Kelsey appeared outside the town of Whitebranch for the first time in roughly a year, and what she saw brought a genuine smile to her face. The slums were gone and it was as if they had never been there at all. The tall white walls of the town were on full display, gleaming brightly in the mid-morning sun.
I hoped my plan worked when I saw the requirement on Spatial Savior about 10,000 people or more considering me their hero, but it makes me feel much better to see the evidence myself.
Still smiling happily to herself, Kelsey made her way down towards the gates of the town. As she arrived at the gate, she saw a short line of people waiting to get in the town.
Hmm, I’ve never seen people on this side of the city before, I wonder if that means the Centaur problem was resolved too... They must have come in the direction of the plains.
She had thought about the Centaurs a few times while she was living in the Mageblood forest, but she was so focused on her skills and research that she kept forgetting to go check on them.
When it was Kelsey’s turn in line, the slightly pudgy guard turned to her with a big smile on his face and said, “Welcome to Whitebranch city ma’am, what business do you have inside the walls?”
“City? Whitebranch finally became a city? I was here a little over a year ago and it was still a town.” she said, her voice filled with genuine glee.
“Yes ma’am. Around that time some lone hero came by the town and helped a whole load of them refugees from the plains out of a tough spot. That stirred up quite the commotion I tell ya, Nobles from the capital came a knockin’ to investigate the folks who was responsible. A Viscount and our very own captain of the guard were part of it. Hero actually killed the captain himself, they says.” he said with the practiced cadence of someone who had told this story a dozen times.
Kelsey focused on the guard saying that the hero killed the captain of the guard 'himself'. I wonder who's responsible for spreading the idea that the ‘hero’ was a man. Sure is convenient for me though. Last thing I want is a bunch of attention while I'm in the city. She thought happily.
She smiled warmly at the guard and said “Well that’s amazing. I’m glad they caught the people responsible. But, to answer your question, I’m just here to visit some family.”
She then flashed her Silver Guild card at the guard. Oh right, I should get that updated to Gold before I leave.
“Ahh an adventurer, come on in! I hope you have a pleasant visit in Whitebranch ma’am!” he said as he opened the gate to let her through.
What a nice guy. She thought as handed him a few silver coins and began making her way towards Thadius’ house.
With her domain, she could see the vast majority of the city, and she could see that Thadius was currently sitting on his couch in his home playing with his children.
They're bigger now... Crazy how much can change in a year...
A few minutes later, she arrived at Thadius’ door and knocked a few times. A few seconds later, he opened the door.
“Kelsey! You’re back! I've missed you.” he said as he wrapped Kelsey in a giant bear hug.
“Yeah, some stuff happened that I need everyone’s opinion on.” she said sheepishly as she pulled away from her brother’s embrace.
Thadius looked at her quizzically. “Knowing what we talked about last time you were here, that can’t be good,” he said. “Plus, what kind of cla-”
He stopped speaking as Kelsey gave him a serious look and placed her palm over his mouth. “Not out here.”
His eyes turned hard, and he nodded seriously. “Want me to call the others? Owen and Lisa are still here as far as I know. They didn’t know if you made it where you were planning on going so they never left. They have been hard at work in the area doing contracts, making sure they are ready for whenever you came back.”
“Yeah, everyone. Including Gregory. He and I didn’t have the nicest chat last time I was here, so I’d like to talk to him, clear the air as it were.” she said. "Make sure you don't mention my name in any messages. I am trying to avoid letting the city know I'm here."
Thadius nodded in understanding. “Alright, I’ll send a messenger, go see the kids, they’ve been asking about you.” he said as he pulled his coat from the rack next to the door and walked away towards the messenger office.
Kelsey wasn't exactly strong enough yet to feel comfortable confronting the city's nobility. It had been a year, but there was a chance they could potentially be holding a grudge, and Kelsey didn't want to take that chance.
Over the next couple of hours, Kelsey reunited with her niece and nephew, as well as Thadius, who had come back less than ten minutes after leaving. Claire was apparently out of the city, gathering some ingredients for her alchemy in the nearby woods.
They talked about things she had missed, like the trial of the Viscount and the aftermath of her raid on his estate. He explained the specifics of how Whitebranch became recognized as a city. According to Thadius, the Viscount being arrested by the town had stirred up quite the storm, with nobility from around the entire region making trips to Whitebranch in order to witness the trial. Apparently, the Queen herself had made an appearance and had sentenced Viscount Watson herself. He was now serving a life of imprisonment in a cell located in the capital, Fairlight. While the Queen was here, she also formally recognized Whitebranch as a city, and the mayor was promoted to Governer.
He also explained what occurred on the plains. Apparently, after an entire party of gold ranked adventurers went missing, a group of Immortal Classers were called out here from the capital to deal with the problem. The creature involved was an intelligent mental magic monster that had wandered in from somewhere in the deep north, far away from civilization. He said that the monster ended up being level 283 according to the report filed by the Platinum ranked adventuring group.
“Wow, I’m sure glad I didn’t go investigate the Centaurs myself, I’d be very dead right about now.” she said as she chuckled.
Thadius nodded and said “No kidding. I can imagine you getting yourself wrapped up in something like that. Good thing you didn’t, the Immortal team was apparently able to free the Centaurs without killing a single one of them. I’m not so sure you would have been so lucky.”
"So that's it? The Centaur issue is solved?" Kelsey asked wistfully. She really would have liked to have been the one to help them after they assisted her brother.
Thadius eyed her suspiciously. "What have you heard?"
Kelsey sat up straight, sensing that there was more to the story. "Nothing. What's going on?"
Thadius sighed. "Fine. I'll tell you. Only if you promise you won't rush off to solve it yourself."
Without saying a word, Kelsey reached out her hand, her pinky extended.
Thadius rolled his eyes before accepting Kelsey's pinky swear. "You're such a child."
"Shut up and tell me what's going on." Kelsey said excitedly.
"Fine. Well... After the monster was dealt with, there was a series of bloodthirsty power struggles. Multiple factions broke out among the centaurs and their government splintered. Technically speaking, the Centaurs are citizens of Cardona, but the Royal family has always seen fit to let them govern themselves." Thadius paused, ensuring Kelsey heard his next words.
"Some people, myself included, think that there is something sinister going on. The Centaurs haven't been tribal warriors for hundreds of years. Their whole society has been molded and shaped to replicate that of humans." Thadius said. "I've visited their cities dozens of times, and my gut tells me that their people wouldn't suffer through a societal collapse without good reason."
"So, you think that something, or someone is manipulating them? That the monster attack was just part of it?" Kelsey asked.
Thadius nodded. "What in the world would a strong Immortal monster be doing in the Centaur plains? Monsters don't typically roam very much, if at all. I think that someone lured it there. I think that someone is intentionally targeting the Centaurs for some reason."
Kelsey took in a deep breath. "You have no idea how badly I want to ignore that pinky promise and go check it out for myself."
Thadius chuckled. "I know. But whatever or whoever is targeting them is powerful, or influential enough to lure an Immortal creature hundreds of miles away from its habitat. You'd almost certainly be squished beneath their boots."
Nodding in agreement, Kelsey said, "Yeah... I know. It just sucks that I can't help."
"Soon little sis, soon." Thadius said comfortingly.
The pair continued talking about various less serious topics until their first guests knocked at the door.
Owen and Lisa were the first to arrive, and they had tons of questions about what she had been doing and what this meeting was about. Lisa also had a moment where she nearly said Kelsey’s class name out loud, but Kelsey was able to stop her in time like she had with Thadius. They only had a few minutes to talk until their last visitor knocked on the door.
The last to arrive was, obviously, Gregory, who, when he saw Kelsey immediately looked guilty and fearful. “Kelsey, I am so sorry I didn’t put more trust in you. As the leader of the Whitebranch Adventurers Guild, I regret that I didn’t do more to help.” he said while bowing his head slightly.
Everyone in the room stopped talking and stared at the pair, clearly nervous about what was going to happen.
Kelsey was somewhat taken aback by his apology. The way she remembered the interaction was that she had slammed her fist on his desk and screamed at him. “No, Greg, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten angry at you like I did. I know you were just trying to do your job.” she said respectfully.
“You were pretty angry.” he said with a grin on his face. “Still, you were right in the end. It was worse than any of us had anticipated, and you solved the problem all by yourself. For that, the Whitebranch Adventurers Guild owes you a debt of gratitude.”
Seeing her opportunity, Kelsey narrowed her eyes at the Guild Master and spoke with false sincerity. “Well, there is actually something I need from you.”
“Anything Kelsey. Whatever you need.” he said formally.
Kelsey smiled, “I’m going to need you to wear this, please.” she said as she summoned the jeweled eye patch from her Vault.
Everyone in the room stared silently at the object in Kelsey’s hand for a few long seconds before everyone except Gregory burst out laughing. Owen in particular was laughing so hard that she could see tears beginning to form at the corners of his eyes.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
With an incredibly dramatic flair, Gregory stomped toward Kelsey and ripped the eyepatch out of her hand before turning around and replacing the one across his eye. Everyone, including Kelsey, waited with bated breath for Gregory to turn around, and when he did, the laughter began anew. It wasn’t that the eyepatch looked bad, in fact it was a quality product. It just did not match with the rest of Gregory’s aesthetic in the slightest. To Kelsey and Thadius, he was the striking image of a pirate, so to see him wearing a jeweled eye patch was simply too much.
“Honestly brother… it looks great… you really pull it off!” Owen shouted between fits of laughter.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah laugh it up! How long do I gotta wear this blasted thing, Kel?” Gregory asked as he looked in the mirror in Thadius’ living room.
“You never had to put it on.” Kelsey said after catching her breath. “Like I said, I never blamed you. You were being the best Guild Master you could.” she finished honestly.
Instead of immediately responding, Gregory walked up to Kelsey and gave her a hug. “Thanks Kel, I know it looks ridiculous, but I actually appreciate it.”
“Anytime big guy.” she said as she hugged him back. “I actually got presents for everyone here, so you’ll really appreciate it after I give them theirs.” she said with a smile.
Everyone around her immediately stopped laughing and looked at her with mock horror. “Better be careful not to owe me any favors, people, or you’ll be wearing something ridiculous next.” Kelsey said sternly.
As she stepped back from the hug with Gregory, she quickly identified him.
[Warrior - lvl 116]
Not bad, old man.
She then took the time to identify Owen, Lisa, and Thadius.
[Bastion of Thunder - lvl 86]
Owen has only gained... two levels? Seriously?
[Glaive Prodigy - lvl 84]
At least Lisa had gained eight... still... not exactly quick...
[Worker - lvl 272]
Literally no clue... for all I know he hasn't gained a level in 7 years.
During the next few minutes, Kelsey learned that this little group had actually been meeting regularly. Apparently, all four of them were heavily involved with the cleanup after the incident with the refugees, and they all became friends because of their shared connection with Kelsey. She also learned that Theodore ‘Theo’ Artos was the person responsible for spreading the rumor that the ‘hero’ was a man.
“Make sure to thank him for me next time you see him.” she said to Gregory, who had told her about what Theo had done.
“Will do. I was actually thinking about talking to you about including him in the Oath. He’s a good man, and very trustworthy. I think he would be a fine addition to our little group.” Gregory said.
“I’ll think about it. We have some stuff to discuss today though, your opinion may change after you hear what I have to say.” she said.
“So, what are we talking about today, Kel?” Lisa asked the moment she found the opportunity to do so.
“Well, first we need to decide on where we have this discussion. We have three options. Thadius’ vault, The Guild Master’s office, or a special location that I can take you to.”
The other four members of the little group all looked at each other, clearly confused, but Thadius spoke up first. “You know what little sis, let's see this special location.”
“Good choice. Everyone cool with that?” Kelsey asked the room.
They all nodded hesitantly, so Kelsey wrapped them all in mana, entered Meditation, and activated her teleport. A few seconds later, the group appeared inside her cabin overlooking the Mageblood forest.
“Welcome to my cabin.” Kelsey said as they arrived, motioning to the inside of her cabin.
“What!? Kel!?” Lisa shouted the excitement in her voice, palpable. “How did you do that?”
“Could warn us next time.” Thadius said with exaggerated anger in his voice.
“That be a new one.” Gregory said. “This outta be good.”
“Of course you can teleport other people now.” Owen said dryly.
“Thanks for coming, everybody. Some stuff has happened that I want you guys to know about. Unfortunately, before I can tell you, we’re going to need an updated Oath.”
Realizing the other thing she needed to have done, she turned to Thadius. “Can you add those privacy enchantments to the cabin? I would feel better if they were here.”
“Sure thing, it should only take me a few minutes,” he said.
While Thadius was working on the enchantments, they spent the next few minutes clarifying the specifics of the Oath that Kelsey wanted, before a notification arrived in front of all of them.
Blood Oath
I, under the threat of death, will not willingly share the name or secrets behind Kelsey Kain’s Class, Skills, Location, Levels, nor her Mageblood Body to anyone not involved in this Oath.
Kelsey asked Greogry to create an Oath between them that would disallow him from including anyone in the oath without her prior permission. She didn't think it was necessary, but with the new developments with her class, she figured it was better safe than sorry.
After everyone agreed to the Oaths, Kelsey walked them through the events leading up to her class selection. She told them about her trip to The Trial, her experiences in the dungeon, even including her meeting with Leon Garley.
“Holy shit, you met Leon Garley?” Owen asked, excitement clear in his voice.
“I’d save the holy shits for later if I were you.” Kelsey said cheekily.
Once they were caught up, she started her explanation simply. “I do not have a secondary class. I am unable to take a secondary, or tertiary class due to a restriction on the Magus class.”
The group in front of her didn’t know what to say. They were quietly contemplating what that might mean. Each of them had a slightly different reaction. Thadius and Owen were both pondering the idea seriously, Lisa gave her an indifferent look as if she wasn’t surprised, but Gregory looked like he was trying to remember something important.
A few moments later, she saw something change on Gregory’s face. A look of pure disbelief overcame him. “Magus... No… It can’t be.” he said under his breath while staring directly into Kelsey’s eyes.
Kelsey was a little taken aback by this “Wait, you mean you’ve heard of it before? I know the word from Earth, but I have never seen it in Anoura.”
Gregory nodded his head and began pacing. “There are stories from a few thousand years ago about a man called The Winter Magus, who is said to be responsible for two main things. The first is for slaying a great black dragon named Zythis. The second is that he is said to be responsible for creating the area we now call Anoura.” he said, his voice shaking slightly.
"What do you mean, creating the area? Like he built it?" Kelsey asked, confused.
“Ye likely don't know this, but if you leave Anoura going in any direction, ye will encounter a point where the climate changes drastically. The temperature outside of Anoura is dozens of degrees cooler and covered completely in ice and snow. The stories say that he somehow changed the land to create the climate we have now.”
“Really? How have I not heard about this?” she asked the people in the room. "Wait is that why this damn place doesn't have seasons?"
“Honestly, we only found out it was abnormal when you Otherworlders arrived. Most people don’t even think about it, and it never crossed my mind to tell you.” Lisa said a bit apologetically.
“Yeah, it slipped my mind too. I learned about the great frozen wastes a few years after arriving and forgot all about it for the most part. You know science and stuff was never really my thing.” Thadius said, significantly less apologetically. "And, yeah, that's why we don't get seasons here. It's been forty years, I'd kind of forgotten about seasons honestly."
How did none of the books I read mention this? Not a single one mentioned that Anoura is encircled by a frozen tundra? I swear...
“Well damn, that’s certainly weird.” Kelsey said, hiding her annoyance. “But anyways, anything else about the Magus that you remember?”
“Only thing is, and I know now that it’s impossible, is that it was said that the Magus could control any element, even space. Fire, earth, earth, air, lightning, everything.” he said with a slight chuckle.
Kelsey looked at him seriously before saying “Yeah, not impossible, as it turns out.”
The color drained from the faces of the people in the room as they considered what she said.
She gave them a few seconds before she held out her hand, palm facing upwards and created tiny ball versions of every element that Gregory had just listed. Except air of course, only she could see air.
She then closed her hand, dismissing her creations and turning them back into mana.
For several seconds, no one said anything, simply lost in deep thought as they stared into space.
“You can react now.” She said a bit impatiently.
“What the fuck Kelsey!?” Thadius shouted at the top of his lungs. “Explain, now!”
The next few minutes were spent explaining the last year of her life, including the time spent on class selection. She described her thought process, as well as some of the things she had tested.
By the end of her explanation, the group was much calmer. But Owen, like Kelsey had, considered the implications behind Kelsey's skills. “You’re right, if the wrong people find out about this, they’ll lock you in a room forever.” he said as she shivered while imagining the situation.
“Yeah. But I feel a lot better about it now. The truth is, I’m strong now. Really strong. Someone like Thadius who has a ton of raw attributes over me would still be able to kill me, no problem at all. But anyone else? I think I’ll be fine.” she said as she moved towards the door. “Come on, let me show you something.”
“Wait, before we go out, I have one question to ask.” Owen said as he grabbed Kelsey’s shoulder. “What were the requirements, specifically?”
“Well, there were a few general ones, like defeating a certain number of enemies with magic, or defeating an enemy twice my level. You two saw that one. But the important ones, in order, were; Must have a Mageblood Body, Must have Learned the Eye of the Magus general skill before level 250, Must have both a Creation Class skill, and a Minor Creation General skill, Must have twice the Intelligence and Willpower as other stats, Must have advanced at the minimum level, and ‘You shall walk alone’.” she said.
Upon hearing the requirements, Owen whistled appreciatively “Some pretty specific requirements, Kel.”
“Wait, you mean to say I was right!?” Thadius said incredulously. "I assume the Eye of the Magus skill is what you learned from the Identification book, and you learned one of the Minor Creation skills I recommended to you? I knew they were extremely influential for advancement, but I had no idea something like this could happen...”
“Yeah, I did everything I could to make sure I did both of them before I advanced. I kinda figured you had a specific reason for recommending them.” she said.
“I always knew there was a way to evolve Identify. I just never figured out how.” he said proudly. “So how do you do it?”
“I activated Magesight, a Class skill I had before my advancement, and then channeled 1.618 mana per second into my right eye while attempting to Identify someone with their level hidden.” she explained simply.
“Wait, you can tell how much mana you’re channeling, specifically? Like to the thousandth decimal?” Owen asked, surprise evident in his voice.
“Are you telling me you can’t?” she asked, just as surprised.
“What? No. No one can as far as I know… Gregory?”
“Nope, as far as I know, the closest most people get is within roughly 20 percent of the real value based on feeling alone. Some people be slightly more attuned to it, but no one I’ve ever heard of has that level of accuracy, especially with numbers that low. Your regeneration would easily outpace a low number like that, making it impossible to use your status screen to determine it either.”
She considered their words for a few seconds before responding. “I’ve always wondered why magic seemed to come to me so naturally. I didn’t have anyone to compare myself to, but learning my skills and magic always felt pretty easy.”
“Yeah, the ability to know exactly how much mana you’re using would make practicing skills much easier. You could learn your skills scientifically.” Lisa said contemplatively.
“And here I thought I was just talented or something.” Kelsey said sarcastically.
“Don’t feel too bad, I always knew you weren’t talented.” Thadius said as he stuck his elbow playfully into her side.
Kelsey immediately laughed. “Thanks, big bro, I can always count on you to cheer me up” she said as she put Thadius in a headlock and started ruffling his hair.
She let him go a few seconds later and looked at the group. “I’ve really lucked into all of this haven’t I? Lucked into a Mageblood body, lucked into a class that I understand the concepts of without knowing that was a good idea, lucked into having the ability to accurately determine how much mana I’m channeling, and then lucked into having a brother who was smart enough to recommend some books to me. It’s no wonder it's been a few thousand years since the last Magus.”
In the back of her mind, Kelsey knew, instinctually, that the Mageblood body was responsible for all of it. As powerful as her class was, she was sure that if she were able to share the body, everyone could have a class like hers. She wasn't going to let it show on her face, but she was nearly certain that the ability to determine mana usage accurately was somehow tied to the Mageblood body.
“Anyways, enough talking, I’m bored of it. Time for a demonstration.” she said as she opened the door onto the patio of her cabin.
“Wait, Kelsey, one more thing.” Thadius said.
“Sure, what is it?” Kelsey asked impatiently.
“You said 1.618 mana per second, right?” Thadius asked. “It’s just… that's the so-called golden ratio. It’s the ratio for spirals, and the ratio for a pentagon. It appears in nature, and humans occasionly use it in architecture. It’s not important, I just thought it was interesting.” he said offhandedly.
“That's why that number seemed so familiar! Thank you, that’s been bugging me for a year.” Kelsey said as she looked at Thadius and activated the identification part of her domain. “Now that you say it, the pentagon and galactic swirl in my eye make a lot more sense.”
The group looked at Kelsey’s eye with wonder. “Wow it’s beautiful, Kel.” Lisa said in awe.
“Aww shucks, thanks Lisa.” Kelsey said, acting abashed.
“Now, let's go see this demonstration you’ve been talking about.” Owen said.