Chapter 60

The Plan

Needless to say my being a magical beacon made any immediate plans to operate against the professional traveling Gambling Tournament committee, ultimately useless. First I had no idea of my limitations, how far out I could be detected and so on. With all of those hinderances in place going after one of the most lucrative and therefore best armed and maintained criminal organizations in the world was off the table, for the moment.

In fact, I was willing to dismiss the entire thing as a flight of fancy, if I reacted immediately I knew I would be caught. Worse, I had too much riding on the line. I had my contract with Mage’s Guild where I had to spend ten more months here in Crossroads, I had my contract with the Thieves Guild where I was needed to fill in for two to five more months. I also had my book club where I would read, and then reread and remaster the classics of Rahul and the Maiden. Now that I had a new voice for the main character, I couldn’t help but feel it would be best to restart the entire series and get the newest and best version available out.

Also, my Acting, Narrator, and Total Recall skills were almost near perfection, meaning that I would of course want to re-record myself after that time.

That of course was just part of my day. I also had the near constant stream of people coming in seeking to be cured of the Blight, seeking to bring lost loved ones back to life, and many more repeatable quests that for me only equate to 100 experience, but offer a lot more to the people who finally found me. Granted I must seem like some mystical tourist attraction now, especially as I pretty much grant everyone’s wish to have at least some ability to increase most people’s affinity with schools of magic.

The funny part is, that I didn’t realize the foundation for my ultimate plan on how to steal back the experience that I was owed by the Gambling Tournament Committee, until after I evolved my race and consequently granted the Mage’s Guild master’s ultimate wish.

***

“What seems to be the problem here?” The Guild Master asked.

“Nothing?” I responded somewhat confused.

Pausing, he cocks his head to the side as if seeing me for the first time in a long time. Then after a moment’s hesitation, he walks forward and touches my face.

Now, I am not one to be touched. I don’t go out of my way to touch others, I mean heck I barely hugged Golum and Hector before I left on my class awakening journey some three months ago. But the Guild Master’s actions were so odd and out of place that all I could do was shrink back.

Tingle.

There was an electricity that occurred from his touching me, at which point I was granted a quest prompt.

Hidden Quest Found (Repeatable): Awakening One’s Magical Destiny: You have come into contact with a mage that you can improve the magical potential of by increasing their magical ratings by a maximum of two Tiers. Rewards: Experience, variable. Do you wish to do so?

Seeing the message, I realized a few things right off the bat. First, there seemed to need to be some type of skin to skin or other form of contact to initiate the process. Secondly, and likely the most important factor, I had to agree to the stipulations. That was what the variable, portion of the quest was, it was my way of leveraging some form of control over the boon I could potentially offer. It wasn’t much, especially as I could likely generate a lot of animosity from people if I asked for too much. Being as this was my first true experience with this, and I honestly didn’t mind the Guild Master, especially after he cut my required workload in half so I could conduct more personal improvement plans.

Honestly, while I could have charged the Guild Master something for this, I ultimately decided not to. First again, I had roughly nine and a half months of still being Broke, so money wasn’t truly an option. Secondly, he was a decent boss. He stood up for me, and most importantly, he got out of my way and didn’t micromanage the heck out of me. I honestly couldn’t ask for more out of a boss, so I didn’t.

Mentally I thought, yes, and with that, I could feel a slight transformation happen. A good quarter of all of my energy reserves dropped all at once, and when I mean all my energy reserves, I mean all of them. I could feel my Stamina, Standard Mana, the energy used to fuel and operate my other Traits. Basically everything was down and I felt it, like coming off of an adrenaline high and crashing once you realize you can finally rest. This was at that level of exhaustion, without any of the fun parts beforehand.

Still, I couldn’t help but feel satisfied with my decision, especially with the giant smile that presented itself on the Guild Master’s face.

“What? What is this?” He said, as he moved his hand away and seemed to be reacting to the same exact tingling sensation that I felt. “What did you do?”

“I improved your magical abilities.” I responded, then added. “Honestly, I don’t know what all it does, but it does seem to be fairly impressive.”

“Impressive, this is…well, it is an understatement to say the least.” He said, his words coming in a mix of random emotions. “Did you know this was one of my longest standing regrets? The fact that I was forever denied the ability to be a true Master magician?” The Guild Master asked.

“What do you mean? You are the Guild Master, are you not?” I asked.

At that he just shook his head. “No, this was a joke assignment, being sent to an out of the way city like this, for an old ghost like me, this was where I was supposed to go until I finally let go.”

“Let go?” I asked, suddenly confused. I knew the Guild Master and all permanent residents here were spirits, most of whom were power spirits, but I still have a hard time remembering that. Even my familiar, Zero, is a spirit, though I can’t help but think of him as a flesh and blood dragon, despite the fact that the only reason he can even go to the mortal realm is due to my Class Merit Death Shroud. Even when Mallory or other living Regressors come, they all have to take potions to stay immune to the natural spiritual damage that will build up over time, due to staying in the spirit realm. Yet, it is through conversations like this one, when I remember who exactly I work with and for on a daily basis.

“Yes, eventually the rigors of unlife get to even the most stalwart of spirits. We all have our goals that drive us forward, personal aspects that push us. As for me, I had everything, a degree from Arcanarus University, I had the prestige of my peers, but I was only considered a middle Tier magician at best.”

“Middle Tier? You?”

“Yes, needless to say, when we first met and I saw that you already possessed the same Tier of magical proficiency as I did. I will admit to being slightly jealous, that and your innate understanding of Spell and Magical Theory both made me instantly know you would be one of the people I secretly resented. Yet, I couldn’t.”

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“You couldn’t?”

“Oh yes, I tried to hate you at first. I truly wanted to be jealous of you. I even set up a trap where I purposefully limited your initial access to the library hoping that you would extend beyond your section. Yet, you did not. Then I saw your dedication to your craft. I saw your dedication to the people here, and I realized that you were not just a great healer, but you were a better person. Despite your shortcomings, you still are a truly decent person. So, I had relinquished myself to stay here until one of two things happened, either I lost my will to carry on, something that is fairly common for high level spirits such as myself, or you finished your time here, at which time I would likely also lose my purpose for existing.”

“What, no. You can’t quit, not even if I am gone. These people, they need you. Heck, I need you!” I say, hearing him speak, I can’t help but feel that he is calling it a day, that he is in fact trying to quit our partnership. I can’t have that, I just got used to this Guild Master, also hearing his speech I realize why I haven’t been as interested in searching the rest of the library. It is something on my to-do list, but that thing is huge. Still reading every book in the restricted section is something truly worth accomplishing. Though I do wonder if part of my hesitation was an innate understanding that I was being watched the whole time, and that while I did have access now, I couldn’t help but remember back when I was still on my probationary period.

Chuckle.

“Oh, you are correct. With you around life has been one constant thrill and experience after another. I have seen wonders performed by your hands. You have cured the Blight from spirits and mortals alike. You have brought the dead back to life, and you started a local book club for the blind.” At this, the Guild Master paused and shook his old head. “And now, once again you defy expectations by granting me my greatest wish of all.”

“What?” I ask, suddenly off guard by the random statement.

“You have made it so I can finally be considered a Master Tier Magician, where I can cast the spells I could only dream up of as a student.” The now Master Tier Mage Guild Master said. Then with the raising of his hands, he began waving his hands and channeling energy throughout his body in a long complex way.

Looking at the flow, I can easily note a few ways that the spell is overly complex. Yes, he is casting a Tier IX spell, but he doesn’t need to do all that. This spell could easily be a Tier VIII, or even a Tier VII spell if he really worked on processing the mana more efficiently.

Looking at the spell, I can’t help but want to shout at him. This is the Guild Master, and he is doing it all wrong. He basically took the base spell for creating an element, in this case fire, and amplified it with multiple feed tubes that would supply excess mana that could be burned and consumed by the spell. While the spell structure was technically a Tier IX in complexity, it was only done so due to the inefficient use of mana throughout the construct. It was clear that this was meant to be the creation of a fire creature of some kind, and it was. As to add even more complexity to the spell, the spell half summoned the spirit of a Fire Phoenix from the astral realm and caused it to be forcefully created here in the spirit realm. Again, there was a need for so much mana use due to the partial summoning aspect of the spell, but summoning the partial aspect of the Fire Phoenix was completely unnecessary.

I was about to say something, but then I heard him speak.

“Hahaha. This is grand, and so amazing. You are everything I dreamed you would be and more.” The Guild Grand Master said, speaking to his partially summoned creature. “What’s this, I also received my badge, a true undeniable sign that I Herbert T. Quencher managed to finally reach beyond my starting potential and achieve true mastery of my art.” He said all of this while reaching out to touch his creation, and expecting to get burned, but didn’t.

I was about to question why, but then I realized this spell likely mimicked the familiar bond requirements, which meant that the Fire Phoenix would not be able to harm the mad professor. Okay, so there might have been one small, absolutely minor aspect of forcing this spell to be Tier IX that was actually worthwhile.

Also, seeing the amount of pride beaming from the old man, I couldn’t in good consciousness tell him how his spell was terribly constructed and so inefficient that it forced the spell to be a Master Tier spell without truly needing to be one. I also felt bad for just now realizing the Guild Master’s name was Quencher. I try to think back and think if I remember his name being said before this point, but no I cannot remember it being uttered. I just always thought of him as the Guild Master, some random figurehead who was sent as an over reaction to the violence that happened here before his arrival.

“And look at that, I got it. I finally got it, after all these years and centuries. I got the recognition I so desperately sought.” Guild Master Quencher said, as he then displayed the message that I had received three? No, four days ago? I can’t remember.

New Feat Recorded: Master Tier Spell Creator (500). You managed to create a spell that is Tier IX or higher.

Seeing the message, I cannot begrudge the man for finally fulfilling a life goal. Especially not when I know exactly how hard that stupid badge is to earn. Granted mine was for a true Tier IX spell that saved someone’s life, literally, and was the ultimate sign of peak spell optimization, unlike the ungodly construct who’s only seeming benefit would be to partially summon a Fire Phoenix that wouldn’t burn the summoner upon contact. Nope, I am not going to say that, or even mention it, as that would be childish and petty, and I am above such things. Still, if I was a professor at Arcanarus University, I could only give the spell a ‘C’ at best. For while it did complete the goal of the assignment of creating a new Tier IX spell and thus unlocking the badge, it did so with an end state over functionality goal in mind.

Then a thought came to me, as I wondered if my apparent ease with creating spells stemmed not just from my high skills, but also my ability to view the flow and creation of magic not only in me, with my Angel’s Sight, but also with the fact that my skills are able to not only go above the standard 100 point threshold, but beyond that with both my Unbound merit, and my level Five Class Perk: Skill Infusion that allows me to further increase my skills by 15% more, since I am here in the spirit realm. All of this means that my Skills and their use are fairly exceptional. Also, thinking about it, it means that so long as I am here in the spirit realm and engaging in Stealth like activities then my -20% to all Stealth skills would mostly be negated. Realizing this, I felt that I had the basis of an idea on how to plot my revenge against the Gambling Tournament Committee. If I wanted to do a caper, I could but I would need to do so from the spirit realm.

Of course, this was only the beginning, the spot where my idea could begin to take root. What truly made it so I could not only do everything, but get away with it, was what happened next.

“Thank you. Thank you.” Guild Master Quencher said, his voice trembling as tears of joy streamed down his face. “I can finally move on, having finally achieved my ultimate goal in life.”

At that, a giant golden light began to flow inside the Grand Master magician’s body. Soon the magical energies that had been circulating within his body quickly began changing from a deep crimson red of flames to a vibrant golden color that first filled his meridians. Then slowly worked their way out throughout his body, until he was one massive ball of densely packed glowing energy. Then I saw the moment his golden core became too much for his spiritual body, as the final vestiges of black, non-magical, skin shed away revealing a being that I had only seen eleven times before.

“And now it seems, I truly can move on. Thank you for granting this old man the chance to achieve his lifelong dreams. May you find nothing but fortune in what future has in store for you.” Herbert T Quencher, the Crossroads Guild Grand Master said, before he disappeared in a burst of bright golden light.

Poof.

And like that, one of the best bosses I ever had in this world disappeared. Now granted, being a great boss was rather minimal, basically pay me, give me a place to work for as few hours as possible, and then let me cut loose when I need to. Now that the guild master was gone, they would likely send in a new replacement and I would be forced to break them in, get used to their odd quirks and ultimately try to keep from being noticed doing anything nefarious for a while, until any suspicions about me and my propensity to steal knowledge, concepts, and ideas were well and truly squashed. At least that was my initial concern, until I saw the next system message that detailed exactly what happened.

Hidden Quest Complete (Repeatable): Awakening One’s Magical Destiny: You have come into contact with a mage that you can improve the magical potential of by increasing their magical ratings by a maximum of two Tiers. Rewards: Experience, variable.

Experience Gained: 500.

Hidden Quest Complete: Truly Becoming A Master Magician: Mage Guild Master Herbert Tobias Quencher had one dream in life. To truly be deserving of the title of Master Magician. You have managed to make this dream a reality by finding a way to increase his Maximum Tier Rating to IX, allowing him to fulfill his life’s work. Reward: Experience, New Doppelganger form, variable.

Experience Gained: 500.

After everything, I was now just 20 experience points shy of achieving my new level, my second since evolving my class, and my first since evolving my race. I was so close, and I was about to wonder how I would gain the 20 experience points quickly and easily, when I saw the next system message.

Spiritual Doppelganger (Updated): Your body and soul have been forever marked by the bodies and lives you have touched on a deeply personal level. With this, trait you can take on the form of any spirit you have helped move onto the afterlife. Maximum number of personalities you can duplicate (12/100).

With that message, I realized I had the chance to create a fool proof method of not only earning experience, but also improving my standing within the Mage’s Guild. A quick scan of the area showed that no one, well no one other than Zero realized what had just happened. While the receptionist and likely other members of the guild had seen the guild master come here, no one saw the fact that he just dematerialized into a cloud of redeemed spirits. With this, I realized I could do the ultimate con, I could be myself, and my boss, simultaneously. Effectively, I could set my salary, working hours, conditions, and most importantly performance records for the guild that would be irrefutable, if I played this correctly.

Now, you might be asking yourself, what did my being able to pose as the Mage Guild Master have to do with anything related to getting payback on the Gambling Tournament Officials, well I would have to work that out, but I felt there was something I could do with all this new found potential just waiting to be exploited. I just needed to figure out how.