The room went silent. All eyes in the room were on Taka, watching him with varying degrees of intensity. Taka caught Zirko's gaze as the chained lizard man hung between the guards. The magic Taka used to absorb Daldrus's attack had been awakened, but that was only because Beja intervened. Using it to expel a magical presence from Zirko was an entirely different story.
"Deon placed a protection spell on him," Vanz'goran said. "It has stopped the seed from exerting control on Zirko for now, but it can still influence his actions, and it seems to be leeching off of Zirko's mana to grow stronger. Soon, it will likely have the strength to overpower Deon's spell, and there will be nothing more we can do, except..."
Zirko grunted and lowered his head, "please, Sir Filo."
"If you can use your magic to devour the seed implanted within him, he should be freed from his clutches," Deon said. "That's the only option left."
Devour, Taka thought to himself, what a strange word to use. When Taka used the strange magic for the first time, he felt like it was absorbing Daldrus's spirit beam, but to the outside, it must've looked like he was devouring the energy itself. In truth, there wasn't much of a difference in the result, but the connotation of devour made Taka better understand why Deon had warned him of Vanz'goran's wariness.
I am unsure if I'll be able to help, but I'm willing to try, Taka sent to both Vanz'goran and Deon.
Deon nodded toward the small crowd in the back of the room, Syla and Maeve both smiling in response while Zirko seemed to tense up.
Could you have the guards bring him towards me? Taka asked.
Vanz'goran motioned for the guards to bring Zirko forward, and they brought the lizard man to the foot of the bed near Taka. Zirko's aura was closer to the translucent blue it had been when they first met, but darker lines streaked throughout it, as if trying to swallow it from the inside out. Taka concentrated on sensing the Magia and felt a thin layer of mana wrapped around Zirko's own magical energy, mana that was much stronger than Zirko's. That strong, thin layer of mana belonged to Deon, Taka realized -- the protection spell Deon cast on Zirko.
Taka shifted his focus back to himself. He felt different than he had during the fight against the birds and Daldrus, maybe just because he had gotten some proper rest, or maybe he was stronger now. I wonder if it has to do with gaining a subclass, Taka thought.
Taka opened his status window.
NAME: Filo, Prince of Dirt RACE: High Worm** CLASS: Magic Scholar (Veil Observer) MAGIC: Earth*, Psychic*, ë̶͙͈́̋̽̃̽̆v̵̨̡̯̭̭̮̼́ͅi̸̟͓͈̲͋̒͆̐̎̅̇͆l̶̩͉͙͉͕̓̉̓̈́͌*, Raw SKILLS: Telepathy, Burrow, Charm, Fear, Mana Transfusion, Life Steal
His subclass 'Veil Observer', the ë̶͙͈́̋̽̃̽̆v̵̨̡̯̭̭̮̼́ͅi̸̟͓͈̲͋̒͆̐̎̅̇͆l̶̩͉͙͉͕̓̉̓̈́͌ magic, and the LIFE STEAL skill were all there. Taka still hadn't delved into what his class specialization did besides giving him new forms of magic and skills, and his subclass seemed to do the same thing. He remembered the class description talked about spreading wisdom and some sort of thirst for knowledge, but it seemed much less concrete than what he imagined classes would be. When he used to play fantasy RPGs with his friends, he liked to mix up the classes he picked, sometimes going the spellcasting route as a druid or a bard, but also enjoyed playing a barbarian or other melee-focused frontliners. 'Magic Scholar' didn't really fit into his conceptual understanding of what a class should be. Even if he had been assigned a non-combat trade-based class like a blacksmith or some other kind of artisan, or even a cook, there was something concrete he'd be able to do. 'Magic Scholar' felt broad in comparison, and he wasn't sure how that made him feel. Sure, there might be more doors to new opportunities for learning all about the different kinds of magic in the world, but Taka wished there was an instruction manual or even a level system that let him know he was making progress.
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Not important right now, Taka thought to himself. Focus on what you can do now.
Taka looked at Zirko. The lizard man looked defeated, ashamed, and Taka couldn't help but pity him: Taka wanted to help. Taka took a deep breath, then began gathering mana in his head, trying to mimic how Beja had done it for him, but it just felt like he was gathering psychic magic; he released it, letting it flow back through his body. Taka felt frustrated with himself. He had awakened the magic, so he should be able to use it. Anger began to swell within him, and his heart heavy. Heavy... he thought to himself. He thought back to how the strange magic felt when he made the wall. It was concentrated in his head, but, did it have to be? Psychic magic was, and he had assumed that because Beja had somehow focused it there for him, that was where it stemmed from, but that was just an assumption: he hadn't read any books or even seen anyone else use that kind of magic before.
Taka thought about the heaviness, the danger he felt in the magic. He thought about the bird that attacked him and Maeve's partner, about Daldrus and what the fae did to Syla, about Rhoz...
Taka felt hatred swell in his heart, and he poured his mana into that. His bones chilled as the pressure inside of him grew, a storm brewing within him. Rhoz...
"Good," a voice called from within him. It was Beja, he realized; the god was watching. Now how will you save him? Beja asked mockingly.
Beja was watching him like a movie, a play -- except Taka wasn't an actor, and he didn't want his life to be manipulated for the sake of entertaining the gods. It's not fair, Taka thought to himself, guarding his thoughts from the deity, you're no better than Valish.
Taka felt something click as the magic in his heart burned. Taka reached out toward Zirko with the magic like it was his hands extending from him, and punctured Deon's barrier. Zirko heaved as he collapsed onto his knees as Taka continued to burrow his magic into the lizard man's aura, finding the strings of the darker blue pieces that didn't belong to Zirko, following them towards the source... and he found it. It was on the lizard man's nape, a speck... a seed, as Vanz'goran called it. It was small, a singular speck of magic, but strong -- so much power concentrated into a single spot. And it was hidden, too, the veins of dark blue mana extending from it weaving a web into Zirko's aura, concealing the seed from the outside. It was dangerous, and it was getting stronger by the second. Very slowly but steadily consuming Zirko's mana and strengthening its own tendrils of magic. Taka wrapped his mana around the seed as Zirko yelped in pain, and squeezed, crushing as hard as he could. Taka heard a loud popping sound through his telepathic links to Deon and Vanz'goran as a cloud of mana exploded from Zirko, knocking everyone in the room back. Taka flung backward into Deon, who hit the wall. Maeve braced Syla and took the brunt of the impact from the other side of the room, and both lizard men guards hit the desk behind Zirko with a crunch. Vanz'goran staggered back slightly but remained standing, his aura radiating brightly, almost overwhelming Taka's senses.
Zirko was panting heavily on the floor, groaning in pain. Deon coughed as he picked Taka up in his hand, and Taka squirmed around, re-centering himself. Maeve and Syla seemed to be fine on the floor, and one of the lizard men guards was checking on the other, who appeared unconscious.
"Is everyone alright?" Vanz'goran asked as he spun around as his aura returned to its regular state, and then spotted the downed lizard man. "Gyun?"
The conscious lizard man checked the pulse of his compatriot, "Aila is breathing, Your Majesty," the lizard man, Gyun, said. "Just unconscious"
"And you?" Vanz'goran asked.
"I am alright, thank you, Your Majesty."
Vanz'goran turned back toward Zirko and knelt before the whimpering lizard man. Did it work? Vanz'goran sent to Taka.
Taka closed his eyes and focused on the Magia around him. He felt Vanz'goran's strong presence, and Deon right next to him. Both of them must have typically concealed their true strength, Taka realized as he felt the Gyun's aura feel relatively close in strength to Deon's. Taka concentrated on Zirko's mana and examined it closely: there were remnants of the darker magic that had taken control of Zirko, but they were withering away by the second. The seed was gone as well. Taka let himself breathe again, and a wave of relief washed over him.
Yes, the seed is gone, Taka sent.
Taka saw Vanz'goran smile, a real, genuine smile. Vanz'goran looked at Taka with thanks in his eyes and nodded. It seemed like the retired Demon Lord's had made his judgment, and Taka had passed.
"Thank you, Sir Filo," Vanz'goran said. "But we haven't a second to waste."
Vanz'goran snapped his fingers and they were all suddenly in the demon's private study, where Taka spotted a resting Bick and an orc by his side he didn't recognize.
"We don't have long, so we must plan quickly," Vanz'goran said. "A war is on the horizon, and we need your help, Sir Filo."