Isengar walked out of the classroom and didn't attend class. We later learned he left the Academy with his knights and servants. People who saw the [Prince] board his carriage said he looked like a man with a date with the executioner. They rode west, toward the outer gate, toward home past the ruins.
I shut myself inside my own mind, I felt as if worms crawled underneath my forearms, burning the flesh, my heart pounding. My scruff hairs were all standing up and my tails were tense. It was as if a volcano would erupt out of my mouth at any time. I had yet to develop fire-breathing abilities. Paranoia settled in and I sensed enemies all around.
The impending invasion and the image of dragons clouding the sky made my temple hurt. The stress born of worry gnawed at the edge of my mind. I feared not for myself but for Windemere. My Kin, my children. Fear that my power wouldn't be enough to protect this nation. I remember coming back from the fight with the Black Dragon King and seeing a zombified Windemere. Lorna crying over her dead brother.
Even then, I couldn't feel at home in Windemere. I gave up Rosewise's power to revive them but I couldn't cherish the living. Deep inside, I was always an outcast. Even when I carved a Kingdom out of nothing, they were in the end just a liability. Kel'Caldor killed good people just to spite me out. The dragons threatened Windemere and the folk living here just to hurt me. It wouldn't be the first nor the second time they did that. Bundeus' persecution.
The Gods, those hypocrites, turned a blind eye to the atrocities I'd suffered but still tossed a bone my way when they needed this rabid dog to bite at their enemies. Only now that I demonstrated the power to stand up against them was that they decided to work with me. It was not out of compassion or acceptance but utility and fear.
Wyxnos, at least, was honest.
I was afraid. Afraid of losing what I had. What did I have? The girls? Were we friends? My legs lost strength. Mirina's strength was more than enough to hold my lithe body. I clenched my teeth to keep myself from sobbing.
A thought crossed my mind. End it now. Sacrifice this life, cast an enchantment over Windemere just like what I did to Atlantis. The coward's way out shed this feeble skin and re-roll.
I couldn't. These thoughts shouldn't even be happening. I had {Pinnacle of…} on all Attributes but Luck and Soul. What was going on? Was I under some kind of mental attack? Outside influence? My PMS? That last one was stupid. But something was gnawing at the edges of my consciousness, eroding my resistance.
"Haru?" I heard Mirina's distressed voice. Something had shut down sensory input from the outside world. "Open your eyes. Look at me! Please!"
I did as asked even though I knew what was happening around me. Mirina and the girls were gathered around me, the great [Matriarch] being princess-carried on a genuine [Princess]'s arms. At a "safe" distance, the quintet of boys watched while Marlowe waited out of sight next to the door. No, not waiting. The [Archmage] was channeling a powerful ward around the classroom. That most probably was what allowed me to regain consciousness.
"Just a moment," I slurred. Notifications popped up.
> Sacrificial Tail Activated. Your Lightning tail was sacrificed.
>
> Sacrificial Tail Activated. Your Ritual tail was sacrificed.
>
> Sacrificial Tail Activated. Your Weather tail was sacrificed.
>
> You gained 39 points of Mental Mastery proficiency.
Holy motherfuckers. Whatever attacked me had killed me thrice if it weren't for this cheat Perk. Now that I knew what was going on, I could defend against it. I placed two rings on my left hand, making a mental note to not shapeshift that hand. These rings were very expensive even for me. Thirty points to Willpower and Ego should be enough to fight back this insidious attack. It was.
"You were convulsing!" Marisol cried. "And I can't use my magic on you!"
"I'm okay now," I lied. The spell was still in effect but with Marlowe's ward and my improved Attributes, I could resist it.
My outburst with Isengar had been genuine. The attack started once he left the room. Time for some forensics.
> Arcane Imprints
A gigantic magic diagram revealed itself in the Ethereal. Too big, too complex for anything I knew. Even the glyphs were completely unknown, a mix of Celtic knotwork and Tolkien Elvish.
> Your attempt to learn this spell failed.
Another wave of dizziness and the desire to sink back into that dreamscape of my worst fears came but I pushed it back. I retched but there wasn't anything in my stomach to throw out.
"I'm fine now, guys. Give me some room, I'm under attack," I told the girls circling me. "Put me down, Mirina."
Even overlaying an illusion of the spell was a daunting task.
"Are these childish scribbles what you wanted me to see, Haru?" The [Archmage] grumbled, clearly unamused by the piss-poor representation of the spell diagram.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Shaking my head, I grasped his wrist. "No. We need to cross over to the Ethereal to see it. Something stops me from drawing it on the Material."
"Lead away," he nodded and I pulled us both through the dimensional veil.
Once he could see the imprint in all its full glory, the silk golem gasped and fell on his back. Seeing the diagram and trying to understand it gave me headaches. Marlowe must've been knocked out silly by that.
First, let me pick the Abilities my unknown tormentor so kindly granted me.
Mental Mastery [ 603 / 619 ]. Select 3 Abilities
* Steel Will: Gain (Proficiency/50) Willpower.
* Probability Manipulation: Gain (Proficiency/50) Luck.
* Meridian Strengthening: Gain (Proficiency/50) Soul.
You gained the Perk,
* Pinnacle of Luck (ultra-rare) Whenever faced with a completely random choice, you have twice the odds of choosing the best outcome. The odds of receiving a critical hit are halved unless you are immobile. When you find a treasure or harvest a resource, there's a small chance it will be better than what it should be. At the pinnacle, you are immune to involuntary Attribute reductions.
"System, Give me a {Magical Affinity} to this type of magic," I gambled and invested one Perk voucher.
> ACKNOWLEDGED. Impossible to comply. You do not meet the requirements to learn this Affinity.
"What are the requirements?"
> ACKNOWLEDGED. Classified. Administrator authorization required.
"Do I meet them?"
> ACKNOWLEDGED. Yes.
As if I would let this one slide. If someone could use this kind of magic on me, it was only fair I could learn it. But I had two vouchers.
"System, give me resistance to this Affinity of magic."
> ACKNOWLEDGED. Compiling requirements. Polling compatible users. 1 user found. Polling targets of this magic. 1 user found.
It probably meant living targets.
You acquired the perk, Fate Magic Resistance (ultra-rare): Reduce effects and duration of Fate magic by 50%.
Fucking shit. I lost three tails, there was no way I would leave this without gaining another one. I turned to the befuddled [Archmage] and snapped him from his trance-like examination of the foreign magic.
"Marlowe, can you transcribe the diagram?"
"It will take me some time because I can't understand even how this magic works."
"It's called Fate Magic. I'm trying to gain an Affinity for it. I'm calling Wyxnos."
He grunted in acknowledgment and started to scribble the unknown glyphs.
> [Administrator Hotline]
>
> CALL START
>
> Haru: Hey Wixnos. Authorize me to get {Fate Magic Affinity}. Some asshole is bombarding me with it, it's only fair I repay in the same coin.
>
> Wyxnos: I cannot. I'm under an agreement to not let anyone else pick it.
>
> H: Seriously? Playing favorites?
>
> W: No. I honor my commitments.
>
> H: Is there a way to get around it?
>
> Loki: His agreement ends if the other user dies.
>
> W: Damn you.
>
> L: Tuisto?
>
> Tuisto: True.
>
> L: We outvote Wyxnos. Go get'em, girl.
>
> CALL END.
I should suspect something very fishy when the Affinity was locked by Administrator fiat, and be certain underhanded shenanigans were going on when Loki intervened, but I was still under attack by the spell and desperately trying to find a way out.
I didn't. Hindsight was 20/20.
Time for a signature spell. {Arcane Imprints} allowed me to send a spell back to the caster.
> Death Contract.
>
> Overcharge magic (x34)
>
> Grand Fermata (x50)
>
> Elemental Admixture (Add Light element)
>
> Coloratura (Change Fire for Darkness)
>
> Avenger's Strike
>
> Chord (Add Prismatic Spray)
>
> Force-Fire Maiden stabs and sears ???? for 512 Billion HP of Piercing, Light and Darkness damage. (Base 4 x1,000 multiple attacks x28,24 Skill x5.32 Willpower x34 Overcharge x50 Grand Fermata x4.3 Assassination x3 Mana Strike x1.5 Force Affinity x1.25 Tail Focus x1.6 Moon Magic x1.45 Spell-singer x1.5 Admixture x2 Avenger Strike x7 Dragon Slayer [-60% defenses] x0.75 Imperial Scales x0.75 Saint's Determination x0.84 Dragon Scales [reduced] x0.9 Magic Resistance [reduced] ).
>
> Damage negated.
>
> Force-Fire Maiden stabs and sears ???? for 119 Billion HP of Piercing, Light and Darkness damage. (Base 4 x1,000 multiple attacks x28,24 Skill x5.32 Willpower x34 Overcharge x50 Grand Fermata x3 Mana Strike x1.5 Force Affinity x1.25 Tail Focus x1.6 Moon Magic x1.45 Spell-singer x1.5 Admixture x2 Avenger Strike x7 Dragon Slayer [-60% defenses] x0.75 Imperial Scales x0.75 Saint's Determination x0.84 Dragon Scales [reduced] x0.9 Magic Resistance [reduced] ).
>
> For killing level 200 Probable Dragon Saint Because of the Defensive Modifiers you earned 16.7 Trillion Exp (Base 3,662,109 x3,125 Fast-Learner x3.38 Death Contract x3,38 Favored Enemy x4 Species Rarity x2 Rank x4 Class Rarity x4 Special bonus).
Damn, that was a tough caster. I didn't get a corpse in my item box even though there was no range for collecting loot. Either the body vanished or...
> Force-Fire Maiden stabs and sears ???? for 119 Billion HP of Piercing, Light and Darkness damage. (Base 4 x1,000 multiple attacks x28,24 Skill x5.32 Willpower x34 Overcharge x50 Grand Fermata x3 Mana Strike x1.5 Force Affinity x1.25 Tail Focus x1.6 Moon Magic x1.45 Spell-singer x1.5 Admixture x2 Avenger Strike x7 Dragon Slayer [-60% defenses] x0.75 Imperial Scales x0.75 Saint's Determination x0.84 Dragon Scales [reduced] x0.9 Magic Resistance [reduced] ).
>
> For killing level 200 Why did she Resurrect it Just to Die Again you earned 5 Trillion Exp (Base 3,662,109 x3,125 Fast-Learner x3,38 Favored Enemy x4 Species Rarity x2 Rank x4 Class Rarity x4 Special bonus).
Nevermind. I got a corpse but no soul. I got very close to leveling up but no cookie. Force-Fire Maiden is not a single-shot spell. The target will be skewered and burnt by the rotating Force needles and the roiling elemental energies inside until I dismiss it.
> [Administrator Hotline]
>
> CALL START
>
> Haru: Perk, please. Use my last voucher.
>
> Loki: Approved.
>
> Tuisto: Approved.
>
> CALL END.
> You acquired the perk, Fate Magic Affinity (unique): You have an affinity with Fate magic.
A new tail grew. The tail for Fate magic had long, stringy, and dark red fur the color of clotted blood. It looked like it was made out of yarn.
But that was just the start. I stared at the imprint and attempted to learn the spell again. It worked.
> You learned the spell, Betrayal of the Fateful Beloved.
>
> Type: Fate Magic
>
> Effect: Sacrifice the soul of one bound by Fate with the target to repeatedly crush the target's soul.
I fell down on my knees and hands, retching and ejecting bile from my mouth. That was the vilest spell ever conceived. The dragons could've razed Windemere a thousand times but they wouldn't aggravate me that much.
The comprehension from learning the spell went far deeper than what the paltry System description could ever put in words. "Bound by Fate" meant someone attached by the metaphorical "red string of fate". One's true love.
To me, it meant only one person.
It also meant we had entered the genocide route.