As soon as the digitalized voice had finished announcing the rebirth cycle, there was a blinding flash of light. Trystan suspected was more out of aesthetical design than practical purpose, but the fact remained that he was teleported, again, to somewhere else.
This time, however, he was not in a futuristic lab, but inside a humongous, dimly lit cavern. How cliché.
He inspected himself and, sure enough, he was all bones and wizardly fabric. Skeletonkin, Banzaï! Though, as he touched the robe draped over his body, he felt a measure of distaste. It was coming apart at the seams.
"If a torn apron can be called a proper wizard's belonging," Trystan scoffed.
"You shouldn't judge a book by its cover. This robe belonged to Mal'Azar," A high-pitched voice echoed in the cavern, making it hard to pinpoint its origin. He looked around, but couldn't find anyone other than him inside the cave.
"Down there, you simpleton," His Squeakiness croaked.
When Trystan looked down, he was distinctly unimpressed. The speaker was a two feet long, intricate jumble of bones, which resembled a Lumbricus terrestris. In other words, an earthworm. If he remembered his biology lessons, worms didn't possess skeletons though. Not the same type of skeleton as human beings, at least... From whence it came then was a mystery Trystan couldn't fathom. Hydrostatic skeletons aside, there were two small protuberances in the upper part of its back, two inches apart.
"Oh, a talking worm," Trystan said the first thing that came to mind. He was slightly surprised that the tiny thing was capable of speech.
"How rude! I'm a Wyrm, not a worm!" It thundered, which was quite ridiculous given its squeaky and nasal voice.
"Ain't that the same thing?" Trystan asked, taunting the tiny entity. He had been a big fan of RPGs in his youth, so the word Wyrm immediately rang a bell. He just said that to piss it off.
"Not at all, you imbecilic skeleton! Wyrms are Dragonkind, worms are not even monsters! Furthermore, I am not any kind of Wyrm, I'm a DreadWyrm, the strongest species of Wyrm there is! Well, DreadWyrmling, I guess," It suddenly deflated, its upper body flattening against the ground while its tail drew circles on the cavern's granite.
To diffuse the sour mood, Trystan decided to ask another question, "How come you can speak? Or even I for that matter? Oh, and what's your name by the way; if you have one, that is."
"Name's Drak'Thul. To answer your other questions, your voice is projected through a combination of magic and willpower," Drak'Thul explained patiently, having regained a little verve.
"Does this mean that when I run out of magic, I temporarily lose the ability to speak?" Trystan asked.
"Yes, that is indeed the case."
"Wouldn't I just die if I run out of magic? I wager it is magic which animates my bones. This would explain why I don't just collapse into a pile of osseous matter." Trystan rubbed his jawbone in thought.
"There should be some sort of mechanism to prevent magic over-use..." Trystan trailed off.
Drak'Thul assessed Trystan for a few seconds. This newborn skeleton was far more insightful than the average skeleton.
"Yes, that is correct. A hundredth of your magic is locked and dedicated to ensuring continuous bodily functions, which includes sight, hearing and, of course, body integrity. This is the safeguard to prevent foolish skeletons from dying an untimely death."
Trystan chuckled, his jawbones rattling, "You're quite the smart little bugger, aren't you? Well, why don't you tell me the reason you've been so gregarious and helpful? What do you want in exchange for the information you provided?"
The Wyrmling hissed in pleasure. Yes, this host would be a perfect choice.
"DreadWyrms don't behave the same way other, lesser kinds of Wyrm, do. Unlike other Dragonkind species, we have to establish a relationship with a willing host in order to evolve."
"You mean a parasitic relationship?"
A sound of grinding stones rose in the cavern. "No, and I would like you to refrain from calling what I offer, or my person as parasitic. The kind of symbiosis my kind offers is mutualism."
There are three typologies of interaction between two individuals in a symbiosis: mutualistic, commensalistic or parasitic. In the first case, both individuals benefit from each other. In the second case, one individual benefits from the other without harming or bringing benefits to the other species. In the third case, one individual benefits from the other while harming it.
"You might be wondering what I can offer... There are two main boons I can provide right now, and one which will come a little bit later. The first one is a wealth of information. You know next to nothing about the human world or this dimension, don't you? I can be your guide. The second advantage is specific to Dragonkind. We have the ability to accurately sense magic. For instance, I can tell you precisely how much magic you have left, and how much each of your spell costs to cast."
Trystan hummed, "Wouldn't I also be able to have access to this information, without your help?"
"How very astute. Yes, with time and experience, you will be able to get a feel for both elements. However, you won't be able to tell which conditions are to be met to unlock a higher tier in your spells. Or how to reach a higher monster tier. Of course, you could always try to guess..." A strange, hissed laughter accompanied the declaration.
"Wouldn't grinding be the way to upgrade spells, like in most RPGs?" Trystan asked. When he was met with a heavy silence, he elaborated. "Ah right, you don't necessarily know what these words mean. Grinding is repeating an action, and RPG is - oh, nevermind!" Explaining it would be a waste of time.
"Why would casting a spell, again and again, upgrade it?" Drak'Thul asked, genuinely confused.
Trystan shrugged. "Well, I suppose it makes sense it is not the way to go to improve spells. So, what kind of requirements are to be met to reach higher tiers?" He asked, perplexed.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"I shall tell you if you agree to a symbiosis." If it could, Drak'Thul would have grinned.
Trystan made a noncommittal noise, waiting for the other shoe to drop. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.
"What do you require in exchange for this partnership?"
Drak'Thul slithered on the ground until it reached Trystan, then it proceeded to climb astoundingly fast, finally wrapping itself around Trystan's bony shoulders.
"Oh, nothing much. You just need to open a Soul Link between us. That is all I ask." Drak'Thul drawled as if it were a simple matter.
"What will opening this Soul Link do? For both of us, that is." Trystan asked, ever cautious.
"Many things. It shall allow us to share our thoughts. We will also be able to transfer strength from you to me and vice versa, though that is heavily regulated. Finally, I will take a portion of your growth potential. This means that, when you evolve into the next tier of monster, I will evolve into the next tier of the DreadWyrm line, too."
"And the drawbacks?"
"Maintaining the link shall consume, at all time, around five percent of your magic," Drak'Thul said hurriedly. These talks were getting tiresome especially since they hadn't bonded yet. They could talk all they wanted after having established the link.
"Is the 5% magic consumption done after deducting the 1% 'locked' magic, or is it 5% of the total magic pool?"
"What's the difference? 5 percent and one percent equals to six percent of consumption..." Drak'Thul was not well versed in mathematics, but this much seemed obvious. The damn Skeleton was wasting Drak'Thul's time.
"Not really. Let's say I have 100 magic. 1% is dedicated to vital functions; it means there's 99 left. 99 - 0.05*99 = 94.05."
Drak'Thul let out a surprised 'Oh', then completed the explanation, "100 - 6% = 94. There's a difference of 0.05. And you're nitpicking for such a small amount?"
Trystan shrugged, making Drak'Thul's small body rise with the gesture. "That's on a hundred magic basis. For all I know, I have millions of magic, which would make the difference much more significant. However, the point was not to know the exact figure."
"Then, what was the point?" Drak'Thul huffed, exasperated.
"It was to assess your level of understanding of the basics of calculus. And you, my slithering friend, have a lot of catching up to do..." Had Trystan possessed eyes, they would have gleamed with promises of unending torments. For a second, Drak'Thul's body trembled.
"O-Oh, really? Haha, well, is it okay if we bond now?" Drak'Thul asked, though he was quickly coming to regret this choice.
For a few seconds, Trystan contemplated the answer. Then, at last, he nodded. Immediately afterwards, a weird feeling came unto him. If he had to describe it, it was like something cold and heavy pushing against him, trying to invade his very being. Instinctively, he tried to reject it and push it away, for it was causing a tremendous amount of pain.
"Do not reject it!" Drak'Thul hissed.
Gritting his teeth, Trystan forced his body to remain immobile and to cease fighting the intrusion. A sharp pain registered somewhere in the back of his brain while a flood of conflicting sensations washed over him. He felt unbearably hot, then much too cold. He was complete but also part of a whole. It was a maddening experience. Then all of a sudden it stopped, and all his aches and pains were washed away, like some kind of healing balm had been applied to his soul.
'There, there, it's over.' a soothing voice rumbled lowly.
How in the nine hells- 'Oh, telepathy. Does it work like that?' Trystan thought in wonder.
'Yes. Now, I believe I owe you a few explanations.' Drak'Thul chuckled at the other's exuberance. It must be a novel experience for the Skeleton.
'Much appreciated,' Trystan thought sarcastically.
'First, summon a Fireball,' Drak'Thul ordered.
Trystan's teeth clinked, 'And how should I do that?'
Drak'Thul's body shook, 'Just say "I summon thee, noblest of all elements, come and do my bidding.", that should do the trick."
Trystan looked at the Wyrmling blankly and spoke tonelessly, "You're kidding, right?"
'Of course, I am,' Drak'Thul huffed, amusement lingering in its voice still, 'Just hold out your hand and focus on the feeling of fire. Your body instinctively should know the rest.'
Still a little skeptical, Trystan reluctantly did as he was told. Surprisingly, he felt something rushing out of his body and coalesce until it formed a small, flickering flame. Such as one produced by a lighter.
"Well, that was disappointing," Trystan said.
'Of course, you're only a novice mage, what did you expect? That is why we are going to work on it. There are a few components you can work with. The main ones are Heat, Radius, and Luminosity. Increase one of these significantly, and your spell shall be upgraded. Depending on the axis of improvement, a different spell will be created.'
Trystan bobbed his head in understanding, though his mind was quickly analyzing everything he knew and had learned. He came to a simple conclusion.
"Drak'Thul, two questions. Is there a way for you to send me a simple, Yes/No type of message without speaking or thinking? The simpler and more distinctive between the choices, the better. And can you accurately gauge, to the decimal point, for instance, the amount of magic each Fireball spell I cast, consumes?"
'I can send you a pulse of magic, which you will feel as hot or cold. And yes, my ability to gauge magic expenditure is quite accurate.'
"Alright, then tell me the exact amount," Trystan said
He cast the Fireball spell twice, resulting in 9.53 and 10.38 expended magic. He cast it four more times, resulting in 10.42, 10.39, 10.35 and 10.40. Just to be sure, he cast one more, resulting in 9.55.
"Hmm, it's not as simple as I thought," Trystan said, crossing his arms. "It does not seem to follow a law, but is it really random? It should take 10 magic given the results. Right?"
Drak'Thul sent a mental nod. It was a little surprised by the results, he had thought it would cost exactly 10 magic.
"Is there a way to tell me precisely how much magic I use for the spell before it has already been launched?"
'No, I can only tell you the magic you effectively deployed after the spell is formed.'
Trystan shook his head. Then, that means there is nothing much that could be done...
'However, I can tell you, while forming the spell, whether you use too much or too little magic. If that is any help.'
"Then let's do it like this. I'll do the spell, then just before it is formed, inform me about magic usage. Then I will withdraw or add magic until you tell me the amount is goo- " Trystan began to say, then his mouth clamped shut suddenly. He shook his head. "No, this way is not efficient. It would drain too much of our concentration to be of any real use."
Then, looking back at the figures of magic expenditure, he had another idea.
"If we look closely at the results, minus the regular cost of the spell, we have 0.38, 0.42, 0.39, 0.35 and 0.4 for the positive values, and -0.47 and -0.45 for the negative values. Let's approximate and say if we use too much magic, it is 0.4 too much and if I use too little, it is 0.45 too little."
Drak'Thul bobbed its 'head'.
"Then just send me a cold pulse if it too little, hot if it is too much, okay?" Trystan could feel excitement bubbling.
'Let us proceed this way.' Drak'Thul agreed.
It took a lot of trial and error, and a lot of rest between tries to regenerate magic, before they found the exact way to withdraw or add the minute amounts of magic.
Trystan panted. That was actually quite exhausting.
"Alright, one more and it should be good."
'Yes.'
Trystan focused on summoning a Fireball. Before the spell was formed, he received a cold pulse. He added in the amount he had calculated. The spell was formed.
Trystan grinned at the result. Even Drak'Thul felt a lick of pride.
For in front of them floated a scorching ball of flames, five feet in radius.
'Oh...' Drak'Thul communicated in his mind, surprised.
"What is it?" Trystan asked, intrigued.
'Rather than telling you, I'll show you,' Drak'Thul thought. He projected a mental image.
Your Fireball (I) spell has evolved. Fireball (II) spell created, Dark Fire (I) created.
Magic filtering (I) spell created. You have devised a way to refine magic. All your spells are and will be heavily affected by this process. Your intelligence and wisdom have grown accordingly.
A new job had been created. 1/300 Engineer. Completing this job will yield tremendous rewards.
Trystan smiled. Now, that he could work with.
------
Meanwhile, in the human realm, another hero awoke.
"Where the bloody hell am I?"