Chapter 33

Black smoke rose up from different areas around Marie. This happened the moment she entered my sphere, the slightly visible boundary that separated the real world from my Disruption Field of effect.

As soon as she crossed the threshold of my sphere, she clutched her chest as smoke rose up from her body in vaporous plumes of thick smoke. All while she desperately tried to breathe.

Immediately I went over to her, only to smell the scent of rotting eggs and burnt copper emanating from her.

At this point, I was glad I had a mask on, for the smells were only remotely bearable with the mask on. Being this close, I could only imagine what the smell and my reactions would be like had I not had the mask on.

Even still, the black smoke immediately stung my eyes, letting me know that it was caustic in some way.

“Grab her and pull her here, towards the center of your Disruption Field,” GMS Rikt said, his command denoting confidence and seemingly offering a form of understanding of the events going on right now.

Being as he both called Marie over here, and seemed to almost expect this based on the way he calmly stood at the center of my stationary formation and just watched, let me think he knew what he was talking about.

Hearing his words and confidence, I reached down and princess carried Marie.

For a moment I thought I would have to cast a Physical Strengthening spell, but apparently my morning workouts with Lady Von’Graysing were not for nothing, as I was able to easily lift the girl who seemed to be far lighter than her otherwise imposing form should be.

Carrying Marie over, I stared up at Rikt and all but asked.

Moving Marie was a lot easier than I expected, particularly if I did so quickly. The reason for this was, while there was a slight burning itch to the dense smoke that was rising from her body when I was over her. The moment I was up and moving, I was able to easily out pace the creation of the smoke, allowing me to both see and breathe through the mask easier. Though unfortunately there was still a lingering taste of the vile smoke that still remained within my mask.

For the moment, I fought through the minor discomfort and brought over Marie.

Marie for her part was also helpful, as she used her left arm to drape over me and to try to help share the load, while her right hand desperately gripped at her heart.

“What do we do?” I asked, a note of fear in my voice. Fear that I didn’t quite think I would exude, at least not at this particular juncture.

“Place her here at the center.” Rikt said, gesturing to a spot right before his feet.

Seeing the spot, I moved over and then dropped to one knee before being close enough to gently place Marie De’Claire’s still steaming body on the ground. Though fortunately by this point, the smoke she was creating was far weaker than it had been when she first entered.

“This my dear apprentice is the touch of the void.” GMS Rikt said, his words taking on a lecturing quality that while appreciated, I didn’t want to hear. This was why, I broke character, broke the script and instead spoke from the heart.

“Look, she is clearly in pain. Now tell me what I need to do to save her first, then give me the lecture!” I state, while I didn’t raise my voice, I didn’t need to. I used level commanding tones that spoke of barely controlled rage ready to spew forth.

I don’t know what I expected to happen at this point.

Maybe I expected him to get angry, to likely cower in fear slightly at the sudden change in my demeanor, something.

Well anything other than what actually happened, which was the old man just paused and looked me in the eyes for a moment. Seeing that for the challenge that it was, I stared back. This was Marie, while she might be a throw away character that most people avoid, she had depth. She clearly cared for someone, and had love, emotions. In fact, I dare say that thinking back on my time with her, I had fun, even in choir class with her.

For all of these reasons and more, I was willing to break the script and end what could possibly be a once in a lifetime training opportunity with the Grand Master Sage, the last living true master of the Ancient magics. I was willing to throw it all away to save this unfortunate girl, who already showed signs of being corrupted by the void.

Our two eyes glared at each other for what felt like an eternity, all while burning streams of smoke continued to rise up off of Marie. Being so close, I could feel the heat being created as the two forms of energy met, my Disruption Field, and the apparent void energy that surrounded Marie. Fortunately, the amount of heat being released was getting, but that didn’t mean that Marie was safe.

In fact, in this world I knew all too well that just because something looked like it was dealt with didn’t mean that it was completely fixed. This was why I wanted to know what to do.

I also knew, that Healing magic wouldn’t work. Something about the void corrupting the Healing, that or the void possibly being more powerful than Healing magic itself. Honestly, that part never made sense to me and sounded like some lame excuse on why Marie would suddenly have a boat load of magic resistance, making it so physical fighters would be more important to take down the Dark Saint.

Finally, after a long minute GMS Rikt reacted, with a slight chuckle and an appreciative nod he smiled.

That’s right, the Grand Master himself, the wandering magician who only gave random words of advice to the party, only when Karen was present smiled.

“I take it you care deeply for this girl?” GMS Rikt asked.

“You mean, do I care that she survives this and is able to fully recover? Then yes.” I reply.

Grasp.

At that, I feel Marie’s hand grab my shoulder a little tighter, but that doesn’t quite matter at this point, as I am still in a partial staring competition with GMS Rikt.

Rikt for his part just looks at me, and then seems to smile wider.

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Somehow he is very handsome for an older man, especially when he smiles, as that seems to reveal a slightly more gentle person that has been hiding behind a stern exterior for so long.

“Well good, that will make this next part even easier.” GMS Rikt says, before turning his attention up and slightly to the left. There peering over my shoulder, he waves and seems to flag someone from the crowd.

Turning slightly, I look to see that he is flagging down Magister Carthwright. The Magister for this part, seems somewhat hesitant to enter my field of disruption, but then quickly increases his pace upon entering. Almost as if he needed to talk to someone very important.

That said, GMS Rikt might just be someone very important, as apparently the whole campus went off in celebration at his arrival.

As Magister Carthwright got closer, it was clear that there was trying to move as quickly as possible to try to accommodate GMS Rikt. While approaching Magister Carthwright opened his mouth as if to speak, but was quickly cut off by Rikt who began giving out orders.

“Magister Carthwright, I need to take both of these students under my purview.” GMS Rikt stated.

Magister Carthwright for his part just looked at the two of us, then seemed to come to a conclusion.

“Your Grace, the one that we already discussed should not be a problem, as she is not affiliated with any particular house or holding.” Magister Carthwright began, but then seemed to pause in the way diplomats would, when trying to come up with the correct word choice to tell their boss no, but in a polite manner. “That said, Marie De’Claire here is a noted retainer of the Roseblade household.”

There was a pause as GMS Rikt just stared at Magister Carthwright, as if waiting for more to come. Finally, after a long second’s pause, where it was clear that Magister Carthwright was done stating his objections, GMS Rikt replied.

“That’s it, not in line to the household in any way, no betrothals to foreign countries that might tie up political matters? But just a retainer?” GMS Rikt said.

Ouch.

Just hearing that breakdown, showing how utterly useless Marie was hurt me, and I was nothing apparently in this equation. Though most of the concern I was feeling was due to my respect for Marie. Just hearing the comment I looked down, to make sure she was okay.

Marie for her part, seemed to feel my movement as she had been looking at the two older people talking, but then turned her face up to lock gazes with mine.

Shock.

There was something there, for a moment I felt my breath get caught as I stared into her electric eyes and suddenly forgot what I was concerned about.

Then I heard the two old men continuing to talk and suddenly remembered.

“Then pay the full retainer fee of five thousand gold coins and let’s be done with this.” GMS Rikt said.

“Five thousand?!” Magister Carthwright asked.

Hearing that sum, I too was surprised. That was an insane amount. I once spent a month farming monsters for parts, just so I could afford a two hundred gold coin staff that was only available on the market for the first part of the game. With five thousand gold coins, you could easily advance all the major infrastructure points on your territory, by getting the funds now, I could have it so that by the time I graduated, my kingdom would be the most productive in the world.

Yes, losing Marie the best overall healer and second overall healing candidate. Again Darren won later on due to his second and tertiary schools of magic being better for buffing the party as a whole. But Marie was still hands down the best healer, curse remover, and purifier. That said, with the territory advancements I was thinking of, you could easily make it so that the apothecary shops within your kingdom could create potions to fix all of those concerns and more.

In fact, that almost seems like it would be a new type of challenge. Can you build an empire with enough infrastructure to take over the world? Normally no, as the other kingdoms also increase while you have to go out, conquer resources, and then come back with details on how to improve your settlement. But with this cash infusion, you could literally do everything, and still have a cool grand left for when you needed it.

Also, again, these updates would be done and waiting for you, once you left the Magical University, meaning all the time spent waiting and watching the shops grow, the grounds get excavated would be done by the time you got out. It was perfect.

In a way, I was almost jealous of not having the chance to try out this new scenario myself. This was a challenge that I know many discussion boards also spoke about. A dream scenario, of epic proportions. Could you conquer the continent without any starting retainer, but nearly unlimited wealth?

I was so jealous of the idea, that it was only after a minute of looking around that I realized that Claudia was nowhere to be found.

Everyone was here, and I do mean literally everyone, the princes, the teachers, her former retainer and current retainer. Everyone was here, but where exactly was she?

Just as I was thinking these thoughts, something else occurred to me.

“What do you intend to do with Marie?” I asked, wondering if the old man had any lascivious thoughts about the young maiden. This was an otome after all, meaning that such thoughts should always be readily possible.

Hearing my sudden outburst GMS Rikt just stared at me for a long moment, then glanced down to see Marie, then back up at me. I held his gaze, not daring to break this moment, again ready to let everything ride on the idea that Marie could be hurt in any way. In a way I felt overly protective of her, her gentle strength, the fact that she seemed larger than life, despite her body being so light and seemingly frail.

I realized in this moment that I would do what it took to make sure that not only was my storyline completed, whatever its new path would take. But that I would also make sure that Marie was safe, even it if meant she wasn’t with me, the idea of her being safe suddenly resonated with me deeply.

The old man just stared at me for a long moment, before that oddly endearing smile of his once again appeared on his face.

This was one of those scenes where if he had a long flowing beard, I knew he would try to stroke it as he seemed to come to a conclusion.

“Well, my plan was for you two to stay together, while I teach you both about our ways.” GMS Rikt began.

“Both of us?” Marie and I asked in near perfect unison.

“Yes, you both have clear access to the void, the original source of mana on our world, and the source from which all magic now resides.” GMS Rikt said, giving a history lesson that I was already sort of familiar with, as it was one of the original genesis stories of the world. One that could apparently be found in one of the Ancient’s libraries. Of course, those stories were all copied, auto translated, and then posted to forums for everyone to read, rate, and review.

While I had remembered a lot of hoopla about that particular story, particularly when it was first posted, I put little stock in it. As the whole thing seemed too cliché. But here we are now, the developers are apparently doubling down on that storyline. Not that it changes anything, well other than apparently marking Marie and I as important in some way to this new story arc.

Then thinking about the sudden changes, I realized this new expansion pack is amazing. Giving two different scenarios that we all wanted. The super hard, No Party – No Problem scenario of not having a starting healing retainer on your team but being able to start off with nearly unlimited funds. Followed by mark of the Ancients, where Karen and Marie both are now linked to having Ancient ancestry.

If the void is a sign of Ancients, then the dark saint scenario and her subsequent corruption are easily linked to this. Additionally, we all knew that Karen was the ultimate Ancient. Well, the second most powerful Ancient next to the grand guru himself, gods this is so cool, and I can’t wait to see where this all goes.

“Come on, from now on you two will be inseparable.” GMS Rikt states, gesturing for Marie to rise up.

Only now do I realize that I have had Marie resting with her head in my lap this whole time.

“I’m so sorry, I should have…” I begin, as I realize that the smoke coming off of Marie has stopped and she is now fine. Well better than fine, as she seems to glow with the true radiance of the Saint.

“No, it’s fine.” Marie says, her face blushing as she seemed to realize where she was resting this whole time. Not only that, but she only now seemed to realize that everyone witnessed her display as she went particularly flush with the sudden realization that everyone was watching all four of us.

“As you two can tell, you two have complementary power sets. Karen here can cleanse the essence of the void, making it so magic is more abundant and accepted in our plane of existence. While Marie here, she can actually tap into the void itself and draw more of its energy to our world. Together you two will make a perfect team. A team that I intend to cultivate to its fullest.” GMS Rikt stated.

Hearing that, I immediately thought of the most important parts of the game. That’s right area of effect, or AOE damage where we could take down hundreds of enemies with single bursts. She would call forth the powers of the void, something that only happened in limited qualities when she turned full saint or dark saint. Then she was able to summon forth miracles of both light and darkness, but then her body would perish.

Then remembering those horrific self-sacrificing moments, I immediately asked.

“Does this mean, Marie will be able to survive using her powers to their fullest?” I ask, as I realize the true main reason why I never played with Marie, the fact that I cried when she first sacrificed herself in defense of the kingdom.

Hearing that, GMS Rikt seemed to take on a highly contemplative glance before answering. “Yes, with this, so long as you are by her side, she should be able to survive the damage her mortal body would normally sustain by using her powers.”

Then gesturing down to the ground, a dark silhouette covered the ground, providing an outline of smoke and ash that shown clearly where Marie had lay. The design was intense, complete with dark black flames that seemed to still be burning the brick road below us.

However, now that Marie was up, you could see the work of my Disruption Field going to work, as it began cleansing the ground and steadily removing the trails of smoke and ash as if they were nothing.

“These two are now mine,” GMS Rikt said as he turned to Magister Carthwright.

“I will make it so, I will also inform the Roseblades of the status change of Lady Marie De’Claire here.” Magister Carthwright said, once again affirming the transaction of five thousand gold coins. For a moment I wondered how or where that money was, but then ultimately decided against it, figuring that such thoughts would only lead to trouble.

“I will make it happen.” Magister Carthwright stated.

Then almost as if remembering something very important, GMS Rikt stared back at the two of us, before turning to Magister Carthwright and continuing his orders.

“That said, Lady Von’Graysing will continue training both of my apprentices with her martial trainings, as her work is clearly paying dividends.” GMS Rikt said as he turned back to me, and clearly meant the way I was able to princess carry the light body of Marie without too much strain.

I almost wanted to protest, but then realized getting more time with Marie might not be a bad thing. Then pausing I turned to look at Marie, who once again seemed to capture me with her electric blue eyes.

***

Meanwhile.

In a dark lit chamber that was only brought to life by one burning torch, a dirt covered Claudia could be seen going through dark and glowing texts that seemed to shimmer like gold.

Her eyes went through the piles of books, before her eyes settled on one with a clear symbol of the Roseblade family crest on it.

Seeing it, she grabbed the text with her free, non-torch bearing, hand and smiled wide at the discovery.

“Finally, I found you.” Claudia said, as wisps of powerful smoke could be seen rising from the text and entering her body.