Back on the couch of the now-raided office-library, I sat and interviewed my lastest spectral supplicant. Petty greedy people were very, very attached to the notion of keeping on living. Even after they died.
"So, Archmagister... Former Archmagister Kortareon, how the hell can you grant Perks and Proficiencies willy-nilly like that?"
The unconsolable ghost of the top dog mind-bender wailed for a bit, then answered. If I hadn't purified him, this guy would go right down Undead Alley. If he had a bit more Necromancy under his belt, he probably would end up as a lich or something. But now, instead of a lich, he just became my bitch. I had nothing better to do so I waited.
"I have a Perk that allows me to use my mind magic to steal a tiny fraction of the Perks and Proficiencies from people I kill. Then I can keep them for myself or grant it unto others. What I gave you came from a master summoner."
It smelled like bullshit but ghosts didn't lie. At least not the normal ones. If high-Ego ghosts could resist my enticement and guidance, it stood to reason they could also lie.
"I killed two deities. I erased all that they ever were. Don't you think I don't have ways to make ghosts regret crossing me? So? What's the price to do that?"
He pondered for a while, then answered. "It costs me some Attribute Points, both current and the cap values to take the Traits. If I add them to myself, I lose those points permanently. If I grant them to someone else, I can recover with time. One point a day."
"You still didn't tell me. What did the Perk and fifteen Proficiency points cost you?"
"Fifteen points from a random Attribute. It was Magic, in this case."
Eek. That's why he handed it out like candy. "Is the penalty attached to the trait description?"
He nodded affirmatively. And I believe the bastard was probably willing to kill me so he could mind-pillage... OMG. I found a [Raider-Wizard]. The perfect combination of the worst in both barbarians and mages. His ability was totally useless to me.
"Well, thank you for your cooperation, but we don't think you'd make a good addition to the team. If we need you, we'll contact you after you spend a few centuries inside Pandora."
"Wait, I can be useful....."
The [Wisp of Creation] welcomed the purified mage's soul. Yup. You can be useful.... in hell.
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The wards entered an inert state. After studying them for a couple of hours, I learned they were hereditary, keyed to the blood of the person that controlled them. With some fresh blood from the dead controller and the new owner, they could be reactivated. Since the stupid hubris of these mages never considered the fact someone could kill the Archmagister in their sanctum and then take over the place, the takeover was as easy as mixing my blood with a sample from Kortareon's body.
I felt the resonance from the wards. It was as if I became hyper-aware of the whole place. Huh, funny. If I tried anything, the guy would know and put up a fight. Maybe even activate a few stolen Perks and whatnot.
Some of the wards were mental in nature and I thought they were to control the people in this place. When you train a whole academy of mind-benders, you must defend against them. Another one was for communication and it granted me the knowledge that I could talk to the whole academy. Mimicking Kortareon's voice, the wards transmitted my words to the entire complex.
> "Attention, all students, faculty, personnel, and guards. The Archmagister commands you to lock down all external accesses on the entire academy and report to the main hall in one hour. Failure to comply will lead to severe punishment."
Now that I controlled the sanctum wards, I could see the secret passages. This place was a honeycomb of tunnels. As I walked, I saw that several walls were glassified with magical runes. The other side probably looked like normal stone. I phased through one and confirmed my suspicion. This place was a giant ant farm for a maniacal and controlling psychopath. The best I could do was to erase it from the world.
Or have someone else do the heavy lifting.
I looked past the glassified stone wall. A lot of people were there, and I couldn't find anyone in the range of my detection. That was it, then. I triggered an emergency ward that would really lock down the place and walked into the elevated platform overlooking the hall of statues.
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"Greetings. The Archmagister wishes all of you to learn a spell. Now that the [Paladin King] is dead, it is time for the Archmagister to take control of Pekothas and placed a trusted person on the throne. This order will see the heights of their glory in your lifetime!"
They cheered. My opening words contained no lies. I waved my hand to quiet them. "Now, all of you pay attention. I'll demonstrate the glyph sequence, then the Archmagister will help the ones on the verge of understanding to cross through the boundary by putting knowledge in your minds."
The fact they didn't bat an eyelid at the mention of that, some older members even smiling with joy, confirmed to me Kortareon did that to his most trusted lieutenants. "Since he's doing that to many of you at the same time, you will lose consciousness. If your fellow [Wizard] slumps down next to you, make sure to grab them and make them comfortable.
I created a huge illusion of the complete spell circle for {Radiation Bolt} and highlighted the elemental part. As I expected, the most experienced mages started to drop one after the other. Their apprentices and helpers eased them into a sitting position or dragged them to the corners of the hall.
More and more mages dropped dead. I had to control myself and keep my expression neutral. I knew that soon...
> [Administrator Hotline]
>
> CALL START
>
> Wyxnos: What the hell are you doing?
>
> Snowdrop: Teaching radiation magic to a bunch of mages. Seriously, why do you ask questions to which you know the answer and both of us are aware of that?
>
> W: Stop it.
>
> S: Make me.
>
> W: You're infuriating.
>
> Loki: Thor's stained loincloths! Stop this! Tuisto, shall we override Wyxnos and give her the Nidhogg-damned voucher?
>
> Tuisto: Agreed.
>
> CALL END
I got the message for the voucher but didn't pay attention to it or dismiss the illusion. More and more mages fell down and now it seemed like an artistic installation of sleeping robed people. A few were still standing up. Apprentices, cooks, guards, and those that would never understand the damned magic.
"Okay. All of you that didn't get the Archmagister's attention, you are to arrange our sleeping mages in a comfortable position side-by-side and leave them there. Gather by the gates and wait for the Archmagister's words."
As they moved away, I threw another illusion to block their view, jumped down, and sent all the bodies to my item box. Then I checked the notification.
> The Gods wish to offer you a trade:
>
> You willingly offer:
>
> * Your [Radiation Magic Affinit] Perk.
> * The knowledge of how to use Radiation magic and related memories from your mind.
>
> You gain:
>
> * One Unique Perk voucher.
> * 30 proficiency points in [Spellcaster].
I didn't think twice and accepted the deal. I just wanted this episode to be over.
A sharp headache struck me and for a moment I had an epiphany of how magic worked. The truth beneath the spell circles and how the glyphs had a... no. The circle pushed the glyphs sideways into... a fifth dimension?
Where was I?
Oh, the voucher. It was there, along with my unspent proficiency abilities and Perks.
Why did I have two abilities to pick in [Spellcaster]? When did it go up by forty-five freaking points? Why did I have [Summoning Magic]? And what was I doing inside a mountain with nobody else around me?
Another sharp headache came as I tried to remember how I got here. I fainted.
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I woke up in the most strange of places. I had no idea why I was here, in Rosewise's form, wearing mage robes. I looked around. I seemed to be in some sort of grand hall, with a lot of statues of mages facing away from me. A balcony up there looked like the perfect spot to give speeches. I explored the great hall with statues, marveled at how there were no support pillars in the middle. The arched roof wouldn't support the weight of the mountain. The statues were looking at a cave-in. By tiny particles of silt still floating in the air, it was a recent one.
Curious, I started to clear the cave-in by willing the stones to my storage. To my surprise, I found several bodies crushed by the rocks and a gate. The cave-in didn't affect the outer wall or the sturdy doors. Bands of arcane glyphs ran all the way around the edges of the two doors. I studied them and found they had a resonance with my own blood.
That was strange to the point of being creepy. Did I forget something? Weird. Was I captured again and then left here? But why? The bodies were guards, cooks, maids, and other kinds of servants, along with some kids that wouldn't be out of place in a castle-school somewhere in Scotland. They died less than an hour ago, the blood was still fresh. I saw no souls around. Even if they had no lingering attachments, some souls would stay behind that long.
Another mystery.
I spent a few days exploring the vast complex of tunnels and rooms. This place looked like a school of sorts. What was even more strange was that all traps and secret passages were clearly visible to me through those bands of glowing glyphs. I conjectured that they were visible only to me. The place was entirely desert. Not a single life form.
I obviously looted everything. A treasure trove of tomes, reagents, herbs, scrolls, grimoires, and ordinary valuables too. Most grimoires were on mental magic. Was this the den of the mind-benders?
How the hell did I end up here? All I remember was coming back to Pekothas after clearing up the nobles, and... Somehow I knew the city had been destroyed by me. The mind-benders ambushed me. Yes. I'm remembering something now.
There was some guy in golden dragon armor. And zombies. And a tentacle monster. That gave me the shivers just with that faint shard of memory. Then my magic went out of control as I struggled to fight back. But how did I destroy a city with magic on a [Berserker]'s budget?
Checking my inventory, I found I was missing a lot of MP potions and cores. Maybe I used them to not let the mind-benders capture me. In vain, it seemed. Yes, that could've happened.
Shrugging, I finished looting the place and exploring the vast complex of tunnels. I spent one slot in my [Cartographer]'s ability to memorize the map of the complex. I wouldn't bother destroying it or attempting to put a mountain in my item box, but it would be useful to know of such a place.
I should go back to Pekothas and check how the city fared in the aftermath of my epic battle with the mind-benders.