Immediately, Jeb compared the Glyph he’d drawn to the Glyph in the Primer. He saw the issue, and felt dumb. Working from memory, he connected the twenty fifth point to itself twenty five times, like he had with Least Move Earth (Efficient). That wasn’t where it should go in the new Glyph, though.
Actively focusing on his Meditation, Jeb went through the Glyph again, making sure that he put each secondary path correctly. Unlike the time before, however, Jeb made an active effort not to consult the Primer. He had a suspicion that leaning on his Skills more might make them more effective in the future. Even if not, Jeb had a feeling that relying overmuch on Primers was a dangerous game to play.
When he made it to the thirty seventh point, he connected it to itself thirty seven times. This is going to get really repetitive if Higher Tier Elements keep having more points, Jeb thought absently. Still, at least he wouldn’t have to keep count.
As soon as Jeb linked the final loop from the last point to itself, the Glyph faded from his mind. He felt it imprint on his soul, and a quick look at his Status Sheet showed that he had learned the Glyph.
Looking at his Least Mud Magic Quests confirmed it as well.
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Congratulations! You have completed the Minor Quest Minor Quest Third Tier “Learn a Mud Spell” You have taken the first step in becoming a true Mud Mage, fusing the Magic of Earth and Water. Rewards: 74 Experience, Mana +75
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After looking at his Status Sheet, Jeb noticed that his voice felt refreshed again. He tried singing a few notes, and he was happy to hear and feel that it was.
Jeb passed the rest of the day singing as his voice allowed. When his voice felt tired, Jeb cast Least Create Water and slaked his thirst. The first time he did that, Jeb realized how little Magic he had been using since he got his Class.
Even the day before he had his Class, Jeb had been emptying his Mana pool at least three times a day. He realized how much he was rejecting something he’d loved, entirely out of spite. That realization hit Jeb hard.
After all, no one else in his family had spent late nights trying to learn Glyphs. If Jeb was honest about his feelings towards Magic before getting his Class, he might have chosen the Class for himself. That didn’t mean he was giving up on his dream to become a Farmer Mage, of course, but it did help him cool down.
Of course, explaining himself to the silent hive didn’t bring him as much comfort this time as it had the day before. Then again, this was a more self-critical realization, so that made some amount of sense.
On the bright side, Jeb now had another task to occupy his time while waiting for his voice to recover. Jeb tried casting Least Create Mud and was unsurprised to see a steadily growing pile of mud appear as his Mana drained.
I wonder, he thought, can I control the shape that the Mud comes out in? It seemed like it should be possible, but he had no way of knowing for certain. He had made Least Shape Earth plow furrows in the ground, so he had faith that he could change how this Spell worked, though.
Jeb knew the importance of a control in his tests. He cast the Spell, trying hard not to focus his Mana towards anything in particular. A pile of mud started to form. It looked more or less like what Jeb expected a pile of mud to look like, completely nondescript.
Maybe I can make it taller? Jeb thought, recasting the Spell. This time he imagined the pile as taller, defying gravity like a great monument to Mud.
At first, Jeb thought it was working. The new pile seemed to be growing taller faster than the last had. Then, of course, as mud is oft to do, the tower collapsed.
His second pile might have been slightly taller than the first, but Jeb wasn’t sure how much of that was just him hoping so. Jeb remembered his Mana Manipulation Quest. Maybe what he’d done so far was good enough to earn that Quest?
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Modify a Spell Glyph (Repeatable) Change the effect of a Spell, either while casting or by modifying a Glyph To learn how to control your Mana, you must move it outside of the paths that others have set for it. Break free from the bonds of the past.
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No update meant that Jeb apparently hadn’t changed the Spell enough. He spent the rest of his Mana working to find a way to shape the mud differently as it was Created. None worked, but he was enjoying every minute of his efforts. After all, he was literally Creating Mud out of nothing.
Well, nothing but Mana, at least.
When he made his way back to the house for dinner, it was clear to everyone that his spirits had been lifted. His grandfather put it best. “I’m glad to see that you’re feeling better Jeb,” he said, “what changed?”
“I just realized that if I’d been given a choice and I was honest with myself, I probably also would have chosen a Magical Class.” Jeb said. As the words came out of his mouth, he realized what he had said.
Unlike the looks of disappointment or anger that he’d been expecting, the rest of his family smiled brighter. They’d all assumed something similar when he’d been focused on learning Glyphs.
“But,” his grandfather explained, seemingly ignoring what Jeb had said, “telling someone that they have the class they’re meant to never works out when someone is unhappy. If you hadn’t gotten to this conclusion soon, we would have had to have a talk.”
The next week went by more or less the same. Jeb woke up in the morning, accomplished his daily Quests to raise his Physical Statistics, and then spent the rest of the day training his voice and Mud Magic by the bee hive. Seven days later, as he was getting ready to go home for the night again, he finally saw the Notifications he had been waiting for.
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Congratulations! Due to your efforts and growth in singing, you have unlocked the General Skill: Singing.
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This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
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Congratulations! You have two Musical Skills! You have unlocked the Synergy Skill: Musician.
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Congratulations! For establishing a new bee hive, you have unlocked the General Skill: Pollination.
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Those were all nice to have. At dinner, he told his aunt about his new Skills, and the table congratulated him.
“The Bard told you to go visit him again once you unlocked Singing and Musician, right?” his aunt asked.
Jeb thought back to his last conversation with him. “Yes. Oh,” he said, realizing what that meant.
“I understand, Jeb. We can start you on Brewing when you get back, or the next day, depending on how long the Bard wants you for.”
The rest of dinner passed by quickly, and Jeb went to sleep. In the morning, he woke up and ran through his daily Quests. After breakfast, Jeb went to go see the Bard.
“Congratulations on the new Skills!” the Bard remarked when he saw Jeb.
“I didn’t hear any music this time,” Jeb said.
The Bard looked confused for a moment. After a moment, he nodded in understanding. “Oh, I didn’t use my Identify Skill,” he explained.
“Then how did you know I’d gotten new Skills?”
“Because every time that I’ve told you to come back when you have new Skills, you have.”
That made sense to Jeb, and he started nodding. “Remember,” the Bard went on, “part of being a performer is dramatic effect. If you learn to use it, you’ll end up needing to use less magic, which means you can save your Mana for what’s important.”
As was becoming a trend with the adults in Jeb’s life, he was sure that he was missing a lot of the meaning behind their words.
“Well then, now that you have Musician, you should start working to get Bardic Magic,” the Bard said, glossing past his words.
“How do I do that?”
“Do you remember the Song I showed you last time?”
Jeb focused, trying to catch the music that had been floating by him since that day. He could almost hear it, but knew that he wouldn’t be able to play it right now.
“Yes, but I don’t think I can find it right now,” Jeb admitted.
The Bard nodded. “Truthfully, I would have been shocked if you could.” He started playing. “Can you hear it now?”
Rather than speak, Jeb took out his lute and started playing along. He remembered the advice to watch his Mana, and so he kept an eye on it even as the Bard stopped playing. Jeb was glad he had learned a Mud Glyph. The extra Mana was really helping right now.
As Jeb watched his Mana tick down, though, he slowly stopped the Song.
“Your ability to catch onto the Song so quickly bodes well for your success in learning Bardic Magic. But, let’s talk about that.”
Jeb’s Status Sheet at End of Chapter:
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Jeb Human Age: 16 Class: Least Mud Initiate Level: 1 Experience: 1781/100
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Total Statistic Load: 182 Physical Load: 109 Strength: 25 Dexterity: 18 Endurance: 27 Vitality: 35 Presence: 4
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Mental Load: 73 Intelligence: 21 Willpower: 20 Magic Affinity: 16 Mana Depth: 3 Charisma: 13
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Mana: 335
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Glyph Attunement: 9 Least Conjure Water Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Earth Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Earth Tier 1 Spell Least Create Earth Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Earth Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Earth - Efficient Tier 3 Spell Least Move Air Tier 1 Spell Least Create Fire Tier 1 Spell Least Create Mud Tier 2 Spell
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Skills: Least Mud Magic Meditation Mana Manipulation Spell Glyphing Improved Glyph Groking Gift of Gab Running Identify Soil Savvy Animal Handling Fertilizing Lifting Athletics Lute Playing Singing Musician Pollination
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Achievements: Focused Meditator Student of Magic
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Quests: Major: Slay the Dragon of the West (Progressive)
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