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New Reality: 21 March 2025, The Balkans
While returning to the village riding a dragon was tempting, it was not worth scaring the people all of a sudden, so Ardent let his mount roam the pastures and settled for running. He looked for his father-in-law everywhere but it was like Martin had disappeared.
For the untrained eye, the village looked small, but Ardent knew better. That was only the center, there were hamlets and houses spread in the forests around, and over three thousand souls called that place home. So, the logical choice was to ask Myrtle.
He rushed to their small cottage. As he opened the door, he bumped into a busty milkmaid, the daughter of a neighbor, the one with the largest cow herd. The girl jerked, startled, then blushed, her cheeks turning beet red.
"Thank you for explaining classes to me!" she yelled toward the back of the house. "Oh, hi, ARDENT!" she bellowed.
"Hi, neighbor," Ardent sighed, getting out of the way so she could exit. "Good to see you." The last words were added with a slight roll of eyes. Life was complicated in a bandits' village. The untold rule between him and Myrtle was that prostitutes didn't count as cheating, while he was away, but she also had a BFF who was obviously more than that.
"Did you notice Ileana got a Healer class?" Myrtle asked, arriving in the common room that also served as a kitchen. Her skin was flushed and she was still arranging her skirt and blouse.
Due to you, I presume, Ardent thought, but voiced another thing. "Have you seen Popa? He's nowhere."
"Have you tried the pub?" Myrtle said with a little growl. This meant his arrival had not interrupted anything important, but if he'd come later, it would have been better.
"Of course, the pub!" Ardent slapped his forehead. There was no 'too early to drink' for Martin.
After kissing her on the cheek, he rushed out. The pub was one of the larger buildings in the village and for due reason. However, at that hour, it was mostly empty. Martin and Francis were chatting together, sharing some raki and beer.
"Hi, your Majesty," Ardent nodded. "Pops, I need a favor," he addressed Martin the way the priest liked most.
"Sure, son," Martin smiled. It meant he was ninety percent sober.
"Do you have more than one Fate Point? And if so, can you gift me one? I'll gift it back to you as soon as possible, but I badly need one now."
"I'm pretty much sure that's called borrowing," Francis mumbled in his beard.
"Moment…" Martin frowned. "The voice in my head says I have six… Please, voice, give one to Ardent," the priest said.
Martin Martin initiates a trade. Do you accept 1 Fate Point? Y/N
Yes. "Pops, didn't the System install reading knowledge in you?" Ardent continued aloud.
The priest frowned, concentrating on something. A second later, his eyes lightened. "Blyme! Didn't even notice. This is fantastic! Who needs school anymore? Fuck school's mother in the ass, today and tomorrow!"
"It covers only elementary school knowledge," Francis intervened, his scholarly pride ruffled. "Wait," he called to Ardent as the youngster turned to leave. "Here is something from me too. For free, no need to pay it back."
Francis initiates a trade. Do you accept 3 Fate Points? Y/N
"You're sure?" Ardent asked.
"I have ten more," the king said. "It's the least I can do to say thanks for taking me with you on this adventure. It's so much fun than my boring court!"
"Well, thank you, your Highness," Ardent bowed. As he exited, rubbing his hands, he could hear Francis continuing the discussion.
"Your village can be a pilot for a commune. And by commune, I mean—"
Lacking the patience to return to the previous location, Ardent aimed toward a closer clearing, small and uneven. No one bothered to let animals browse there, and children played there only occasionally. To his luck, it was empty.
"I want to buy the Elemental Knowledge Package," he said aloud.
Confirm buying Package of Elemental Knowledge? Y/N
"Yes… Oh, fuck!"
The influx of energy and information in his brain and body was quite severe now. He had to sit down and wait for over fifteen minutes until the sensation eased.
"That was quite intense," he sighed.
The Package of Elemental Knowledge (lightning) has been installed. You have now access to the following Epic spells, all starting at tier F: Imbue Lightning (Weapon enchanting), Major Electric Shock (Unarmed melee attack), Electric Aura (close range Aoe), Basic Plasma Forcefield (Defense), Basic Lightning Reflexes (Buff).
A Trade-off has been calculated. While accessing other Schools of Elemental Magic is still possible, you will be limited to Grade C spells for any other element but Lightning.
A neutral voice spoke in Ardent's head, simultaneously as a text appeared.
Bespoke Tutorial: Do you wish to expand the spells' descriptions or try to apply them directly?
"Neither," Ardent shook his head. "Are you able to guide me on how to gain more advanced spells?"
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
Bespoke Tutorial: Affirmative. The easiest advanced spell to learn is Fireball. While the name could produce confusion with a similar spell from the Fire Magic School, this variant involves surrounding a hot plasma blob into a forcefield and launching it forward with a magical impulse. Do you wish to learn the first step: Creating Plasma?
"You know what? I'd rather experiment with better stuff. Like… lightsabers?" he grinned.
BespokeTutorial: Moment… assessing your current status and abilities. Affirmative. That kind of spell is within your power. However, the Bright Ray Rapier name will be used instead of the appellation you pronounced, because copyright laws are still in effect on several planets of the Multiverse. Do you wish to go into step one: Creating Plasma?
"Whatever," Roy growled. The new name was not so cool.
Bespoke Tutorial: Concentrate on creating an imaginary line in front of you, and project your Mana over it. Slowly try to heat air along the line, by using your instinct.
Furrowing his brow, Ardent did as told. Soon, the air in front of him began to shine brightly, and the heat was palpable.
Bespoke Tutorial: A first try success. Congratulations. Provide a handle for the Bright Ray Rapier, and imagine a forcefield starting from the hilt and going up the heated line. Stop it when you feel your Mana spending is too high.
Taking a dagger out, Ardent tried to obey the instructions. First, he pushed the knife's blade into the plasma, then he started the forcefield. That felt even easier than making plasma. Keeping an eye on an indicator of his Mana Points, he made the sword about two feet and a half in length, when his pool began to diminish at a faster rate, about a point per second.
It was a start, nevertheless. He held a lightsaber in hand and was as happy as possible. Now, he had to test it before his mana went out. Spreading his weight on both his feet, Ardent made an oblique cut toward a nearby dead tree.
The weapon was too fast, with no mass to speak of. In a blink, it hit the tree and then jumped back, escaping his hand and hitting him in the face. Taken by surprise, Ardent yelled and fell on his back while the weapon disappeared.
"What the fuck?" Getting back on his feet, he patted his face. His eyebrows were singed, but otherwise, there was no damage. On the tree, the bark was burnt at the point of impact, maybe a tenth of an inch deep.
Bespoke Tutorial: Congratulations on learning an important lesson. Not everything seen in the movies works. A plasma melee weapon is unwieldy and can be easily countered through forcefields or guns. However, you now know the basic steps for making a Fireball. Do you want to—
"You're sentient or something?" Ardent asked, suspicious because of the slight sarcasm the tutorial showed.
Bespoke Tutorial: This tutorial is not sentient. Nevertheless, it includes a pedagogical subroutine for stubborn pupils. Many races in the Multiverse are reluctant to logical suggestions.
"Like me?"
Bespoke Tutorial: This tutorial cannot make judgment calls. Do you want to continue learning Fireball?
"You're worse than Myrtle when she wants to make me do something… How about making some ranged stuff? Like a photon… no, that's light… a plasma torpedo?" Ardent's head was tucked between his shoulders, he was hoping for the best but the lightsaber experiment had been disappointing.
Bespoke Tutorial: A Plasma Torpedo is a hot plasma blob enveloped in a forcefield. Aka, a Fireball. Do you wish to learn Fireball?
"FINE! I want to learn Fireball!" Ardent screamed, clenching his fists.
Bespoke Tutorial: You already know the first two basic steps. Instead of creating a line of plasma, create a ball, and envelop it into a forcefield. Despite the forcefield, if you continue to feed mana into the plasma sphere, it will become hotter and bigger, for greater damage. Then, imagine giving it a magic impulse. Albeit recreating an electromagnetic accelerator without Manatech is next to impossible, with practice, your Fireballs' speed can match an arrow's.
You cheat! You didn't mention making the plasma hotter while I was on the lightsaber, Ardent thought while starting to work. He didn't put much effort into it, launching the Fireball at a small size and aiming at the grass, thirty feet away. The result was beyond his expectations. A bright explosion, but with only a muffled woosh sound, and a patch of grass five feet in diameter had transformed into ashes.
"Neat!" Ardent cheered, pumping his fist in the air.
Bespoke Tutorial: This tutorial detects a considerable talent for applying the Lightning element on your part. Your Stats Synergy is offering you a great advantage. Suggestion: applying a coat of plasma or electricity to your weapons, or even bullets could add burning damage or the Stun effect. Advancing your forcefields and shields first is advisable; without enough mastery, this effect can make your gunpowder explode.
"This is interesting," Ardent nodded. "Tell me something. You said things from the movies don't work so well… What about… err… multi-frequency shields or disrupting torpedoes?"
Bespoke Tutorial: Games or movies can lure the mind of a mage into a delusional world of fiction. That said, it is theoretically possible to replicate that effect at a smaller scale through experimentation. No previous occurrence is recorded in this tutorial's memory. Except for manatech armors, aka battle suits and spaceships, of course.
"Sounds like a plan," Ardent stretched, and yawned. "Now, I'd rather take a break from elemental stuff and buy Shadow Step. I need something to move fast at a distance."
Bespoke Tutorial: This tutorial will join with the main tutorial present in your System. You have been assessed to be in dire need of the Pedagogical subroutine.
"Don't do that, I'm totally fine," Ardent rushed to say.
Joint Tutorial: Warning. Shadow Step is NOT a way to travel long distances. Be aware that multiple abilities or spells with similar names are in existence, and create confusion. For instance: Step INTO the Shadows, Shadow JUMP, Step TO Shadow. Carefully reading the description of each ability is counseled.
"I need something to close the distance for an attack or avoid a hit."
Joint Tutorial: Shadow Step is a good choice. It bends space around you and makes you become a shadow for a split second, moving in any direction to a maximum of ten yards, at tier F, at which this ability starts.
"That's why I thought in the first place. C'mon!"
Joint Tutorial: Analyzing your current abilities. Putting together suggestions for an optimum build. Acquiring Silent Step as soon as possible is strongly advised. Macro-ing Silent Step and Stealth together will increase your sneaking undetected chances by 200%.
"Thank you very much. Now, goodbye and don't forget to write… OK. Let's buy Shadow Step," Ardent rubbed his hands, impatient to finally get his first movement skill.
Joint Tutorial: The second suggestion would be to use a Fate Point ASAP to evolve your Mimic Ribbon into a living weapon. Its characteristics would make it versatile and next to indestructible.
"Sorry, you were saying?" Ardent's attention went suddenly up at the mention of a super rare weapon.
Joint Tutorial: Provided a suitable handle, the Ribbon will fuse with it, then you will be able to use it in various forms, controlling it with your mind. It will be a vastly superior weapon to a lightsaber.
"Blyme, you really hate lightsabers, don't you? Very well, I'll evolve Meantongue on the first occasion. Now I need a moment alone to check Shadow Step," Ardent said, buying the ability in eagerness.
Joint Tutorial: Please rate the satisfaction provided by this tutorial on a scale from—
"Shut up already, you wanker, fuck your mother in the ass today and tomorrow," Ardent screamed.
Joint Tutorial: This tutorial is going into sleep mode.