Are NPCs allowed to just give out class quests? I thought I had to do some investigating myself… Though I’m not complaining if it’s a good class. But first… While Pamerun was waiting patiently for Q’s answer, Q wordlessly brought out Alrune’s Key.
For a moment Pamerun stared blankly, but then her eyes widened in shock and she stood up. “Th-that’s… Alrune’s key! I’ve been looking for it ever since I became one of the Grand Witches! Where did you get that!?”
“Some merchant was selling it.” Q shrugged.
“Wha- that can’t possibly…” Pamerun was struggling to accept that the item she had been searching for years, was being sold by some random merchant.
“It’s true master.” Lea interrupted. “I was there when she traded for it. To be honest I thought it was nothing but a strange wand.”
“This… please give me a moment.” Pamerun sat back down and began to compose herself. “Could I have a look at it?” She asked after a minute of deep breaths.
“Sure.” Q passed over the key to Pamerun, but as soon as Pamerun held it, it disappeared and reappeared in Q’s hand. “Uh… I didn’t do that.”
“I suspected this would be the case. It seems this key has decided that you are its owner.” Pamerun noted.
I guess that’s what the soulbound part of the description means. Q then nodded and asked Pamerun a question. “So what do you want to do with the key anyway?”
“Have you already heard about the Underground Library?” Pamerun pointed down.
“Yes! I told them!” Wendy spoke up and looked incredibly proud.
“Good. Now listen, deep within the Underground Library is a large locked door. It was created by Alrune, and has a small slit for a key. We’ve tried various methods to open the door, but we eventually realized that we must have the key. From going through the other founders notes, we figured out what it looked like and have been searching for it ever since. Now that we have the key, we can open the door. The only problem is...”
“I’m the only person allowed to carry it, and the Underground Library is dangerous… right?” Q smiled bitterly.
“Exactly. While the rest of the Grand Witches can gather up and escort you down there, we’ll attract the attention of the Guardians.” Noticing Q’s inquisitive look, Pamerun continued. “There are two large monsters constantly roaming the library. There’s the Guardian of Knowledge, and the Guardian of Wisdom. If they sense any strong magical auras they immediately head to that direction and eliminate it. Even us Grand Witches would have a hard time fighting against the Guardians while also protecting you.”
“So in short, I just need to get stronger to not be a hindrance right?”
“Indeed. To connect to our original topic, you should obtain a class in order to get strong enough to defend yourself.”
“Well I’d say I can defend myself relatively fine, but I definitely wouldn’t pass up the chance to use more magic. By the way, what kind of class is it?”
“The class is simply called ‘Witch’, and has different stages ranging from an apprentice witch, to a fully fledged witch, and finally to a grand witch. These two,” She indicated Wendy and Lea, “are still apprentices. The Witch class specializes in using hexes and powerful magic to weaken and ruin your foes. A Witch can use magic from any element, but has trouble when dealing with water and light. Furthermore Witches are physically weak, so they’re more suited for long-range fighting. Witches also have a natural affinity for potions and to a lesser extent enchantments.”
Q and Kukis nodded their heads as they contemplated the strengths and weaknesses of the class. While having strong magic at my fingertips sounds good, the weakness to close combat clashes a bit with my current fighting style… I wonder if there are any other options. Q stopped thinking and asked, “Are there any other classes I could get?”
Pamerun raised an eyebrow as she answered Q. “Well we do have a Hexmage, which is a class that is further specialized in weakening enemies and strengthening your allies. If you don’t like that there’s always the option to become a basic mage and specialize in some elements of magic. Other than that we don’t have any other classes we could give you.”
“Well if that’s the case I’ll go with Witch then.” Q finally answered after a minute of contemplation. I did want to use magic in the first place after all. And if my weakness is close quarters combat, I just need to avoid attacks right?
“If possible, I’d like to receive this class as well.” Kukis raised her hand.
“Haha, of course! New comrades are always welcome.” Pamerun had an elated expression.
“Master, are you sure it’s alright to give out that class so easily?” Wendy seemed worried.
“Yes, although I don’t agree with Wendy that often, I do agree with her now.” Lea added. “Giving this class to outsiders, and not to mention that they don’t look like they’ve had any formal magic training…”
“It’s alright you two,” Pamerun chided the two apprentices. “They don’t have any hate towards us, and more importantly we finally have an opportunity to open Alrune’s door.”
“Hold on a second.” Q interrupted her. “You keep implying that the outside world doesn’t like Witches. Is there any reason for that?” Knowing that her future class might be universally hated, Q became a little reluctant.
“Ah, that would be because of our ancestors. They used to openly perform experiments on small towns and villages without care for the populace. Sometimes it would be trying out new spells or potions, but many of the experiments ended up as failures, and those which weren’t failures usually left terrible side-effects on people. Of course, nowadays we don’t do such experiments but some stray witches out there might still follow the old ways…”
“I see… but if the witches were so unrestrained in the past, what finally stopped them?”
“Well, it was a combination of two things. First were the witch hunters, who were hunters trained specifically to kill witches and other monsters. The second was the Holy Church of Luxus, who began to send their apostles after us after we began dabbling in the dark arts.”
“Dark arts?” Kukis jumped in and had an inquisitive face.
“Yes, you might know it better as necromancy.”
“Oh~, well that’s pretty normal isn’t it?” Kukis looked at Q.
“Yeah, it’s pretty common in any game. Kind of makes me wonder how necromancers will work in this game... Oh no, since it’s a virtual reality, do we have to smell rotting flesh?” Q suddenly had an unpleasant expression on her face.
“Ew. That’s a gross thought. But maybe you can just constantly summon skeletons or something?”
“That works!”
Pamerun was quite surprised to see that the girls hadn’t reacted in the way she thought they would. “You aren’t… disgusted by necromancy?”
“Not really.” Q shook her head. “I’m slightly interested in it if anything, but I’d rather just use normal magic. Commanding large troops isn’t for me, so I’ll just stick to the Witch class. Speaking of which, when will you teach it?”
“Hahah! You adventurers sure are interesting. To not even care about the evils of bringing the dead back to life. But to answer your question, we will begin a crash course on magic immediately. I’d like to reach Alrune’s door as soon as possible, so we’ll be speeding through a lot of the lessons you would normally learn over a year or so. Wendy, Lea, can you send messages to the other Grand Witches? They need to know that Alrune’s key has been found.”
““Yes Master!”” The two apprentices exited the room to send messages.
“Now, let’s get started on your lesson shall we?” Pamerun had a childish grin on her face.
[New Quest!] - Magic 101
[Objective] - Learn the basics of magic and hexes from Pamerun and the other Grand Witches
[Rewards] - The Witch Class
*****
After an hour of Pamerun’s lectures, Q had a solid understanding of the basics of magic. The main thing to note was that magic is performed by using ‘mana’ to create a change in the world. Mana was present in everything in this world, in both creatures and the very air they breathed. According to Pamerun, casting a spell was basically forcing your own will upon your mana and shaping it according to what you need.
“Wait a minute, if casting a spell is just manipulating mana, do we need to use chants for the spell to use it?” Q asked a question which had been on her mind for a long time. “I mean, if you impose your ‘will’ are words really needed?”
“An excellent question Q!” Pamerun nodded approvingly. “While generally most mages use spells by chanting them, it actually isn’t necessary. But think about this for a moment, how would you impose your will upon mana?” Seeing that the two girls were stumped for answers, Pamerun continued. “Many mages chant to use their spells because the words help them focus on what they want to accomplish. Since words are interpretations of your thoughts, it allows the spell to come out with more clarity and power. But before you try using magic without chanting, you must know that you have to have a certain level of proficiency with the spell before you can do so.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
[New Skill!] - Silent Casting (Passive) You may now use spells and skills without calling out their name. Using these spells/skills in this manner causes them to take more time to use, and also increases the mana usage. Note: You must have a proficiency level of at least 8 before silently using abilities.
Awesome! Spurred on by the new skill, Q asked another question. “Then what about ‘skills’? I remember a friend using them without saying anything.” Q recalled the time when she and Neira were fighting the Lure Island.
“Skills are a bit different. They’re more or less the act of your body moving, with the help of your innate mana. Since you already have full control over your body and know how to perform actions in a certain way, the mana simply adds onto those actions and increases the speed or power. Of course there are some exceptions, but that’s generally how they work. You don’t really need to call out the skill name, but as with magic it helps when visualizing the end product.”
“Hmm…” Q decided to try out the silent casting as Pamerun temporarily became silent. Ember! Q shouted in her mind, and a small flame appeared in the palm of her hand. “No, that doesn’t feel right...” She continued to cast [Ember] and [Gust] when she could when they were off cooldown and tried to get a feel for casting the spell.
Wait a minute, maybe it doesn’t even need words. Maybe I just need to ‘force’ it into existence. Alright, let’s try this! Q imagined a small flame appearing in her hand and thought of nothing else. After a moment of intense concentration it appeared!
“Woohoo!” Q jumped up in celebration and accidentally caused the Ember to fly off into the air. Luckily it sizzled out after a few meters, or she might have started a small fire! Q then checked her mana and casting the Silent Ember cost about 3 more mana than it usually did. That and it took a long time to get to work. I bet the higher ranked spells will take even longer… It’ll be a while until I can fully utilize this in combat huh?
When Q sat back down, she finally noticed the looks of shock and surprise on Kukis and Pamerun’s faces. “What?” She asked while tilting her head. “Did I interrupt the lesson?”
“No… to think you’ve mastered silent casting moments after learning about it… Are all adventurers as prodigious in sorcery as you?”
“Nah, Q is just abnormal.” Kukis shrugged her shoulders helplessly.
Just as Q was going to make an amazing comeback (lol) they were interrupted by the door opening. More than a dozen people walked in, and all of them were holding different wands or staffs and wore colorful robes. Six of these individuals seemed to be older than the others, while the rest seemed to be around their teenage or preteen years. They’re all girls though… Well I guess I’m a girl as well. Q felt slightly odd being the only ‘male’ in this room now filled with females.
“Pamerun, where’s the key!? If this is another prank of yours I really will turn your apprentices into frogs!” A woman wearing light brown robes said.
“Now now Haeldrix, she wouldn’t joke about something as important as this. Isn’t that right, Pamerun?” Another woman wearing deep blue robes smiled and looked over at Pamerun.
“Of course, let me introduce you. This is the key bearer, Q.” Pamerun pushed Q to the front and whispered, “Show them the key or they’ll zap you to dust.”
“I, uh… Hi.” Q brought out Alrune’s Key, but the very moment she took it out it disappeared from her hands.
“So this is the key… woah!” A girl dressed in light grey robes suddenly materialized out of nowhere and had snatched the key out of Q’s hands. Of course the key was returned to Q’s hands, but the girl suddenly appearing had shocked Q.
“Cybil, what have I told you about taking other people’s things?” An older woman with the same color robes as the girl hit her on the head.
“Uu~ Sorry master.”
The room quickly filled with sound as each of the ‘masters’ began talking amongst one another or to their apprentices. Seeing this, Pamerun let out a sigh and then clapped her hands together. “Alright everyone, please calm down. Let’s talk about our future plans, shall we?”
Upon hearing her words, all the others in the room quieted down and began to listen. “Now,” Pamerun began, “The key has selected Q as its bearer so naturally, we cannot take it down to the Underground Library ourselves. I have decided to give the Witch class to Q in order to give her enough strength to protect herself, but obviously since we all want to investigate that mysterious door, we’re going to have to speed through the process of training her to be a witch.”
A lot of the other masters were mumbling in agreement and quietly discussed this situation amongst themselves. “So I assume you assembled us master to quickly teach them the basics of the elements and hexes?” The woman wearing the deep blue robe spoke up.
“Of course. After all, who better is there to learn from than the masters?”
“Great! I’m up first!” The woman named Haeldrix stood up and grabbed Q, who simultaneously grabbed Kukis. “I’m bringing her down to the Underground Library to train. I’ll be back when she can at least use tier 2 spells!” She then ran off with surprising speed, dragging Q and Kukis along with her.
“Haaah~ Impatient as always isn’t she?” Pamerun simply shook her head.
“Well you can’t blame her. She was the first one to find the door, so of course she’d want to open it.” The deep blue robed woman stood beside Pamerun. “Anyway, how much have you taught those two?”
“Just the basic ideas behind mana, and silent casting. Which Q managed to pick up within seconds, I might add.”
“I see. She’s quite talented isn’t she? But, did you teach them magic perception at least? If not they might fall prey to the traps in the Underground Library.”
“...Oops.”
*****
“Here we are! The Underground Library!” Haeldrix brought the two girls through multiple halls and a deep stairwell until eventually reaching an incredibly large door. The door had many different symbols and was radiating strong magical energy. The moment Haeldrix stopped in front of the door, it slowly began to open.
“Now listen, uh… J?”
“It’s Q.”
“Right, Q. The best way to gain experience is by experiencing things yourself! My magical lessons will be conducted right here in the Underground Library, and you’ll be fighting monsters daily.”
“That sounds pretty spartan…” Kukis let out a cautious look.
“Huh? Who are you? Ah, whatever. I’ll just teach you as well. I’ve been searching for apprentices you see.”
“O-okay.”
After half a minute of waiting, the doors fully opened and the three were temporarily blinded by a shining light. Once the light faded they could make out bookshelves which were at least three stories high. The library itself was maybe twice that height, and there were all sorts of things moving in the library, from strange spirits passing through the shelves, or small fairies dusting the books. While feeling incredibly excited, Q took her first step into the Underground Library…
...and then she died.
----------------------------------------
Her class is actually a long-range specialist. I've fooled you all.
Okay, that's not entirely true. Her real class lies within the depths of the Underground Library. This is just temporary so that she can actually learn skills to get through the place.
Slightly off-topic here, but what do you think the character's themes would sound like (if they had one)? I imagine Q's to be something like light-rock, while Brie's would be something like this. Not sure what Kukis' would be like.
Now that I've mentioned her, this is what I imagine Brie to look like:
Spoiler :
In game, but her hair is pure white and she has ruby red eyes.
http%3a%2f%2fdata.whicdn.com%2fimages%2f70314279%2flarge.jpg [http://data.whicdn.com/images/70314279/large.jpg]
That's all for now I suppose. Chapters may be a little delayed in release times because I got Monster Hunter Generations, and anybody who knows MH will understand. 'Till next time dear readers!
Fun-fact: If you chew gum until the sugar is gone (not sweet anymore) then it's easier to blow a larger bubble.