What insights do you wish to receive, young Denizen?
Xavier had been expecting the voice that sounded in his mind to be croaky and strained, but this voice was nothing like that. It was strong and powerful, like that of a classically trained actor. Xavier stopped himself from asking the spirit to say, “You shall not pass!”
I wish to learn about two categories of magic. Teleportation magic, and Portal magic, Xavier replied. It was the same thought that he’d kept in his mind, and he always wondered why the spirits wished him to repeat it. Though he did find it was wise to become more specific when he explained what he wished for, and so he continued. I want to branch out into a new path of power. Initially, I think I can benefit from better mobility on the battlefield. Ultimately, I wish the path of magic to help me better travel the Greater Universe.
The wizened old spirit bowed his head.
A wise wish for your future. Travel between worlds and sectors brings insight that one can rarely, if ever, find at home. Though I imagine you are aware of that, as a Champion making their way through the different tower floors.
The wizened old man began pacing inside the time dilation field. Xavier might have expected him to use his staff as a walking stick, simply considering how damned old the man looked, but he didn’t seem to need its aide.
Just because he looks old, doesn’t mean he isn’t powerful. In fact, being this old probably means he’s incredibly powerful.
He also… wasn’t alive. Xavier wondered if the spirit had suffered ailments in life whether they would have followed him into death. If so, he didn’t think that would be very fair.
Both paths of magic will provide you with what you wish to achieve, the spirit said. Teleportation magic is the most purest of the two forms. It is most effective at moving the Denizen who wields the magic. Portal magic can help move yourself, your allies, or your enemies, but it lacks the same kind of speed as teleportation magic. Your movements will be telegraphed in a way that teleportation magic does not suffer from.
Xavier considered what the man was saying for a moment. He couldn’t help but remember the one time he’d fought a foe that had the ability to create portals. The mage made portals for their allies to loose arrows through. Xavier had been able to feel when a portal opened simply in the way the air shifted, even if he didn’t see the portal appear.
He played a fight out in his mind. Whenever he used a portal to teleport somewhere, he would have to create the portal first. Even if he could do that incredibly fast, the wizened old spirit was right.
His movements would most certainly be telegraphed. He tapped his foot on the ground as he contemplated the better option.
As I develop these paths, which of them would be the better path for pure combat?
The old spirit stopped pacing. He stared at Xavier for a long moment. His face became even more wrinkled as he frowned.
I think you have walked the path long enough to know that power can be found in all magics. It is in the manner that you wield the magic, not the inherent power of the magic.
Xavier sighed. Though he didn’t disagree with the answer he’d just been given, it was a conclusion he could have come to himself. This wasn’t the type of specific information he’d been after when he’d cast Otherworldly Communion.
But he supposed he couldn’t have someone simply tell him what he needed to do, or which path was “strongest.” He had the same dilemma when it came to choosing a boon.
Xavier sensed that he still had time with the spirit, which was good, as he had more questions.
He and the spirit spoke for a time about the two different paths. Xavier learnt of the spells that he might be able to choose from. In this instance, he was only looking for a single spell to use his Spell Credit on, but it was good to learn about what things he could have access to later down the track.
Xavier had thought that of the two, portal magic could be the most versatile. He’d imagined shoving enemies through the portals, stopping them before they were all the way through, then deactivating the portal so they were severed in half.
The spirit told him that this would indeed be an option for his portal magic. But he also told him that when a teleportation mage became strong enough, they were able to teleport into solid matter and displace it.
Xavier, for a moment, imagined what that might mean. He had an image of Neo in the Matrix jumping into Agent Smith and killing him from the inside.
He didn’t exactly fancy the idea of teleporting into an enemy, but it certainly sounded as though it could have a lot of potential as well…
Xavier started tapping his foot again, but stopped when he realised it annoyed the spirit he’d been speaking to.
For his short-term and long-term wish, teleportation magic was the best option. It would help him manoeuvre around the battlefield far better than he could at this stage. However…
Portal magic just seemed way cooler. He could fully admit that it had its downsides, and he could see that it might never be as purely fast as teleportation magic. And he wasn’t choosing it simply because of the coolness factor—even if that was what was helping him sway toward it. He simply saw that the base portal spell he could choose had far more versatility than the base teleportation spell.
Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
I could always come back and choose the other one in the future. If I find out a way to gain enough Spell Credits…
Xavier thanked the wizened old spirit that had appeared.
The spirit bowed his head. Choose wisely, young Denizen. I see much in your future. May we meet again.
The wizened old man disappeared. Colour swiftly returned to the world, and time began to move forward again. Though, as he still stood inside of his time dilation field, in a way it was still frozen for everyone but him.
Xavier sat, cross-legged on the ground. He’d made his decision. He focused on his Spell Credits once more and brought up the different categories of magic. He searched for the one he was after, then selected it.
If you choose to look at the Portal Magic category, then you must choose the spell you wish to learn with one of your Spell Credits from this category.
Do you wish to continue?
Yes, Xavier willed, after reading the notification carefully once more.
Suddenly, he could see dozens of different portal spells. There were more portal spells—subcategories of portal magic—but it looked as though he wasn’t able to see what they were. The subcategories were greyed out.
And they weren’t the only things that were greyed out. The spells he could see were too. He frowned as he noticed that all but one of them was greyed out.
This was exactly what he’d been worried about. The Wayfarer of the Infinite Path class allowed him to walk any path of power he wished, but that didn’t mean there weren’t some restrictions.
He focused on one of the greyed-out spells—Mass Portal. A notification appeared before him.
You do not currently meet the prerequisites to learn this spell by using a Spell Credit. You must first learn Portal before you can select Mass Portal.
Xavier tilted his head to the side. He wondered what the difference between the two spells was. They hadn’t specifically talked about the Mass Portal spell. From speaking with the spirit, he’d learnt that the basic portal spell could be manipulated by the user. It could be made to be large, like the portals the Endless Horde had come through back on the fifth floor, or they could be as small as the ones he’d had arrows come at him through.
The Mass Portal spell must be able to do something the normal one couldn’t. Or, perhaps, it simply made it easier for the user to create large portals.
Either way, he was more than a little frustrated that he couldn’t simply pick any spell he wished.
Though it was curious that the description said he couldn’t use a Spell Credit to learn the spell. From the way it was worded, Xavier got the impression that there might be other ways for him to learn the spell, along with other greyed out spells. Perhaps he could gain Spell Quests, as Rhaalir had suggested might happen, that would allow him to learn spells that Spell Credits didn’t initially give him access to.
I suppose it would have been a little too easy if I could just go into a category and pick whatever spell I wished from all that existed. I’d be able to pick something that only the most powerful Denizens in the entire Greater Universe had access to when they became A Grade or something.
He released a contented sigh. There was no going back now. He’d already selected this category, and there was only a single spell there that he was able to choose from.
A thrill of excitement ran through him as he selected the spell.
You have gained the spell: Portal
Xavier let out a joyful laugh. It was nice to know he still took so much pleasure in learning new spells. There was just something amazing about having access to more magic that no other experience in his life thus far was able to match.
Xavier basked in the feeling for a moment. This was the first new spell that he’d gained since becoming D Grade, and it opened up a whole new path that he hadn’t had available to him before.
He opened up the spell’s description.
Portal – Rank 1
The Portal spell allows the user to create a portal that can transfer matter from one place in space to another place in space. The distance at which this spell can reach varies depending on the power of the user and the rank of the spell itself.
The user must have intimate knowledge of where both portals are being created.
This spell has a single, varied path.
The description wasn’t very long, but he supposed it didn’t need to be. It matched up with what the wizened old spirit had told him, and it had been what he’d imagined.
The wizened old spirit told him several things that the description of the spell didn’t, however.
First, the spell had a varied cooldown. The larger the portal Xavier made, the longer the cooldown would last. Or, if he were to make multiple portals at once—something that he would be able to do as he grew in power with the spell—then that too would make the cooldown longer.
The cooldown would also become longer the more distance he required of the portal.
Fortunately, the cooldown wasn’t locked to the usage of the spell. This meant that the instant he cast the portal spell, the cooldown would begin. He didn’t need to deactivate the spell first.
There were other limitations to the Portal spell as well. He could only create a portal to somewhere he had intimate knowledge of, as the description said. That meant that if he hadn’t been somewhere before, or if he couldn’t currently see the place, there would be no way for him to create a portal there—at least, not with this particular spell.
There were other ways to create portals. Items that could be bought at the System Shop, or rituals that could be performed. He realised now that it had been rituals the people back on the fifth floor of the Tower of Champions had performed to create the portals that allowed Queen Alastea’s people to flee their world from the Endless Horde.
But the wizened old spirit had informed him that there were spell that would help him see far-off distances. Ones that would enable him to throw his sight. He’d been vaguely aware of these spells. His Farscope ability allowed him to do something similar, although the radius hadn’t actually changed.
Xavier contemplated using his Spell Credit to gain one of these sight spells, but thought better of it. There would be other times for him to do such things, and there might be other ways he could gain one of those spells. There could be other spells, too, other gaps in the way that he fought, that he would need to learn in the meantime—especially considering the enemies he wanted to go after on this floor.
No, well before he considered what the next spell he wanted to use his final Spell Credit on was, he wanted to actually use the one he’d just learnt.
Xavier didn’t deactivate the time dilation field yet. The first portal he wanted to create would only be a small one.
Xavier paced around the inside of his time bubble. He imagined where he wished the portals to appear. When he cast the spell, it would create a portal anchored near him, and another portal somewhere else. According to the spirit he’d summoned, the portals were two-way—unlike the wormholes in that Stargate TV show.
Definitely something to keep in mind.
He cast his Portal spell for the first time.