The First Archmage

(Gavin)

The folks of Haitul, the town near where Litrar and I landed a few months ago, part as I walk down the street, though not a trace of fear shows on their faces, nor emanates from their minds or in their souls.

Instead, awe fills them. Awe, wonder, and worship. I hate coming into town, because of the amount of awe and worship they give me. A far cry from their reaction when I first entered the town to see about acquiring some stuff.

They were terrified of me while still in deep awe due to my appearance and the gods-dammed Aura of Power that I can't turn off. No matter how hard I try, I can't even suppress it. Which pisses me off to Eisnar and back.

Unfortunately, I'm still having a difficult time getting a good read on Divine Souls, and I need to be able to do it over massive distances. Managing between worlds, planes, and realms will be tough enough – I'll likely need to enter quite a few just to try and sense, and do a lot of traveling.

Hopefully, I can be ready enough for that soon, but the fragment that Litrar had is already hard enough for me to sense more than just a mile or so away, and that's with just the souls in the forest – doing it in a town or city?

That would become much, much tougher.

Then factoring in environmental muting?

Yeah, I'm going to need to up my soul sensing to a massive level to pick out the tiny fragments of the Divine Soul I shredded.

So for now, I'm going to continue working on improving my power over the soul and my ability to sense them, because that's all I really can do. I'm not even close to being able to properly weave a soul back together, either – just putting them near each other means they'll heal naturally, and even for a Divine Being, that would take a long while.

Forcing the fragments into each other also results in it healing naturally, rather than merging together. It seems there's some sort of safeguard in the souls themselves that prevent them from healing 'wrong'. Which is weird, considering they don't need to be put back in any order, they just need to heal 'right'.

Reading a soul is difficult work, even for an exceptional case like mine. The goods news is that it's been confirmed to me that Nies froze Eisnar – though apparently, he froze the entire plane that it's in. Which means that I can take my time working on this, which is good, because it's going to take a lot of time.

Clearing my thoughts of my slow progress from my head, I continue to walk past the awe-filled townsfolk until I reach the central plaza, where a fountain sprays up into the air. It's dark grey stone flecked with bits of green sparkling lightly in the summer sun, the clear water glimmering.

They really did change the fountain because of my comment. When I first arrived, it was a three-tier fountain, with the water spraying out of the top layer and cascading down the three beneath it. Last time I was here, I made the mistake of commenting about a fountain I saw during my walk through the capital of Jozan with Kade that resembled a layer of cliffs with the water cascading down like waterfalls.

Not something I really took note of back then, but with my mental capabilities enhanced by my superior species, recalling such a small detail was actually pretty easy.

Lately, I've been doing a lot of reflecting, and thinking about random events from my past. Sometimes, it's to think about the decisions I've made, while other times, it's just to see what random details I can pull from memory that I probably couldn't have back then.

I've made a lot of stupid decisions in my life – the Blood Oath Quest being among them – but most of them came from when I was a thirteen-year-old under a lot of stress and going through a lot of changes.

And admittedly, I didn't know that Blood Oath Quests were a thing. I knew about Blood Oaths and Soul Oaths because of the way Kar was, but there was no mention that having Access would mean earning a Quest for it.

Breaking a Blood Oath without any reparation earns a punishment in death. To me, at that time, I would've gladly taken that punishment. After all, it would've meant that I'd failed in protecting my home and bringing it back.

Not that it matters anymore, since I'm past all of that, and what's done is done.

Just like with me shredding a Divine Soul. He knew exactly what buttons to push, which meant that he'd looked up stuff about me, had possibly even studied me. He knew he could provoke me into attack him, voiding out the no-interfering rule.

Allowing him to fight another god's Hero.

I'm sure that Nies is furious about that, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he's currently 'accidentally moving' fragments of the Divine Soul so I can find them easier. If he's not, he'll probably start doing it once I'm able to track them down.

The reason for that?

So he can exact his punishment for that manipulation upon the god. Knowing Nies, he might decide to just shred the soul and scatter it again, or throw him into the oblivion.

Or shred him and throw him into the oblivion.

Though it's Nies, so he'll probably be lazy about whatever the punishment is, but that won't mean it won't be light or gentle. He did literally Descend personally, kick the ass of, and then eat another god because of some attack he stopped before it ever actually entered the mortal realms.

"Lord Jakran!"

Why in the damn universe did I mention my last name to them?

Because them calling you "Lord Gavin" sounded weird because that's my first name. That's why. So you mentioned your last name after getting tired of it without thinking about the fact that they'd just switch to that.

And no matter how much I try to tell them to stop and just call me "Gavin", they won't. At all. Ever.

Looking at the speaker, he's unfamiliar to me, and his scent doesn't match the area's. He must have arrived here since I last visited a month ago.

The man is likely in his forties or fifties, though since he's clearly a magician, it's possible he's even older than that. Were the System to exist in this world, he'd probably be a powerful magician – at least Tier II.

But the System doesn't seem to be active here, and Nahor mentioned that Stem just hasn't been bored enough to randomly trigger the first stage of Access on this world.

It was Nahor who confirmed to me about Nies freezing the plane that Eisnar is in.

The man who called out to me stands around six feet in height, with sapphire eyes, fair skin with a light tan, golden-brown hair, and a sturdy build, his square shoulders and firm jawline suggesting physical strength hidden by his fine outfit.

Standing around him are roughly forty guards, though some have hidden themselves in the shadows or on the roofs, indicating nobility or status of some sort.

The golden crown adorned with sapphires and emeralds resting atop his head denote his status as the king of Haivural.

The king and his guards clearly feel fear, according to their scents and auras, though the king himself hides it well. He'd have a high Acting Level, if he had Access. Only the slightest shift to his eyes and mouth, the slightest tensing, shows that he feels fear.

Not that he can hide it in his soul.

They were likely warned what my presence felt like, but hearing about it and feeling it are two different things.

"King Aldrai," I dip my head to him, striding over and stopping a few feet in front of him.

He managed to not move a muscle, though his guards shifted a bit, doing their best to resist the urge to take several steps back. Or run.

Two in particular seem quite wary of me. I've been practicing my psychic abilities here, as they go hand-in-hand with soul magics. Specifically, mental magics, such as telepathy. It only takes a gentle touch for me to enter their minds unnoticed, and I confirm that those two aren't loyal to their king.

The random odds from probability, huh? Nies's words come back to me. Sometimes, it seems like he's more than just an Origin of Quests, Adventures, and the like. Probability, and the inherent state of chaos surrounding him – could he also be a god of chaos? Possibly the origin of it?

He's too lazy for that, but then, he's a bit too lazy for quests and adventures, and those are generally pretty active things.

Either way, random coincidences happen quite often with me. Much too often to accept as 'normal'.

"Lord Jakran," he dips his head to me. "I received word of your presence during my visit here last week, and wished to personally welcome you to my kingdom. Would you care to dine with me?"

To refuse to dine with the king could be taken as a sign of hostility or negativity. I only come into the town every two to four weeks, usually to drop something off or pick something up. That, or to practice soul-reading. Judging by his tone and his soul, the king had planned on staying here until my next visit.

How would the people react to me refusing to dine with him? Probably take it as me disapproving of their king, and with the way they worship me, that could result in the town pulling away from him.

Accepting the offer to dine with him would be seen as a show of support, even though that's not what it is, and word that the king dined with a godly being would likely spread quick as a wildfire. If it's seen that he's allied himself with a godly being, it could help protect their borders, especially as word of my existence has spread quickly, as has my assault on that tower.

It doesn't matter that it's mostly just rumor right now, the fact that it's coming from multiple sources – the people here, the soldiers at that tower of slavery, and the places Litrar and I stopped by on our way here – will give people pause.

That, itself, is likely why King Aldrai has requested to meet with me. A small manipulation. He knows that my refusal to dine with him could be seen by those same people who'd hesitate at the thought of our alliance as an act of dislike, of disapproval, and could lead to Haivural being invaded sooner rather than later.

As long as the godly being isn't agitated, why worry, right? They'd probably avoid this area for awhile, if they did invade.

Though it seems that every damn nation around this one uses those damn collars on magicians over a certain level of power or with certain talents, such as Litrar and soul magic.

So should I potentially risk the nation that doesn't enslave people being invaded, or show my 'support' to it?

It's me. I don't play stupid games like this.

"I am quite busy at the moment," I tell the king. "I need to be returning to what I was doing before coming here as soon as possible. That said – I do feel inclined to warn you that Nilmi and Vulcur are both traitors, and are aware of an ambush set up to kill you after you leave this town. Someplace called Haivuras Pass.

"From their thoughts," I say, and eyes widen all around me. "They work for someone named Kiltua. Ah, seems he's a noble of some sort. Yes, I'm reading thoughts, which is how I know that the man on your right has been taking to bed one of the handmaidens of your daughter's, and that he can't wait to tell her about meeting me.

"Anyway," I turn back to the direction I was originally walking. "I have business to attend to. Perhaps I'll see you again, before I leave."

Without another word, I leave, making my way to the shop I had already targeted. The king will likely know soon enough that I am capable of reading thoughts – the townsfolk have been aware of it, because I've asked their aid in letting me practice reading – but not messing with – thoughts, including ones they want to hide.

Practicing it is fun, to be honest. They do their best to hide some random piece of information from me, and I do my best to seek it out without their noticing. I've probably awakened actual psychic abilities in ten or eleven of them from the practice, too, so the townsfolk see me in an even greater light.

Once I arrive there, I pull an item out of my ring, though it fills up nearly the entire room. It's the carcass of a cat-like creature with dark blue fur streaked with green and brown, a trio of horns atop her head.

The shop owner stares at it for several moments, before his face breaks out into a wide smiles.

"Thank you, Lord Jakran," he dips his head to me, then quickly starts walking around it. "The worth of this creature is 139,000 Haiv. I see no marks on its hide, which means its quality is likely as exceptional as the past hunts have been, with your mysterious way of killing at work."

They want to find out how I'm killing these things. It's through the soul – I'm targeting it, ripping it right out of the body and letting it fade into the afterlife. Something, it seems, which will take a very long time to happen to my soul, even though I'm to die at some point soon after I return to Eisnar.

Clearing that thought from my head, I continue to listen as the old shopkeeper continues to spout praise as he examines the corpse of the beast.

When he finally calms down, fiddling with the black-and-violet ring on his finger – a gift to him, so he can transport my larger kills out of this room without having to deal with bleeding the place up from it – the shopkeeper disappears into the back room.

While he's back there, a young woman comes out, probably around seventeen or eighteen. I've never asked. She makes small talk with me, asking about various things and being as subtle as she can about her interest, before leaving when the shopkeeper returns.

"Dairy day?" I ask.

The girl is the daughter of a farmer outside of town – the town's only source of milk. She has six brothers who all help tend the farm and cows, two older, four younger. She typically comes with her two older brothers for the deliveries.

"Yes," he nods. "She'll likely be leaving soon, she and her brothers were just finishing unloading."

The shopkeeper fiddles with his ring, and various supplies and food appear on the counter. I transfer them into my ring, thank him, and then decide to avoid the king's men and simply teleport, arriving in the forest clearing moments later.

That's the first time I've used my teleportation magic around them, making me wonder what they'lll think of my ability to just appear and disappear at will.

They'll probably just praise you even more for it.

"Was she there?"

Looking over, I spot Litrar, who's removed his tunic, resting it on the chopping stump, his boots resting next to it, as he performs pushups, soaked in sweat and breathing heavily.

"Yes," I answer. "She asked how you were doing, too, though she's probably getting ready to leave with her brothers to return to the farm."

A smile breaks out on Litrar's face. The two of them are so obvious about their crushes on each other, I want to play matchmaker. Litrar falters in his pushup – he wants to have a toned body to be more 'attractive', not aware that she's already in love with him – and then a scowl crosses his face.

"What did you do the berries?"

"Whatever do you mean?" I put on my best innocent face.

"The flavors are all swapped!"

"Really?" I ask. "Are you sure you're eating the right ones?"

He scowls, stops his pushup, then stands and quickly makes his way inside. I make sure to cancel out my spell as he does, and he walks out looking thoroughly confused.

"What's wrong?"

"The berries are all mixed up!" He exclaims. "How did you move them all without me knowing you were here? You can't suppress your soul enough for that yet!"

"I moved the berries around before I left," I tell him. "Are you sure you didn't just get confused and grab the wrong ones?"

Litrar stares at me, and then sighs, shaking his head.

I put an illusion on the berries to change their appearances. He really was eating the wrong ones – the illusion affected even their textures.

"What did you get?" He asks.

"More food," I answer. "He threw in some of the milk and cheese from the farm, too. Then some more supplies – soap, shampoo, and the like. What was that creature, anyway? I know it was powerful, but its worth was double the highest I've touched so far."

"A kulkrul tiger," he answers. "They're pretty deadly – I'd overheard guards talking about it in the tower. It seems they'd had to deal with them sometimes sneaking out of the forest near them and attacking, though why they would travel that far to the tower is anyone's guess."

Maybe they had a secret dislike of slavery?

"Alright," I say. "We'll resume training today, I'm pretty exhausted."

He nods.

"Oh, right," I say. "Do you want to meet the king?"

"The king?" He looks confused. "Why?"

"He's in town," I shrug. "I'm sure if I said I knew someone who wanted to meet him, he'd let me introduce you."

Litrar stares at me for twenty long, long seconds as he processes what I just told him, then sighs and shakes his head.

"Meeting the king," he mutters. "Probably just another prank of his. Besides – what would I even say to the king, if I did meet him? It's not like I'm one of his subjects… kind of?"

Rolling my eyes, I make my way inside the house to get some sleep. It took me two hours of wrestling with that weird tiger to rip its soul of it the way I'd been practicing.

And then I shredded it and wove it back together. That was tough. And then I teleported to the edge of the forest, walked to town, did all the stuff there, and teleported back. So I'm very exhausted.

Though before I head to bed, I rig up a bucket of water over the front door. Just in case. If he falls for it, it's his own fault for not checking the door. I know he can sense me doing something here, since he's right in that I can't properly suppress my soul from his sight yet.

He'll probably complain when I wake up, but it's not the first time I've dropped a bucket of water on his head. The time he thought it was blood was pretty funny, until I undid my illusion.

Being able to relax and pull pranks like this is a huge relief to me, even if I still have the urgency of needing to repair the Divine Soul. I can't do anything until I can sense them between realms, worlds, and planes, after all. Or at least, over vast, vast distances. Like across an entire world.

Hopefully, that comes soon. Very, very soon.

Hopefully.