Instead of heading straight south, Olivander set up a little camp in the woods. He needed Gregory to push himself, and planned on shipping him off to a more appropriate location with a few quests to complete. Olivander was slowly figuring out how his interactions with Gregory triggered his quest system.
Gregory's quest system was odd and unique. It was, before anything else he thought of, the primary reason that Olivander thought he had a shot to win this bet. The bonuses could be massive, but only if he structured things correctly. A nice gradual increase in difficulty with clear directives worked best.
Olivander wasn't worried about sending Gregory off alone. Gregory was ideally suited for solo questing. He had an ability that reduced damage, and a self heal. At his level that was a very strong combination. Combine that with some basic offensive magic and a sword and shield, and Gregory was a little bit of everything.
Sous was currently battering the man around a little arena Olivander had scooped out of the ground. It had steep walls to prevent Gregory from running for cover.
"How exactly is this helping me?"
"Endurance, Gregory. For what I have planned, you need to be able to fight on, no matter what. Give it your all!"
Gregory grumbled, but continued blocking or dodging randomly conjured dishware.
"What are you working on, Olivander? Fezzic asked. The goblin had set up his own alchemical research station outside Olivander's storage space and was working on refining more of the mimic blood into useful potions.
"Sous is currently limited by about an hour of mana storage. He can extend that temporarily, but I've noticed that it damages his token when he does so. Since I typically copy the token so he doesn't lose his personality, that damage will continue to accumulate until he stops functioning. At least it would if I continued allowing him to draw in power like that.
"Once I noticed it, I let him know and he's been sticking to his time limit or allowing me to extend it, which is safer. What I'm trying to do, is build a device that I can integrate into him that will give him far greater capacity for mana storage. Ideally I'd like him to be out on his own power for at least a day at a time. More if I can manage."
"How are you going to manage that?" Fezzic asked, curious.
"With a gift from an old enemy," Olivander produced the milky orb that drew in power from others. "This orb can absorb all kinds of mana, then it slowly releases all that stored power over a long period. As is, it would simply drain Sous dry. He's too magical. I need to construct a housing that can integrate with his golem body and allow him to store mana inside of the object or draw it out. The mana also needs to be refined so it matches my own power, to avoid the degradation I mentioned."
"How were you never good at Alchemy?" Fezzic asked. "This seems way more complicated."
"Oh it is, and I never said I wasn't good at Alchemy, I said I was never much of an Alchemist. You can only craft hair growth cream incorrectly so many times before you decide that maybe the profession isn't for you. I still dabble occasionally, but I never developed the class for it. Don't get me wrong, Greater Scholar helps me with basically any task, but Alchemy isn't always logical."
Fezzic nodded in understanding. "Can I help you with that?" He pointed at the orb.
"No. I have a few ideas to test. I just need to try them out and then get more materials. I need to rummage through my storage a bit more. I have everything, but organization has never been my strong suit."
They both started working. Olivander just conjured the pieces he needed until he could find permanent materials. He called Sous over to test the design occasionally, and Gregory took advantage of the breaks by laying flat on his back and wheezing until his relentless attacker returned.
"Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about," Fezzic said.
"Hmm?"
"Here, you should be able to identify this," Fezzic handed him a small vial with a glowing blue liquid.
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Perfect Mimic Potion
* Item: Consumable Potion
* Rarity: Epic
* Become someone else that you have touched within the last 12 hours.
* You gain all of their natural stats and abilities, but bound items and associated bonuses are not copied perfectly.
* You can sound, act, and appear identical to the person you are copying.
* Duration: Varies by power difference.
* This potion type can only be used once per day.
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"I have an ability that gives me a chance to craft a 'Perfect' version of a potion. The original only lets you copy someone you can currently see, and it doesn't say anything about acting the same or gaining their stats."
"That's a powerful potion. I wonder how it would work if you copied me. Obviously you wouldn't have my grimoire, but if you can act just like me, could you duplicate my research efforts? Two of me could make some fantastic progress on any projects."
"I don't know if the world is ready for two Olivanders. Besides, with the power difference I bet it would only make me become you for around twenty minutes," Fezzic said, slotting the potion into his potion belt.
"You're probably right. Best save that for an emergency."
"Are you going to pick up Jeremy and Gloria sometime?" Fezzic asked. They had remained in Du'la'melio. Jeremy wanted to get some more guild work done, and Gloria wanted to visit some family.
"I guess I could. Actually, I need to head back into the city tomorrow. I have a meeting with a dungeon spirit that I nearly forgot about. They should be fine until the morning. Maybe Jeremy will decide to stay."
Fezzic snorted and went back to his work.
Olivander made some progress on his own work, but the orb was stubborn, and Sous' form wasn't meant to be modified, so it was trickier than he had expected. He decided a break would be good and went to check on Gregory.
"Take this!" Sous said, conjuring a dinner plate and hurling it and Gregory. Gregory was so battered and tired that he barely got his shield up in time to stop the plate from hitting his face. The plate shattered and knocked Gregory's shield away, but he kept his eyes locked on Sous.
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Olivander used a spell to examine Gregory's condition.
Health: 41/130
Stamina: 18/110
Mana: 9/105
He was getting close to his limits, but he wasn't there yet. Olivander mentally directed Sous to keep pushing him.
"Now…once he's ready, where to send him…Ghostlands? No, too much magic. Glausen Mines? That could work. Maybe the Shadow Wolf's den…Gregory! Are you afraid of the dark?"
"What? No."
"Ahh, nevermind. The Shadow Wolf's den is much better when you're terrified."
"Excuse me?" Gregory asked, dodging a silver serving platter.
"Here's the thing, Gregory. You need to be forged in fire. You have to master your current abilities, and we need to figure out your current maximum baseline. I need to know how far I can push you."
Gregory took a tea kettle to the head and fell over. "Does that mean Sous is going to keep throwing things at me?"
"On the contrary! He was just softening you up. You are now weak and malleable. This is the time we hone you into a blade!"
"I don't like the sound of that."
Gregory was still laying on his back, but the last bit of extra damage and his attempt at mitigating it had been enough to push him to the point of exhaustion. Olivander conjured wooden steps as he walked into the arena.
"You shouldn't. I'm going to send you off on your own. I have some supplies for you in this bag," he opened his dimensional space, where a backpack was waiting right at the entrance.
"I'll be taking all your other supplies," he said as he removed Gregory's dimensional bags. "There, you have your sword, your shield, and your armor. Oh, here," he rummaged around in one of the bags. "Don't forget your Spellforge. That could come in handy."
Olivander shoved the Spellforge into the backpack and threw it on top of Gregory, who was still lying on the ground, exhausted.
"There is an emergency device in there. The same one I gave Cooper. Use it if you're actually going to die. Almost dead doesn't count."
He phrased his next words so they would be interpreted as quests. He also pumped a little extra of his own mana into the arena so the ability would have enough to pull from when creating the quests.
"I'm going to send you to the Glausen Mines. While you're there I need you to find ten pieces of quartz for me. After that I need you to fight down to level ten of the mines. Finally, once you have done that, I need you to reach the bottom of the mine and fight the monster that lives there. Now, are you ready?"
"For what? You just listed a bunch of stuff to me. I have no idea what that means."
"For the Glausen Mines! Good luck and have fun!"
Olivander opened a portal underneath Gregory, and he fell through. The portal winked shut a moment later, and Fezzic cleared his throat.
"I don't know the first thing about training apprentices, but it doesn't seem like beating them nearly to death and then sending them to a dangerous location alone is the best method."
Olivander nodded at the goblin. "You're not entirely wrong, but Gregory isn't ready for my real training, not yet. If he can survive a week in the mines then he'll be ready."
"Is this how you trained your last apprentice? I'm starting to see why you two had a falling out."
"Oh, believe me, Amegnon's training was worse. I used to be a bit of an asshole."
* * *
Gregory fell onto the floor of a dimly lit cave. A cage on the wall held glowing stones that cast everything in a cool blue light.
"That man is such an asshole. Uhhhg. Now my back is killing me too. That was the one spot Sous hadn't hit," he sat up and rubbed at his lower back. A large stone right under it was the cause of his back pain. "Where the heck am I? I think Olivander mentioned mines."
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New Quest!
Retrieve Quartz
* Your master has tasked you with retrieving ten pieces of Quartz
* Quartz Found 0/10
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"Well, that's something at least. Not that I know what quartz looks like."
Gregory looked at the walls, floor and ceiling. It was definitely a carved or dug space, not a natural cave, so he assumed it was the mine Olivander mentioned. He had been in a lot of pain, and he hadn't really paid attention to all the things Olivander had told him. At least his quest ability seemed to have been paying attention. Now he just needed to…
Gregory's thoughts froze as he heard a scraping sound from farther down the tunnel. Click, slide, click! The noise continued steadily towards him, like someone was using a cane to walk. When the figure entered his line of sight, he knew he was going to have an awful day. A beast with dark black fur stuck out a single claw. It reached and hit the floor farther ahead, where the impact made the clicking sound, then it pulled the rest of its mass across the cave floor.
It didn't seem to have noticed Gregory. It surely would if he moved though, so he decided to try reaching out his senses for a scan.
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Mines Prowler, Level 20
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Not too far above his own level, and he had the element of surprise. He was already holding his shield from trying to fight Sous, but his sword was sheathed. It scraped slightly as he drew it, and the beast froze.
Gregory fell into a defensive stance and the fur on the front of the beast split open, revealing a horrible and giant red eye. It looked straight at him.
The beast let out an ear splitting roar, magnified by the tight confines. Gregory heard other roars in response.
"You've got to be kidding me," he said, glancing at his remaining stats.
Health: 29/130
Stamina: 17/110
Mana: 16/105
He swapped to his Magician's Apprentice class, it only took a moment and a thought.
"Healing Touch!"
The magic flowed through him as he touched his chest. He didn't direct it as he didn't have any specific injuries. He just let the healing rejuvenate him. He cast it again immediately.
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Health: 92/130
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The healing slowly became more potent as he continued leveling. He could feel he was close to another level in Magician's Apprentice, but out of mana and unable to access his Guardian skills, he had to switch back. He would need the damage resistance.
He charged the Mines Prowler.
The beast defended with its single claw arm. Gregory had an advantage in reach, and the beast couldn't hurt him through his shield. When it gave another, smaller roar, he discovered one of its skills.
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Stunning shout has momentarily disabled you.
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The creature's wicked claw stabbed at him, and he was fortunate to be able to activate Endure, his skin flashing green as he endured the hit.
He regained control a moment later and continued hacking with his sword and battering with his shield. A minute later, the creature was down, and he was breathing harder than ever.
Health: 65/130
Stamina: 3/110
Mana: 4/105
He didn't have time to set up the looting ritual, he could already hear another one of the Prowlers getting close.
I could maybe fight one more, but I heard at least three roars. Time to hide.
He gathered up his pack and slung his shield to rest behind the bag, the strap adjusted to fit perfectly. Keeping his sword out, he attempted to sneak away from the battle.
None of the other Prowlers made an appearance as he moved away, though he heard the clicking and sliding sound of one passing by. As the sound faded, he sat down in the dark tunnel to rest. This particular branch only had one light near the end, so he was in relative darkness.
"Maybe I should have just gone with Cooper. It's not like Olivander kept me around anyway. I hope you're doing alright, buddy."