Still in a daze, Callum stumbled through the pandemonium. He felt like a ghost drifting through the chaos. His magic tutor and long-time mentor, Lirion, orchestrated the frenzied flurry of activity with effortless expertise.
Most of his gear had already been prepared and packed for him before his return. His Copper Ranked, level 1-10 equipment sets were primed and ready to go in a small spatial bag. All the while, the few servants and retainers left at the castle bustled around the two like they were the eye of a storm.
Callum nodded in agreement as Lirion detailed the current strategy for the first two weeks. His sister had scoured the new land for the best farming spots and party compositions, and by the end of the first week, he would hit level 5. This would allow him to choose his first major class ability and bring him halfway to unlocking his first mana node.
Although Callum was familiar with much of what was said, including which skills to select and the stat benchmarks to reach, he couldn’t resist the temptation to bring up his current stats on his System HUD. Unfortunately, upon arriving in Arcadia, he would be sent crashing back down to level one.
With a thought, a window appeared before him. It was seamless illusion magic that fit into his perception of the world. The rectangular image had the look of shimmering blue glass and floated about two feet in front of Callum’s face. He shifted his head to the left so the window followed his gaze, allowing him to keep Lirion in sight as he spoke.
Location: Venor Family Castle Name: Calumir Venor Class: Enchanter Level: 20 Titles: N/A Mana Gates: 2 Passives: Family Estate Buff, Domain of Power: Dark Elf, Enchanting Sense Racial Abilities: Dark Vision, Stealth and Shadows, Proficiency
Health: 192 Regeneration: 0.28 / second Mana: 786 Regeneration: 5.1 / second
Stat Points: Strength: 6 Dexterity: 10 Constitution: 20 Endurance: 9 Intelligence: 75 Wisdom: 58 Charisma: 20
The System had a way of evening the odds for newly integrated planets. The cost to join for those outside of the new planets, such as Callum’s, came at a steep price. All classes were reset upon reaching the new planet, which is why his family had never let him break through to the Iron Tier. Investing the resources in him was pointless if they would lose them during the integration, regardless, which is why he’d been sitting at the peak of Copper Tier for the last two years.
Callum dreaded the thought of losing his intelligence and wisdom stats, which had served him well until now. He winced as he recalled the feeling of losing his stats years ago when his family had transitioned him from the Scribe Class to the Enchanter Class.
As he stood in front of the mirror, dressed in his noble garb, Callum couldn’t help but feel the weight of the stress and the possibility of failure crashing down upon him. His purple robes, adorned with his family’s emblem, were immaculate, and his long white hair had been tied back into a tight ponytail by one of his retainers. Callum couldn’t help but notice his pointed ears, which stood out even more to him now that they were unadorned. He was accustomed to wearing several rings of gold on each ear, but those trinkets wouldn’t matter once he was on Arcadia.
Despite looking forward to the adventure that lay ahead, Callum wondered if he should just stay at the castle, where life was plush and predictable. His life wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t horrible, either. He had everything that he could want with his family.
“Wand, Book, and wits,” he said, tapping his pocket, his wand, and then his forehead in quick succession, echoing his mother’s words. She always reminded him never to leave home without those three things. She would say that Book was his constant companion and that his wits would keep him out of more trouble than his wand could fight him out of. The thought of his mother sent a pang of sorrow through Callum’s heart. She was the only one who understood him. Despite the Venor parents’ indifference to their children, she knew him better than all of his siblings.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
With the thought of his mother, Callum had a moment of inspiration. He stepped out into the hallway, ignoring Lirion’s surprised call. After several turns and a short walk, he ended up in a grand hallway that led to the central courtyard. On the wall were portraits of his parents, towering several heads above him. They looked flawless, captured years ago by one of the most renowned artists on the planet. Callum dipped his head in respect to his father’s likeness, then turned to his mother’s portrait and couldn’t help the warm smile that spread across his face.
“What would the two of you do if you were in my shoes?” he asked them, seeking their guidance through the uncertain turn of events.
Silence permeated the air, broken only by the soft shuffling of feet behind him. Callum had engaged in this ritual of conversing with his parents many times since he was a child. He liked to believe his words reached their ears, and, on occasion, he dared to hope for a response. But, as it always was, the only response he received was the sound of his own voice echoing in the empty grand hall.
“Your parents would be proud of you, Callum,” Lirion spoke from behind him, his words carrying a depth of sympathy. The younger elf noticed that he’d slipped to using Callum’s informal name, which was meant only to be used by the family.
Callum shook his head, knowing that his mentor understood his innermost desires better than anyone else. He longed for his parent’s recognition, but he also knew he hadn’t done anything worthy of it yet.
“Thank you for your kind words, Lirion. I know I have a long way to go compared to the others, but I believe my parents would see this situation as a challenge. They would have tackled it with the same tenacity that they did with every obstacle. I am going to give it my all during this integration,” Callum said. The conviction in his voice surprised him, though he found that the words resonated deeply.
His words weren’t mere bluster. They were a promise to himself. He would journey to Arcadia and prove his worth. Despite starting behind the others, he knew he could overcome the challenge with the support of those around him. This would be the story he would tell when he climbed to the top of the Arcadian Ladder.
As they walked towards the portal room, Callum recalled a memory from his youth. His father once said to him, “No story of power worth telling came easily.” The words lingered in his mind as he reflected on his recent rift dive. Callum wasn’t a natural fighter like his sister, but he had persevered. His skills in enchanting and wand-wielding had allowed him to succeed despite the odds. It was those details that he had been excited to share with the others.
As Callum strode into the grand portal room, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe at the eight portals spaced evenly around the circular chamber, each showing a hazy image of the lands beyond. Above each portal hung a banner of his family, adorned with purple fabric and gold trim, featuring a stylized Raven with frost creeping down its wings. The thick, rich fabric flapped lazily against the stone walls. Inside the portal ring, down a small step, was a large portion of his family, watching him with their raven companions perched on their shoulders, their intelligent eyes fixed on him.
The atmosphere was as chill as the ice magic that his family was renowned for, and the lack of emotion or encouragement from his family only served to emphasize their calculating and firm gazes.
As Callum surveyed the sea of his family members gathered in the grand portal room, he couldn’t help but feel a deep-seated annoyance at their predictable tactics. It was no secret that he had a tendency to buck against the family’s traditional ways, and yet, they persisted in attempting to strong-arm him into submission. By calling in all seven of his eldest siblings and likely every other local family member to stand in an intimidating ring around the portal room, they tried to assert their dominance over him and force him to follow their predetermined path.
Callum could feel their eyes boring into him. It was a small power play, a show of force, but one that grated on Callum’s nerves. He knew that this was just the beginning of what was sure to be a long and arduous journey, but he refused to be cowed by their tactics. If anything, it only strengthened his resolve to forge his own path and challenge the family’s traditions.
As the eldest of The Seven stepped forward, Callum could sense his oldest brother’s desire to give him a lecture on the betterment of the family’s interest. Anticipating the speech, Callum continued to stride toward the large golden portal hanging in the middle of the room with his head held high. The portal floated a few inches off the ground and stood well over four meters in height.
Callum smiled his first genuine smile since arriving through the gates that afternoon as he saw his brother’s brief look of confusion. But as he continued forward with confidence, the look on his brother’s face changed from curiosity to outrage. His aura billowed out from around him, causing the stones in a radius around him to freeze over. The pressure was just beginning to descend on Callum when, as his mouth opened to shout something, the younger sibling stepped through the portal, cutting off all their games before it could even get started.