her Inventory. It was another important item that could not be lost. "Teleportation Summoning Circle!" She immediately ran back to the summoning room and used the magic circle to return to Klarth's office.

When Garnet arrived, she saw nothing. She removed the crystal from the base of Klarth's bust and returned to the room with the cannon. When her mana refilled, she warped back to the room and replaced the crystal with the one from the bust. The size and shape were a little different, but they looked similar enough. She looked for anything else that she could do to hinder it. The cannon itself used wheels, so she cracked one of them with her hands. BAM BAM BAM. Each punch she threw cracked it further. This would make it so that when it was moved, it would eventually fall, but it would look like it was it collapsed under its own weight.

There was one last thing that she could do, damage the barrel of the weapon. That way, it would look like every single thing that could fail, in fact did fail. "Chain Lightning!" Garnet released electricity that filled the weapon before dissipating. Nothing happened, but that was the most that she could do. Anything that was too loud would draw attention. With that, Duke Gray's secret weapon was damaged, but he would not know it until he actually used it.

A few days later, Duke Gray made an official announcement. Duke Wellington, Kiko, and Innes were wanted for crimes against the King. But, Garnet noticed something was missing, there was no official or royal seal on it. It was something in the hands of Zedd, who published his own countering Duke Gray's position, stating that Duke Gray was the one who was responsible for the death of the King.

Spoiler :

Name: Garnet

Level: 14

Class: Dark Mage

Sub-class: Temptress of the Night

Stats:

HP: 1260/1260

MP: 3180/3180

Fame: 20

Strength: 40 (+5)

Dexterity: 38 (+7)

Intelligence: 93 (+22)

Vitality: 46 (+5)

Agility: 47 (+7)

Charisma: 24 (+20)

PROFICIENCY:Weapon:

- One Handed Sword – 6

- Hand to Hand – 2

- Staff - 1

Magic:

- Fire – 5

- Lightning – 8

- Wind – 2

- Summoning – 7

- Blood – 5

- Spatial - 0

SKILLS:Weapon (One Handed Sword):

- Horizontal Slash (Level 3)

- Double Slash (Level 2)

- Crescent Slash (Level 1)

- Triple Slash (Level 1)

- Delta Attack (Level 1)

- Spiral (Level 1)

Weapon (Hand to Hand):

- Palm Strike (Level 1)

- Wind Palm (Level 1)

- Explosive Palm (Level 2)

- Lightning Palm (Level 1)

- Sweeping Kick (Level 1)

- Horizontal Kick (Level 1)

- Uppercut (Level 1)

- Ki Burst (Level 1)

- Demsey Roll (Level 1)

Weapon (Staff):

- Thrust (Level 2)

- Swinging Smash (Level 1)

- Double Strike (Level 1)

- Triple Strike (Level 1)

- Quadruple Strike (Level 1)

- Vertical Smash (Level 1)

Class (Dark Mage):

- Fire Bolt (Level 5)

- Fire Ball (Level 1)

- Lightning Bolt (Level 8)

- Chain Lightning (Level 2)

- Light (Level 1)

- Air Bullet (Level 3)

- Mana Armor (Level 1)

- Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 3)

- Call: Skeletons (Level 1)

- Call: Lilith (Level 1)

- Recall

- Dismiss

- Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 2)

- Lightning Fire (Passive)

- Blood Absorption (Level 6)

- Blood Bind (Level 1)

- Teleportation (Level 1)

- Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)

Sub-class (Temptress of the Night):

- Enhanced Body (Level 3)

- Captivation: (Level 3)

- Mind Read: (Level 1)

- Pleasure Inducement (Level 3)

- Sexy Walk (Level 1)

- Stealth (Level 2)

- Shadow Walk (Level 2)

- Sonic Scream (Level 1)

- Illusion (Level 2)

- Alluring Song (Level 1)

- Flight (Level 1)

- Aura of Fear (Level 1)

- Scale Armor (Level 1, Passive)

- Transformation (Level 1)

- Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)

Tradeskills:

- Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter

- Cooking (Level 7) - Cook

- Inspection (Level 4)

- Sewing (Level 4) - Tailor

- Inventory Expansion (Level 4)

Passives:

- Hand to Hand (Level 1)

- One Handed Sword (Level 1)

- Staff (Level 1)

- Reflex (Level 5)

- Haste (Level 1)

- Scale Armor (Level 1)

Unique:

- Hero System (Passive)

- Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive)

- Golden Tongue (Passive)

- Mana Compatibility (Passive)

- Quick Learner (Passive)

- Channeling (Passive)

- Charging (Passive)

- Night Vision (Passive)