“Umph.” It takes every ounce of strength left in my bones to haul Mistress to the garden. The living– err, the recently deceased have so many unnecessary parts to them. Muscles are way too heavy, and all these blood trails are gonna be a bitch to clean from the tower. Not to mention the skin. Being so soft and stabbable, it offers almost no protection. Just dragging Mistress out and her lower half is already full of glass shards. Oh well, at least she’ll keep the birds away.
“Here we go.” I grunt and lift her up, before shoving her body on the thick wood plank where the scarecrow used to be. For some reason, I wipe my forehead with my arm bone as I admire my handiwork. Much better than leaving her at the laboratory with the tower being on the brink of collapse. “Ah, beautiful. It’s like she’s watching over me even now.”
In an uncharacteristically boorish display, Mistress flops to the ground face first.
“I should use something to keep her upright. Hmm…” I go back inside the tower real quick and pick out a few more sharp, broken bones from my felled companions. It takes some effort, but I managed to push the pointy ends through Mistress’ flesh and effectively nail her there. Even riddled with holes from my unsuccessful attempts, she retains a lot of her beauty. To be held up by the bones of her children… It’s almost poetic. At times like these I wish I had tear ducts still. And just as I try to reminisce about my life, the purple spirit that haunts me returns.
[ Wisdom has been increased by one.]
"You’re proving to be a real handful! What in the nine hells does Wisdom mean?”
[Wisdom measures practical intelligence, cleverness, perceptiveness, and how in tune someone is with the world around them. Those with high Wisdom are perceptive, observant, and sensitive to change. They are able to handle animals, notice subtle details about others’ motives and about the world around them, and to make decisions when the right choice isn’t clear.]
“Aha,” I say as I finish reading. “So I just got smarter?”
[Wisdom is one of two stats used to measure cognitive abilities.]
“Ugh, I guess ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ have fallen out of favour with ghosts.” I make sure that Mistress is firmly nailed in place before heading for the tower again. “What are ‘stats’ anyway?”
[A set of numbers that are used to sum up a creature’s mental and physical characteristics. A score of ten in one stat is considered the average.]
I nearly trip on some debris next to the tower’s entrance as I try to process all that I’m reading. “Thank you, spirit. You seem friendly after all. Though, I wonder… Can I see my stats?” As soon as I ask that, the purple box seems to widen and starts to fill up with a lighter shade of pink from left to right. I just stand there and watch as the bar changes colours. After a few moments, the box expands once again.
[ Name : Alph ] [ Level : 1 ] [ Species : Reanimated Skeleton ] [ Strength: 7 Dexterity: 8 Constitution: 8] [ Intelligence: 5 Wisdom: 6 Charisma: 8] [ Features: Arcane Core (Severely Damaged), Spellcaster ]
I feel a shiver in my bones. “How do you know my name?” The spirit offers no response so I just stand there, looking at all the numbers. “I also get this weird feeling that you’re calling me weak, dumb and ugly.”
This does give me a lot of ideas though. I scale the tower’s stairs to the laboratory at the very top floor. The worrying tilt of the tower is more prominent on the upper floors, causing all sorts of vials and books to have slipped from their shelves.
“Damn, I should clean this up too…” I pick up the old trusty broom and get to it, feeling almost nostalgic performing such a menial task. Ah, how I miss Mistress and her orders. Without her, I have to think for myself. It gets tiresome rather quickly. Thankfully, cleaning up the spilled liquids and arcane inscriptions is a welcome change. It takes a while, but I manage to bundle them all up inside a bucket. There seems to be something sizzling inside it, and some of the runes on the wet pages are lighting up… Better get rid of it quickly.
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I hurl the contents out the window and straight into the vineyard. Almost immediately, I realise my folly. The muddy ground begins to bubble and turn violently as leaves and roots expand outwards. A gaping mouth emerges from the dirt to swallow the remainders of my accidental brew. Between its green jaws, I can see hundreds of layers of sharp white teeth, grinding against each other with hunger.
[‘Vinemouth’ has been created. You lack the necessary Intelligence to control this creature.]
“Crap.” I gaze down at the wiggly, unholy monstrosity with a weird mix of pride and fear. It seems to be uprooting all the other plants and dragging them to its mouth. At this rate, all of Mistress’ hard grown grape-vines will be gone within the hour. It’s harvest season as well. What a shame. “Well,” I say as the mouth sucks in vineyards like noodles, “this looks like a problem for future Alph to deal with.”
I tidy up the remains of my brothers and sisters into a tight little bundle and shove them down the stairs to the floor below. After that, I pause to admire the laboratory. There is a bit of blood on the floor, and a little piece of Mistress’ intestines is stuck to the ceiling, but it feels much more tidy! I sit down on Mistress’ soft armchair and even though its comfort is lost to my hard behinds, I feel relaxed. I reach out for a book laying on the table next to me and eager for knowledge, immerse myself in study… for about thirty seconds.
“Good grief, this is way too difficult!” I flip the cover back around and read the title. “The Metaphysics of Hierarchy: How civilisation shapes magic.” Even that is incomprehensible. Perhaps the purple spirit was right. Sullen by the thought, I toss the book out the window and hear some more munching from the Vinemouth.
“There has to be something I can understand here…” I go through the library and its not long before my sockets settle onto something familiar. I mumble to myself while picking the thick tome up. “Arcane Cores : The Basics” This is it! I grab it and flop onto the armchair, turning to the first page.
‘Arcane cores are instruments necessary for spellcasting. They act as regulators that connect a willing creature to the Source of all magic, allowing them to pull forth the manifestation of its essence, commonly known as mana. Each core is calibrated differently and allows its user to touch different parts of the Source. That, in turn, creates different forms of magic like elementalism, healing, light etc.’
[Intelligence has increased by 1]
Woah! Already? This was a great idea. I puff out my chest, already feeling so much smarter. Checking my spirit assistant, I verify that my Intelligence has risen from 5 to 6. My cranium is filled with greedy thoughts. There was something so inherently satisfying about watching the number go up. I wonder if I can do it again if I keep reading.
‘Three main types of cores exist if classified based on their method of creation. Harvested, Artificial and Natural. Harvested cores are the ones most commonly used. Most humanoid species are not inherently capable of magic, so they hunt down magical creatures to extract their Arcane Cores. Since the elf genocide of 12544, the Cilian Council has outlawed the harvesting of cores of creatures with an Intelligence of 6 or more.’
So it’d now be illegal for someone to hunt me for my core? Phew, I’m safe!
‘Recent advancements in magitech have allowed for the creation of Artificial cores, though the process is both dangerous and expensive. Finally, Natural are the rarest, most powerful kind of cores. They are formed in places rife with wild magical energy under very specific conditions. When used for spellcasting, their powers are unparalleled.’
Those sound rather potent. What type is my Arcane Core though?
[Arcane Core (Severely Damaged)] Specialisation: Wizard (Necromancer) Mana Levels: 321/500 Minions maintained: 1
Warning! The core's outer shell has been shattered. Until it is repaired, mana regeneration is impossible and mana will leak out at a steady pace.
Time until core becomes mundane: 127:09:03
Properties:
Biomass Transmutation...
It doesn’t say my type, but that timer is seriously low now. Wait… Does that mean I won’t be able to regenerate mana? I consult the book again. And if mana is what the arcane core pulls from the Source, that means I won’t be able to do magic! I look down at my chest and the black mist slowly swirling within it. That’s what keeps me awake, isn’t it?
A feeling of dread settles in my spine, but I have little time to worry about it. Gazing out the window and into the sky of dusk, I see a carriage pulled by two armoured, white horses scaling the cliff. Two lanterns full of magical light dangle on each side, lighting the way. It seems the tower has more visitors… And they look none too friendly.