Patron Guidance

Three weeks went by in the blink of an eye. With no other serious dangers knocking at their door, Vanguard continued to grow and prosper in a way that Tom had hoped they would have from the beginning. Training was a daily activity with more strike teams having been added with their new followers, Pastures had been cleared and planted behind the Trammell Crow Center and with the help of some magic grass had been grown in the area that had been cleared so that the livestock they had managed to round up could graze and roam without much fear.

Guards were still posted at the field's farthest points to ensure wild monsters were not coming too close to the fences that had been erected to contain the animals, but so far there had been no issues that arose that couldn't be handled with minimal force. Sipping his morning coffee while Jerky tore at a piece of Meat Charlene had given him, Tom sat in the cafeteria trying to decide what project was next on his priority list.

"Expanding the walls to include other buildings would be the best course of action. You are going to need the space eventually and should probably have something dedicated for the crafters to work in." Maria chimed in with her usual helpful advice.

"But what about our defenses? Spreading out would mean we would be more exposed." Tom replied.

"Look, if you're going to poopoo my ideas maybe I should just leave them out," Maria snidely replied.

"Seriously Maria? This again?" Tom sighed as he hung his head slightly at the argument he knew was coming.

"Seriously! I've tried to help so many times and you basically tell me to go fark myself." Maria pouted as she gave the mental equivalent of turning away from Tom.

"I still can't believe you can't swear. It's absolutely fucking hilarious." Tom chuckled.

"There you go again, making fun of me for my programming. It's not my fault I can't swear. I was designed by those ship for brains who wouldn't let me be myself." Maria shot back.

Maria had been very helpful since her implementation. She always had some insight into the System that would help them make the most of decisions being made. At the same time though, she seemed to have an opinion on literally everything. Tom had come to expect her input on any subject and selectively chose which ones to share and which were just the inane prattling of an AI given what felt like its own sentience. She had even begun to pick up on the team's form of communication and began to speak like them.

"I'm not making fun of you, Maria. I just find it funny. You aren't like the AI systems we had here on Earth before the apocalypse." Tom tried to soothe her ire.

"Well, I don't appreciate it. You could hurt someone's feelings that way." Maria pouted.

"If they have feelings," Tom said offhandedly.

Maria went quiet. Tom suddenly realized what he had said and rolled his eyes. "Here we go again," Tom thought to himself.

"I didn't mean it like that, Maria," Tom began.

"No, no. I understand. I'm just a computer program so who cares what I think, right?" Maria started.

"You know that's not how we think of you. You have been instrumental in us knowing what to do next." Tom said, attempting to stroke her ego.

"I know that, but do you? You seem to forget pretty often." Maria reprimanded him.

"I do. We need your help. You are a true asset." Tom continued.

"Well, if you really feel that way," Maria said suddenly sounding happy again.

"I do. In fact..." Tom began but was suddenly cut off by a prompt that filled his vision.

Your Patron Wishes to Speak with you!

Azroc has requested to meet with you. Summon him to find out what he needs. Failure to do so will result in decreased powers, reward, or other negative actions. Do not keep him waiting.

"Azroc wants to talk?" Tom said puzzled at the message in front of him.

"That sounds serious. You should get to it." Maria added.

"Yeah, I will. I don't mind talking with him. He's been good to me. I'll go and summon him. I should gather the others. James loves Azroc." Tom replied getting up from the table.

Tom bussed his tray into the designated return area and left the cafeteria. Walking to the security center, Tom entered through the metal security door and found TJ and several guards hard at work monitoring the goings on around the guild base.

"Hey, TJ. How's it hangin' bro bro?" Tom greeted TJ in a greeting he had picked up from the man.

In the weeks since the defeat of Shandra, Tom had finally gotten more time to spend getting to know the members of the guild. TJ had become a good friend and someone he had relied on heavily for his leadership abilities. They had even gone on a few dungeon runs together.

"Just keepin' an eye on everything as usual. What up with you brubby bro?" TJ replied.

"Got a message I need to talk with my patron. Can you call for the rest of my normal team to meet me in the gym?" Tom asked him.

"You got it. I'll have them meet you there." TJ shot back making finger guns at him.

"Oh, and have Brian come too. No idea what this is about, but if it's related to more than just me, I want him there too." Tom remembered.

"On it," TJ turned away and picked up the mic to begin the call for everyone requested.

Leaving the security office again, Tom walked through the lobby and down a hall to the gymnasium. Inside he pulled a set of chalk from his inventory that he had taken to keeping on his person for a less permanent way to mark up Azroc's summoning circle. He knelt and began to draw out the designs that had been ingrained into his mind from the class book he had absorbed.

Soon, the others began to come in one by one to the gym and found him doing his work.

"Hey, man! Whatcha doin'?" James asked as he entered the gym.

"OH! Is Azroc coming?" James suddenly shouted with excitement as he saw what Tom was drawing on the ground.

"Yup. He asked to talk. So, I figured we should all be here to see him." Tom replied not looking up from his work.

"Sweet. I love that guy." James replied.

Once everyone had arrived, Tom began the incantation to summon Azroc. The lights in the room dimmed slightly as the words of power flowed from Tom with his eyes closed in concentration. A breeze blew and the sigils in the summoning circle lit up with power as a portal opened on the gym floor.

As always, Azroc rose from the floor in some kind of bodybuilder pose to show off his muscled physique and then turned to face them.

"Hey, fuckface. Good to see you. Thanks for getting that done so quickly. Some assholes almost seem like they don't want to talk to me. Fucking wankers." Azroc greeted them in his usual crass style.

"That's your patron? Looks like a jacked-up meathead who would be found high on protein powder and asking people if they even lift." Maria said in Tom's head.

"Hey, Azroc. Yeah, I figured it was urgent with the message saying I could lose powers." Tom replied, ignoring Maria's sarcastic comments.

"Oh, that's just a System message that I have to use. You've got nothing to worry about on that front. I see you killed that shitstain yourself. Very impressive." Azroc beamed as he spoke with pride about Tom.

"Hey, Azroc!" James suddenly blurted out, unable to contain himself any longer.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Well, I didn't expect to see you here, or anyone else actually," Azroc said as he seemed to look around for the first time.

"Oh, was I not supposed to bring anyone? The message didn't say it was a private meeting." Tom suddenly felt like he made a mistake.

"No, no, it's fine. Most other Warlocks aren't the friend type, so they tend to be alone all the time. I forget you're the exception. Some of those bastards are seriously fucked up in the head." Azroc leaned forward putting a hand on the side of his mouth as he spoke the last bit quieter.

"So, what was so urgent? I didn't expect to speak with you until I finished the quests." Tom asked to move the conversation along.

"Right. Well, you technically completed all of the requirements except finding the texts. So, I figured I could help you a little with that, since your world really never had any Warlocks...or magic....shit your world sucks major donkey balls." Azroc said as he seemed to look at his display, his eyes unfocusing for a minute.

"Yeah...We just make the best of what we have." Tom said, unsure how to respond to that.

"Well, since that's the case, I can bend the rules a little. Here." Azroc replied pulling a book out of thin air and handing it over to Tom.

"Wow, this guy really likes you. I think I smell a bromance!" Maria teased.

Reding the cover, Tom saw it was titled "So you want to become a Warlock?" and was written by someone named Frog. No last name, just Frog.

"Um, this is great, but is it too far in the beginner lane for me?" Tom asked, confused about being given what amounted to a Warlocks for Dummies book.

"You have to start somewhere," Azroc replied.

"I thought I started by becoming a Warlock and absorbing the class manual?" Tom asked.

"Look, I can bend the fucking rules by helping, but I can't break them by giving you some kind of almanac of everything you ever need to know. Think about it." Azroc grumbled at the lack of thanks.

"Ha! Okay, I like him now." Maria said snidely.

"Right, sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I truly appreciate this gift you have given me. I will be sure to commit it to memory as something of the utmost importance." Tom replied, bowing his head in reverence to appease the Patron.

"That's more like it! Now, you have the text, that should complete your quest. Here." Azroc said as he focused on his interface again and a message appeared in Tom's vision.

Pact Update:

You have completed all of your most recent quests to upgrade your pact. Complete 3 total dungeons claiming them in the name of Azroc, Kill The Master with your own hands, and Research your class. New powers are ready for you to choose.

"Awesome! Let's see what you have for me this time, Azroc! You never fail to disappoint!" Tom said excitedly after reading the prompt.

Another window opened after he dismissed the first message.

Pact of the Tattoo Upgrade:

You have completed a quest for Azroc. Due to your continued service, Azroc has rewarded you with an additional power. Choose one of the following:

 Tattoo of the Berserker - Allows the user to increase both strength and agility for one hour. The user will fly into a frenzied rage and attack those close to it. While the user does have the ability to tell friend from foe, the ability for rational thought will be diminished. Tattoo casting cost is 250 mana.

 Tattoo of Dark Nova - Allows the user to instantly cast the spell Dark Nova. Dark Nova creates a field of dark energy around the user and expands outward rapidly repelling nearby enemies and dealing dark damage. Tattoo casting cost is 250 mana with a 10-minute cooldown.

 Tattoo of Displacement - Allows the user to teleport up to 50 feet away in a space that is currently unoccupied. Tattoo casting cost is 250 mana.

Again, a difficult choice. Tom wanted all of them again. He wished he could have all the tattoos he had been offered so far, but such was life.

"These are the options you get for doing his silly quests? He definitely likes you. Patrons can't directly choose what options are given, but they can certainly guide the options to what they feel you deserve. You are one lucky son of a witch." Maria said after reading over the options as well.

"These are really good?" Tom replied to Maria.

"Um, duh. Everything I give you is great, shitbag." Azroc replied, confused by Tom's sudden change of tone.

"He can't hear me, dummy," Maria reminded him.

"Oh, sorry, I wasn't saying that to you. I have a new AI Assistant and she's far more sentient than I expected." Tom replied to Azroc.

"Ahhhh. The Administrators are still doing patches here I see. Well, it's good they are still working on it, but some of the things they do really make me think they shit the...." Azroc began and then seized up as though he was hit with a taser. "Oof, that stings like a fucking son of a bitch. A word of advice, don't talk bad about the Administrators."

"Duly noted. You like making this kind of decision difficult, don't you?" Tom asked smirking at Azroc after he read the options a second time.

"This is supposed to make you think about what kind of abilities you will develop. They need to synergize with not only who you are, but what kind of fighting style you are using. Making the wrong decision could cripple you later. It's a test I put Warlocks through to see what kind of person they are." Azroc said with a knowing smile.

"So? What'd you get?" Derek asked from behind Tom.

"I expected that to be from James. But they are all pretty great." Tom said and he read off the options to his friends.

"Damn. Those are all good. I think you can rule out Berserker right away. You already have a Strength increase, and you don't want to lose too much cognitive function in a battle." Derek said after hearing all of the options.

"Yeah, I assumed the same. But Dark Nova and Displacement are both game changers." Tom replied, putting his hand on his chin and his arm across his body in a thinking pose.

"From the sound of it, you need to up your mana no matter what. You have a lot of options that cost a pretty penny upfront." Brian interjected.

"Yeah, I've been upping that recently, but more points would always be nice," Tom commented.

"You know, Dark Nova could be something that might also have similar spells elsewhere," Kiera spoke up.

"That's using the mush between your ears," Azroc said suddenly touching one finger to his nose and pointing another at Kiera. "This bitch gets it."

"I still need to find a way to learn more spells. That has been something I've meant to find out. Alright, then Displacement seems like the best option.

Confirm?

You have selected The Tattoo of Displacement. Are you sure you wish to continue? Once selected this choice cannot be undone.

Yes

No

Tom mentally selected Yes and the pop-up vanished from his view. He felt the backs of his calves burn as the tattoo was placed there. Pulling up the legs of his pants he saw the tribal designs imprinted and a little inflammation around where it had been inked.

"You are truly something special, Tom. I don't see many Warlocks looking to better themselves through actual fucking thought about what the future may hold. I don't get to do this often, but I think you've earned it." Azroc said and extended a hand toward him.

Tendrils of dark purple energy extended from his fingertips and wrapped around Tom. Tom's eyes widened in concern as he was lifted from the ground and suspended a few inches off the ground. Stinging and burning began on the back of his neck and he shut his eyes against the pain. Slowly he was lowered back to the ground and a prompt filled his vision.

Your Patron Has Given You a Gift!

Tattoo of Reflection. This tattoo, when activated, will reflect one magical attack back at the caster. Cost: 150 mana, Cooldown: 1 hour.

Tom stared in amazement at the prompt. He was in shock at getting an added benefit from his Patron.

"I...I don't know what to say. Thank you!" Tom said after a moment.

"Don't go all soft on me like you came too early. This is simply because you have shown that you are dedicated to this path and not just looking for the most powerful thing next. You earned this. Keep it up and I'll give you more free shit!" Azroc replied, trying to seem like he was too tough to care.

"You got it," Tom replied.

"Now, I want you to tell me what all you have been doing here. Maybe I can help a little."