Chapter 17
The Exam
A strange feeling of awe and wonder filled me as I made my way forward in the university halls. The old man, who I still didn’t know the name of, only the title: Head Butler guided me down the hallways. Each room along the hallway seemed to be an infinitesimal space that stretched out beyond the limit of my Angel’s Sight, while seeming to warp the very fabric of reality.
There was more magical power here than likely existed in the world proper.
This university, much like the spirit realm that I was now sole commander of were relics of the initial launch of the game. Portions of the game that existed but were never fully explored.
That was why I knew I would be accepted here to these vaunted halls. I was after all the only one who had gained the Unique Void Walker class, which means that my version came with all the bells and whistles already attached. The best way to think about Unique classes is like the luxury store model that has the leather seating, the drink coasters that cool your drink, while also being able to convert solar energy into a quick power charger. You know the model that costs far too much for mass production and has to be modulated mostly by hand, but will get everyone to view the vehicle in a new light. That’s what I have.
There might be other Void Walkers that can come later, but they will be few and far between. Also, they will likely have to quest for the bonuses that I got for free.
Now to be fair not all Unique classes are truly worth the effort to earn or achieve. There are some like the Chameleon Diplomat that sound amazing by allowing people to change their race and build to have multiple personalities and fulfill multiple personas. The only problem is that each new persona has their faction rating set to default ratings, meaning that the reputation for each persona needs to be developed independently. Of course the original class came with a bonus to the rate at which it earned reputation, but none of the others who then chose that class got the bonus.
Just like the unique reputation booster for the Chameleon Diplomat, my class granted me a few bonuses that all but prove the class is a death wish for anyone foolish enough to follow in my footsteps.
First, there is the oddly ominous tone of my class.
Void Walker: For those that all look into the void and wish to travel the hidden corners of the worlds and find the hidden mysteries of the cosmos this is your class. Just realize that some mysteries were hidden for a reason. Not all truths should be uncovered, and above all not everything should be known. Still, you strive on, looking where others either cannot, or refuse to.
The Void Walker is a true hybrid class of Magical Prodigy and Rogue explorer. Needing to travel, the realm between life and death, the Void Walker is capable of traversing to and from the ghost world at will.
Beware, for you walk the forbidden path of life and death. A path that would mean death for any who choose to follow you in your reckless pursuit of knowledge and the unknown.
Unique Class Merits: Death Shroud (3): Wielder of this merit has a tempered body that is immune to the piercing soul damage of the ethereal realms. Wielder can travel to either realm and bring up to two chosen people to follow them into the opposing realm.
This was the Class Merit I used to lure over the small spirit dragon to follow me. Since I could control how long the blessing was shared, I could force the dragon to leave by threatening to relinquish my protective shielding from the spirit dragon. I assume that based upon the wording I could also take people with me into the ghost realm, but I have not been able to test this.
Also, I just want to say that the ghost realm is awesome. Effectively it is an exact mirror of the real world, meaning the possibilities are endless with what I am capable of stealing now. No longer do I need to worry about having to jump into and then out of an area. Now I can walk right up to a spot, open a small portal for my hand to slip through and snatch anything I want. At least that is what I assume can happen at later levels of control. For now I am limited to creating full size portals that creatures can use to traverse both ends of the cosmos, going from either the realm of the living to the mirror realm of the dead, or vice versa.
Also, with the ghost world clearly visible, I know for a fact that I might be able to contact my mother and father in the ghost world. In fact, not just my parents but I likely might be able to communicate with everyone who ever died. I could solve old murder mysteries by asking the ghosts in question. I could find the hidden locations of relics long since lost to time. The number of quests that are available are nearly endless, and I cannot wait to find out what will happen next.
For now though, I need to learn how to wield my magic with some form of proficiency, while also finding a way to protect myself against the ghosts that I will likely have to deal with. I don’t know how I feel about killing ghosts. Logically if I could kill ghosts, then my whole issue with killing people might be null and void, as the ghosts of the dead I slay in the real world would no longer be an issue. Still, I don’t want to go down that path, for that seems like the way towards permanent death, which in a way feels even worse than just regular death. Ultimately this class is showing me that I was right in my want to avoid killing both the people and hostile creatures of this world.
This of course was not my only Merit, as I was granted a second Merit and Flaw by meeting the distant friend of the Tortoise Dragon.
Unique Class Merit (4): Spirit Familiar: You have formed a deep spiritual bond with one of the blessed children of the spirit world. Your familiar will be both a guide and advocate to help you navigate your way through the realm of spirits.
This familiar of course is the one I summoned and the one I got to bite the guard who I am now following. Oddly enough, I can feel my familiar waiting just on the other side of the veil. She is there waiting to be summoned at a moment’s notice should I need assistance. Of course, she is the same level as me and will only level as I level, but so far just having a spirit companion that is not bound by the mortal rules of this world is quite handy.
Of course, having such a great merit would not be balanced in the game. Which is why I was also given a unique flaw to match the Death Shroud and Spirit Familiar Class Merits.
Unique Class Flaw (7): Void Touched Void Walker: You have been marked as the chosen advocate by the deepest denizens of the void. Your primary class will now and forever be Void Walker. Additionally, both denizens of the realm of the living and realm of the dead will know you are the one who can both teach others your class, while also conducting unique missions on behalf of both realms.
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Yeah, that’s me, supernatural delivery and parcel service member. Still, I look at it as job security, if I want I can deliver messages to both realms at a whim. In fact, that was part of why I was given the class in the first place as I had to deliver a long-forgotten confession of love from Tortoron to his love the great Umbrahina, Spirit Dragon of the Deepest void.
In addition to my unique class merits and flaws, I got what I am assuming are standard class spells.
The first spell I got and one that was absolutely mandatory was Planar Shift.
Planar Shift (Level 1) (A): Allows user to create a path connecting the realm of the living to the spirit world.
That’s it, probably the most powerful spell in existence and one that most would likely overlook for how seemingly trivial it is. For a thief like me, that spell signifies permanent cash flow.
In addition to Planar Shift, I was granted the option to choose two of seven main spells.
(Choose two spells from the following list)
Evocation: Level 1 spell: Spirit Bolt (A) Mental: Level 1 spell: Spirit Control (A) Free Form: Level 1 spell: Spirit Mana Control (P) Abjuration: Level 1 spell: Spirit Shield (A) Conjuration: Level 1 spell: Spirit Sustenance (P) Necromancy: Level 1 spell: Spirit Drain (A)
Also, in case you weren’t aware there were two types of spells Active (A), or Passive (P). Active spells were ones that required you to perform an action or incantation to perform. Passive spells on the other hand were similar to skills, in that they were almost always in use, the only difference being that a permanent percentage of your mana pool would be reserved to continually power the spell and its effects.
I of course chose the two Passive Spells, thinking that I could learn the others later on. Also with just one spell that I could activate, namely the ability to open a rift between the two realms, my attention could be focused on other aspects of my class. Also my three Traits made it so I didn’t really need to worry too much about having an Active power as all three were active powers that had their own separate pool of energy that was distinct from my mana. Also, from what I could tell all three had pools of energy that were distinct from the others. Meaning if I was too tired to Teleport, I could still use either Telekinesis, or Telepathy as needed. This meant my real mana pool would be constantly available to not only improve, but utilize my skill Mana Circulation, which had a passive effect of being able to improve my physical body as needed.
Why did I choose the two Passive spells? Simply put they were probably the best ones available. Sure I could have likely gone the spirit murderer path with Spirit Bolt. Likewise Spirit Drain, would clearly be an attack spell that all but ensured an evil path that marked your spirit with the souls of those you kill. This left Mind Control, or at least the spiritual equivalent thereof, which was a huge no-go for me. Especially with the fact that every mind would both build up a resistance to your spell, and two depending on what you did with the spirit, you could be looking at being haunted by an entity who didn’t sleep and held a near permanent grudge. Again, likely just as bad as the Necromantic and Evocation specialties. The only other one that was remotely interesting was the Spirit Shield spell, but that almost guaranteed that I would need to get into combat to level up the spell.
Yes, in order to become proficient, you need to level up your spells. Leveling up your spells is also one of the easier ways to level up your class. Thus the want for the two passive spells that would likely level up on their own, so long as I remember to continually use them.
Also, I couldn’t deny a strange sort of synergy between the two spells. The Free Form spell Spirit Mana Control, is as close to a skill as a spell will let you get. This also seems to be a unique class spell that only Void Walkers can get, as I have never heard of such a spell being available before.
Spirit Mana Control (P): This spell allows you to control and manipulate the strings of spirit mana. Even allowing the wielder to convert their own personal mana into spirit mana. Reserve: 10 % of Maximum Mana.
This meant that I could both practice my own circulation of mana, making it spirit mana which I am assuming would normally be a death sentence for anyone who didn’t have the Death Shroud class merit, as I am assuming that this process would be extremely painful for anyone that was not immune. Also my level of Death Shroud also ensured that I would be able to keep up to two others immune to the effects of this passive spell.
The second Passive Spell I got was almost a no brainer and one that all spirits seemed to have automatically.
Spirit Sustenance (P): This is a spell that allows the caster to continually feed passively on ambient spirit mana around them. Must have direct access to spirit mana to benefit from the effects of this spell. Reserve: 10% of Maximum mana.
Effectively that spell single handedly answered how spirits could continually maintain their constitutions without ever having to consume real food. The answer was that their body passively converted ambient spirit energy into a form of food they consumed automatically. To me, this seemed perfect, as one of my key concerns over the past few years was how I could avoid starving or dehydrating to death, once the time came. Now with sacrificing my class’s future damage potential, I gained the ultimate way to survive on my own anywhere. The ideal place to survive would be in the spirit realm, but with my first spell made it so I could even survive in the real world without fear of being caught without a meal source. Of course, there was a cost.
Both spells required 10% of my Maximum mana, fortunately that didn’t mean a full 20%, but rather 19%. For the first one would be 10% of 100 which would be 10%. The second one would be 10% of the remaining 90%, which would leave 81%. This way a caster couldn’t have so many passive spells active that they couldn’t cast any spells, as there was almost no way one could have 100% of their mana being used up by this combination of spells. In fact, as time goes on, most powerful mages choose to go the way of having more and more passive spells at their disposal rather than active. In fact, many people spend a lot of time learning to convert active spells into passive spells. That is part of what I hope to do with my time here at Arcanarus University. I want to both create more passive spells and effects that can help with my new class, and learn to create rituals.
Rituals are sort of the in between zone of Passive and Active spells. They are effectively passive, as they will run continually, until either you run out of mana, or the components used in the rituals burn out. But they also fall under the active category, as there is a clear start mechanism needed to initiate the entire Ritual.
All of these thoughts and more pulse through my mind.
I feel a form of nervous tension coursing through me as I eagerly await my first true training. This is the premier magical university in the world, and no one knows what happens in these vaunted halls. Which is why I am so intrigued by what will happen next.
I follow the old man through many different chambers and hallways, until finally we arrive at what can only be described as a completely wide open universe. I know there are supposed to be illusions of some kind around, but in reality I am just being led into a wide open room that is surprisingly devoid of magic.
“Here you are.” The butler says, then gestures for me to sit, or at the very least stay in a particular location.
“What am I supposed to do here?” I ask.
He pauses as he looks at me, then nods to himself.
“Your first task is to hand over all of your non soul bound magical items and gear needed for survival. This will be counted as points towards your overall entrance exam score.”
“Entrance exam?” I ask, as I do as instructed, handing over my backpack that Golum gave me.
“Of course, you are still going to need to be judged and placed. Your goal is to learn to survive here for as long as possible using only your magical ingenuity.” The old butler says.
“Wait, is this some type of revenge for getting the dragon to bite you?” I ask, suddenly very confused and concerned about what is about to happen.
At that the old man, just smiles as he states “why of course not. That merely happens to be a happy coincidence.”
Yeah, he is totally the type to hold a grudge, got it.
“Are there any questions?”
“This is an entrance exam?”
“Yes.”
“What does that even mean?”
“It means you should do as best as you can, if you wish to make it to be a true student at the University.”
I pause, as I try to contemplate what this means. “So that out at the front was what?”
“That was an initial screening process. Now is when we test not only your potential, but how well you will use your magical potential.” The butler guy said, then he said one last word of motivation before he disappeared in a poof of magic, “enjoy.”
Then like that he was gone and I realized this was likely karma on some level for all the times I randomly left an area using my own personal Teleportation.
With the old man gone, I could hear a slight hissing sound, as the pressure within the room seemed to be sealed. Then in an instant the level of ambient mana in the room began to ebb and swell. For a second I almost swore that I the now sealed room I was in was being flooded. But rather than being flooded with water, the room was nearly filled to bursting with mana. Then I felt a slight shiver as I felt the strings of mana converging into specific points around the room.
Runes of mana began forming randomly, as if the runes were a form of magical chickenpox and the room a sick patient. I tried to puzzle out what was happening, before I realized the room was forming the basis of a ritual. With that realization in mind, I began acting on impulse. I needed to stop this ritual, whatever it was, before it went into full effect. I didn’t know exactly what would happen when the ritual started, but I didn’t want to find out either.
With stopping the ritual as my one motivation, I began moving. Using everything at my disposal to destroy the forming runes before they could be linked in some form of diabolical ritual. And thus began my entrance exam to the premier Magical University in the world of Biprism.