Raze and Ritz become fully formed and all of the shadowy cloak of the forming apparitions fade. Becoming totally flesh and blood. Raze has an overall muscular and large body, fairly even weight distribution. A head of dark brown hair that is cut short and somewhat messy and windswept looking. His dark blue eyes looked over the assortment of weapons presented to him.
Ritz’s body forms rather quickly to completeness shortly after. Standing barely shorter, and quite a bit more heavyweight now. Around the 300 pound mark (approx. 136 kg) Raze smugly responds.
“Guess even a God’s magic couldn’t shave off all that weight in the end.” He looks over himself. “Huh. This reminds me kind of how my body looked when I was in late high school… early college, maybe?”
Ritz looks over himself as well. “Yeah… me too. Before I got extra heavy.”
Ritz’s body has longer dark black hair that lays straight down. Pushed out of the way of the face itself, framing the entire somewhat plumper face in its entirety. The hair is medium-length and makes it to the neck before stopping.
Chronus steps forward with a light grunt. “I have given you bodies comparable to when you were 21… maybe 22. Basically when you were in the best shape of your young adult lives. Now quickly, choose your weapon. I’m burning the candle at both ends now. I’ve set up your teleportation destinations just in case I lose grip on the two of you. Lest your souls be cast into a void abyss…”
Ritz steps forward and starts going for a large two-handed sword, but Raze stops him. “What do you think you’re doing?” Ritz looks confused before replying.
“What, it’s a big fuckin’ sword. Who doesn’t want a big fuckin’ sword?” Raze rolls his eyes and looks around. He locates a long spear and grabs a large square shield as well. Handing them over to Ritz. Before looking him over as he holds them.
Raze sighs. “You won’t after a day or two. You have no idea how to hold a greatsword properly. Let alone swing the damn thing. That spear is more your speed. Stick ‘em with the pointy end. Use your offhand to block them attacking you back. If you have good footwork and awareness, you’ll be a menace to anyone trying to approach you.”
Raze looks around and grabs a large two handed battle mace. An evening star design, but a bit larger. Complete with quite the spike at the head! “Oh. That’s got some good weight to it…” Ritz laughs out.
“Oh, so who wants a big weapon now?” Raze rolls his eyes as he performs a few practice swings. Responding after a moment.
“I do. I’m not a fan of shields and I like the extra reach and smashing power. Besides. A sword needs proper edge alignment to cut into a target properly. On a target dummy, you could probably manage it without much issue. But in a hectic battle? There’s no way. Not without probably years of practice. All you need for that spear is to stab ‘em. And this mace is even easier. Just smash ‘em with the business end!”
Ritz sighs and shrugs. “Okay Chronus! How do we do magic?”
Chronus waves his hand and two wooden target dummies appear. The wood is a bright beige color, and both have a red and white traditional style target painted on the torso portion. Both of them are human-sized, and are completed with a fake wooden sword and shield, mainly just for show.
“First I will teach you both how to channel mana from the air to create a spell. This is called ‘ambient mana’. The world is filled with it. Some areas more than others. Lift your hands and try to collect it into a sphere. A sphere is the most basic form for magic to be collected in, and comes to beginners very quickly. Breathe in and out. Your body will feel the mana and what comes next will be natural to you.”
Raze rests the head of his weapon on the ground and holds up his left hand. Ritz holds his spear in his shield hand and holds up his right hand. Both start to breathe in and out slowly. Raze closes his eyes and speaks up.
“He’s right… I can feel the mana. I can see it, but not see it at the same time. I know it’s there… It’s like a thin blue veil that you have to close your eyes to see.”
Ritz follows Raze’s lead and closes his eyes. Smiling. “You’re right! I can see it now that my eyes are shut and I’m focusing on sensing it…!”
Chronus smiles. “Excellent. Now imagine that mana being pulled into your hand. It will naturally collect itself into a sphere, as that is mana’s most basic form. Just focus on pulling it in. Like your hand is a vacuum.”
Raze and Ritz both grunt as they imagine it. The process is slow for the two of them, at first. But after about a minute of effort, both have a wispy blue sphere in their hands. However, once they open their eyes again they cannot see it. Both are still conscious of the presence, though. The sphere of mana has mass to it. Almost like holding onto a perfectly circular balloon.
Chronus claps. “Nicely done. You two are like fish in water. Now, imagine that mana turning into an element. Say fire, or water, or something like that.”
Raze and Ritz close their eyes and focus once more. Raze’s invisible sphere of ambient mana ignites, bursting into a brilliant orange and red flame. Ritz’s invisible sphere turns into a ball of flame as well a mere moment later. Chronus applauds again.
“It’s like you’ve been practicing for years! Now for the final part. Imagine the ball striking that target square in the chest. Point your hand out and think about it. Give it a go.”
Raze and Ritz perform the launching of the fire balls with ease. Striking their respective targets slightly off-center.
Chronus applauds the two and speaks up again. “If you wish to cancel out the spell, simply stop thinking about it. Spells require your mind’s focus to complete, so if you stop focusing on them, they fizzle out pretty much instantly. Likewise, if you are unable to focus, you will find yourself unable to cast spells. Beware things that disorient the mind.”
Chronus lets out a gasp and clenches once more. His hand comes to his face as his breathing escalates and grows rough. “Damn… not yet! I’m not done!”
Raze and Ritz look over with concern and Chronus stands back up tall. “Next, you must pull the mana from within yourself. Your mana pool is located in the center of your chest and is directly connected to your mind. This is ‘living mana’. It has quite a bit more kick to it than ambient mana does; because it’s a lot more concentrated. Your body will naturally take in ambient mana as you’re sleeping and convert it into living mana to replenish your mana pool overnight.”
Chronus coughs out. “I will teach you… a basic self-defense abjuration spell. It’s called ‘Barrier’. It’s a simple 1st level spell that many magical students learn to protect themselves.”
Chronus stands back up and collects himself. “Watch me very closely. Intently. Examine what I’m doing and try to replicate the spell yourselves. I will cast it slowly. But in battle, you will find you can create the barrier at a moment’s notice.”
He lifts his hand slowly with his fingers fanned outward and then quickly clenches it. Calling out the word “Block!” A thin, almost completely transparent shell of magic surrounds his body. The shell has a subtle blue coloration to it.
Raze and Ritz repeat the process. Lifting up their hands and then clenching it. Ritz calls out the word “Block!” just as Chronus did, but Raze does not. Both perform the spell without issue and Chronus smiles.
Ritz looks over to Raze. “You don’t have to say the word?”
Raze shakes his head no. “I said it in my head instead.” Ritz nods and then does the same. Gasping out. “Cool! That’s easier than yelling it out for sure.” Both shells of mana on Raze and Ritz fade away, as well as Chronus himself.
Chronus waves his hand and a surge of ambient mana becomes visible and surges forward toward both Raze and Ritz. Filling up their bodies and rejuvenating their mana pool.
He sputters out and stumbles. “I’m truly pushing it now… I cannot give a demonstration, our time is growing short. But, you can pump additional mana from your bodies into the spell. Basically, you can cast the spell at a ‘higher level’. Barrier is a 1st level spell. For each level worth of mana you pump into it, it can deflect greater and greater blows. But beware, the barrier does not last more than a handful of seconds before it dissipates.”
Chronus waves his hand and the two heroes are adorned with full leather armor from head to toe, but lacking a helmet. “I wish… I could teach you both more. But I have reached my limit. I can only teach you one final thing… enhancement magic.”
Chronus motions to himself. “As I said, enhancement magic enhances the body. I will perform a typical strengthening spell of 1st level. It will give you additional power for a short period of time.”
Chronus spreads his legs and flexes his entire body. “Strengthen!” He calls out the word. A dim pulse of brown-colored energy pulses from his body before settling over his skin. Like a thin veil of magical armor. His breathing is getting faster. “Do it! Do the spell!” He calls out. Struggling.
Raze and Ritz nod. Both get into the stance and flex. Calling out the word “strengthen” in their minds. Just like Chronus, their bodies gain the thin veil of brown over their entire body.
Chronus collapses and stumbles down to his knees before catching himself. Just shy of falling completely. Coughing out his last words. “I cannot… hold you here any longer. It feels as if my head will burst. Two heroes at once is… much more difficult than one. I will…” He gasps out to fill his lungs with fresh air once more. “I will leave you in the safest location possible. There is much I could not explain. I am sorry. Please do your best… for my daughters. And beware the undead horde. When an onslaught occurs, you both will be teleported to the sight of it to defend the area. Stay strong… and save Helenia.”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Raze calls out. “Wait! What’s an ‘onslaught’! That sounds really importan-!” His voice is cut off as a wave of cyan and teal energy floods over his body. “Ritz! Remember what he said! We have a psychic link we can tap into! Just think about talking to me and we can do it!”
Ritz yells back. “Be safe! Don’t let anything get to you!”
Raze nods and both of the two heroes vanish from the void in the middle of space. Leaving Chronus gasping for air as his body fades away. Becoming increasingly transparent before the entire space ceases to exist.
Raze’s eyes open and he’s in a densely wooded area. He pats over himself to check that everything’s there. His weapon, his armor, and his clothing underneath. He quickly checks his fingers, and flexes his toes to feel each one moving. Sighing out as he thinks to himself. “Yeah… I’m in one piece. Ritz…” The name echoes into his mind.
“Ritz!” more loudly, the name echoes out and he feels his mind link up with Ritz. “You good bud? I’m in the middle of some quiet woods. In one piece. What about you?”
Ritz responds, but his voice now has a slight echo to it. Ringing in the back of Raze’s mind. “I’m just outside of a large town… and yeah I’m in one piece too. I can see some people, but they haven’t noticed me in the middle of this field. They look human. But I think I see a dwarf too. That or someone is a lot shorter and more heavyset…”
Raze nods. “Alright, it sounds like you got put next to a decent place. I’m gonna look around and see if there’s any towns or villages near where I am. But it’s so quiet that I don’t think that’s the case… I’ll talk to you later, link back up with me if anything happens and I’ll try to talk you through it. I can’t get to where you are though… Just be friendly and I’m sure you’ll be fine. Don’t mention you’re from another world. Just pretend like you’re lost. If they ask where you’re from just say you aren’t really from anywhere and you’ve been traveling around from place to place. Fish for information carefully before you respond to questions.”
Raze thinks back to the image of the world’s map he briefly saw. The world is split up into 3 primary continents. One in the northern part of the world, one in the center, which is the largest, and finally another in the southern part. But a massive black blob is in the middle of that map. Pushing outward in every direction ever so slowly. Living civilizations have been pushed outward, and the biggest cities live on the edges of these continents. As far away from the undead horde as possible. While small villages near the borders of where the horde pushes further every year must continue to be abandoned. Causing a constant refugee crisis.
Raze lets out a sigh. “See you.” Ritz responds “Yeah. See you.”
Raze checks his equipment. “Damn. No food… Wait…” He looks around and in the corner of his eyes, he can see his current health and mana.
HP: 24/24
Mana: 14/14
“Spells… I need more spells. 3 isn’t gonna cut it…” As if responding to his words, a book opens in front of his eyes in the “HUD”. Raze waves his hand to see if the magical tome is actually there, and his hand goes through it. He can currently see his spells and their effects. Organized by spell level.
Cantrips (Mana Cost: 0):
Fireball (Destruction)
Using the ambient mana in the surrounding area, form a ball of flame in your hand, and then imagine it striking your foe! Causing the fireball to fly over and explode on impact!
At higher levels, more ambient mana can be collected to create a larger fireball.
Level 1 (Mana Cost: 2):
Barrier (Abjuration)
Verbal component: Block
Pulling a surge of living mana from your pool, you create an arcane barrier around your body to deflect an attack, physical or magical. The barrier lasts 10 seconds, or until broken.
At higher levels, the barrier can sustain more damage before breaking.
Strengthen (Enhancement)
Verbal component: Strengthen
Using living mana from your pool, you invigorate your body’s muscles and flesh with increased power. Granting you additional strength and durability for a short time.
At higher levels, your body will gain a much greater effect from the spell.
Raze shakes his head and then looks again, and the tome is gone from his view. The numbers for his Health and Mana can only be seen if he thinks about them. Raze gathers himself and pushes forward.
The forest is a rich green color, the trees climb up into the air dozens upon dozens of feet. Some go for over a hundred feet upward. And some even go beyond that. The trees are different from what’s on Earth. Their bark is much more rigid and rough looking. And the leaves are in an oblong shape. Stretched away from a standard oval vertically.
The bushes nearby shake and Raze jumps, grabbing onto his battle mace with both hands. Gripping the handle tightly as he looks toward the source. Soon, a brown-furred rabbit jumps out and runs past him at a high speed. Bouncing and jumping around the grass-covered forest floor before speeding off. Raze lets out a sigh.
“It’s just a rabbit… man I’m on-edge.” He hears rustling again, but this time much louder. He focuses on the sound a bit more and can hear the thumping of paws against the ground. “That’s… bigger. Oh no.” Raze looks around and quickly darts behind a tree away from where the rabbit had just run through the area. After a few moments, a large thud is heard. With the addition of sniffing and panting. Raze quiets himself and looks around the edge of the tree.
He sees a massive gray wolf. The size of a bear. A significantly more muscular physique to boot. Sniffing around the area, Raze slowly reaches up with his hand quietly to cover his mouth as he steadies his breathing to not make unwarranted sounds and to stay hidden. Barely poking his head out as the wolf slowly moves forward in the direction the somewhat small rabbit had gone. “Just move the fuck on already… Why are you still here?” Raze’s mind is racing, but he keeps his body steady. Slightly trembling as the wolf starts sniffing around more intensely.
“Don’t fucking tell me it picked up on my scent and now it’s looking for me!” Raze’s thoughts are starting to race, and his eyes dart around as he looks for a solution. “There’s no way I can outrun it. No way in Hell. It’s senses are way better than mine are, too. Do I have to fight it?... Or can I outsmart it? It’s just an oversized wolf…” Raze looks around the tree and notices the wolf inching closer. Currently about 20 feet away.
Raze’s thoughts continue to race. “It’s gonna hear me the second I move… fucking… fuck! I just got here, why now? And such a big creature too! That must be a full blown dire wolf!”
Raze’s mind is running a mile a minute now. “I need a different spell… something that’ll make me quiet! But I don’t have a living example!”
He starts thinking to himself quickly as the dire wolf inches forward step by step. Sniffing in semi-circular motions.
“Enhancement magic… yeah. I can strengthen my body. But that isn’t the solution here. If anything, I felt a little bit heavier. No. Making myself lighter won’t fix anything. I’ll still make noise. Maybe… maybe… what can I do?!”
He lets out a low, quiet, and deep exhale from his nose. “No. I need an illusion. Something to hide me…!” Raze thinks and gets an idea. “If I use the living mana in my body and coat my body with it like a shell over my skin… and have it reflect all of the light, I’ll be totally invisible… But then I’ll be blind because my eyes aren’t getting any light. Okay… so I need holes for just my eyes. Just in that spot…!”
Raze lifts his hand and starts to gather mana from inside of his body. Imagining it covering his body like a shell, and gaining a perfectly reflective surface. No. It’s not enough. He needs more mana for this spell. He draws in more, imagining the mana bouncing the light away. Leaving only his own eyes exposed. He lets out a deep exhale and allows the collected mana to wash over his body. “Hide me.” Completely obscuring it as he intended. Leaving only his deep blue eyes exposed. The shell of illusion magic on his body reflecting all light away. Giving the appearance of nothing being there.
The tome appears in his vision and it reads “Spell Learned: Lesser Invisibility”.
Lesser Invisibility (Level 2 Illusion)
Verbal Component: “Hide me”
The user cloaks their body with their mana to obscure their visual presence for up to 10 minutes, when the user’s focus breaks, or when the user attempts to fight or cast another spell that requires focus.
At higher levels, the spell’s duration increases drastically.
“I did it!” He looks over his hands and body. Unable to see any of it. But his eyes are still working. He looks over his shoulder and sees the wolf has closed nearly the entire distance. He takes a deep breath and makes a run for it. The dire wolf’s head raises, and it prepares to pounce, but it looks confused as it cannot see anything there. It follows along with Raze, following the noise of his running footsteps. But the lack of any visual presence completely confuses the dire wolf.
Raze looks behind him and sees the puzzled dire wolf trying to determine what is going on. It clearly wants to pounce on him, but without any visual target to pounce on, it’s at a loss as to what to do next! The problem is now that the dire wolf isn’t giving up and going away!
Raze grits his teeth as he thinks. “You gotta be kidding me! It’s just running blind and confused! Go back to the rabbit! This spell ate twice as much mana as those 1st level spells!”
Raze continues to run away as best as he can. Trying to outmaneuver the dire wolf to no avail. It knows the terrain too well and can keep up without issue. What’s worse. It’s starting to lunge at the air blindly. Just following the noise. But it always comes up short due to not having a target to strike.
“Shit… I’m gonna have to fight this thing! But I need a place where it doesn’t have the advantage… somewhere open!” Raze looks around in all directions while running and just barely in the distance he can see a clearing that leads to a wide-open grassy field to his right. He dips to the right suddenly and dodges the dire wolf right on his trail. Nearly stumbling for a moment before running straight for the field. His boots are now stomping into the hard ground and creating more noise than before. The dire wolf’s paws thump against the ground repeatedly. Picking up speed.
He enters the field and runs about 30 feet inward and evades the dire wolf’s lunge once more. This one is particularly close. He can hear the chomping of the massive wolf’s teeth as it lands on the ground in front of itself. Having missed yet again. Raze pulls the battle mace from his back and lets out a sigh.
In his mind, he calls out. “Strengthen. 2nd level!”
The lesser invisibility spell dissipates from his body and is replaced by a slightly thicker, brighter brown-colored shell over his body instead of dull brown. Having been pumped up with extra mana. “My mace feels like a small stick now… I should be able to swing it like twice as fast!” He looks over to the dire wolf and starts circling around in a showdown between man and beast.
Raze lets out a deep breath as he readies himself. “I can win. I can win my first fight!” Thinking about his current health and mana, he checks himself before engaging.
HP: 24/24
Mana: 6/14
He lets out a deep breath. "Full health. Almost half of my mana left. I can win."