The Runic Artist

Nate sat astride his mount reviewing the System notifications for the past three weeks and his latest Skill evolution.

Amplified Magic 6 > 10

Empowered Runic Artistry 24 > 25

Runic Creation 26 > 27

Imbue Intent 28 > 29

From Me, To You 20 > 21

Conceptual Material 25 > 27

No Steps Necessary 18 > 20

Awareness of the Runic Artist 26 > 28

From Me, To You (E) is ready to evolve.

A Spatial Mage is not limited to moving themselves. Why throw a knife when you can teleport it into your target? Why get up to grab a book when it could already be in your hand? This Skill allows the user to teleport inanimate objects within range of their skill. Distance increases with Skill Level. Mana Cost decreases with Magic Power and Magic Control. Initial distance is five metres. Skill Level increases distance by Skill Level * five metres.

Evolutions Available! Please Select 1.

Skill Evolution Options:

Multiplicative Teleportation (L)

An advanced form of teleportation that allows the user to control multiple spatial folds at the same time. Why teleport one thing when you can teleport many? Space is malleable and with the use of this skill, so is everything else. Distance increases with Skill Level. Mana Cost decreases with Magic Power and Magic Control. Initial distance is five metres. Skill Level increases distance by Skill Level * five metres. Number of Teleports is three, increased by one for every ten Skill Levels.

Spatial Translation (L)

An advanced form of teleportation that allows the user to alter the vector and position of items teleported. In space, the only vectors are those envisioned by the user. Up becomes down, left becomes right and the user becomes the arbiter of space. User may alter the vector & position of objects during teleportation. Distance increases with Skill Level. Mana Cost decreases with Magic Power and Magic Control. Initial distance is five metres. Skill Level increases distance by Skill Level * five metres. Increases Magic Control by 15%.

He looked to Frick who was floating along beside him, “Thoughts? Neither was kind of what I was hoping to work towards.”

“Yeah, Boss. Teleporting multiple things at a time could be interesting. It’d take you down a similar path to Luc. But I don’t think that’s the way you want to go with your spatial skills. Spatial Translation is a better option I think,” Frick said, his Familiar taking the question seriously. “Closer to what you wanted the Skill to do which hopefully helps it synergise with No Steps Necessary when it evolves, which should be soon. Besides, some extra Magic Control won’t hurt as well.”

He nodded his agreement and after a moment made his selection. With his Skill Evolution handled he mused on the last few weeks of travel. They’d settled back into a rhythm, spending most of the days in the saddle and camping on the plains at night. Over the last week that had changed as they managed to stop at a town each night, the size slowly growing as they approached the Capital. The towns they passed through seemed to focus on agriculture, with fields of what might’ve been wheat and other grains alongside herds of a form of cattle and a few Bellok herds; though the latter’s coats were nowhere near as woolly as the ones he’d seen in Helmfirth.

Kiri’s arm had taken a few days to grow back and he’d used the uninterrupted time to finish off Luc’s second Mana Gathering Array. He’d kept it to the same specs as the previous one, not wanting to tip his hand even further. His own Mana Gathering Arrays, of which he now had two completed, were significantly better. The addition of the dual affinities for Mana and Gather imbued by Conceptual Material doubled the effectiveness. That meant that while Luc’s was twice as good as something produced by an Enchanter, Nate’s were four times as good.

That fact was becoming more and more relevant as they approached the Capital. Aisling had warned him back in Helmfirth, but the ambient mana was steadily decreasing as they got closer to the heart of Etrua. The mana was apparently being drawn into the Capital by mana gathering arrays the size of football fields. Apparently they were mostly underground, their entire purpose to funnel mana to the Dungeons housed in the Capital. It had taken some prodding to get Aisling to explain that it was possible to relocate a Dungeon by taking control of the Dungeon Core. She’d also explained that Nate and Kiri would be due a reward for the Rare Dungeon they’d found on the Plains.

Aisling had left a marker at the Kobold Dungeon that could apparently be tracked using some means that she’d been incredibly vague about. He suspected she was concerned if she explained too much, he’d figure out how to intercept the tracking mechanism. She’d gone on to explain a Gold Badge team would be sent out to complete the Dungeon after it had gathered enough mana to re-open, after which they would track down the Dungeon Core and strike a deal with the Dungeon’s Curator to relocate it.

An extra Rare Dungeon for the Guild was a gold mine and Aisling had promised she would make sure they were appropriately rewarded. She’d also hinted that if they wanted to take on Dungeon finding missions it could be very lucrative, but only on breaks from the Royal University. He’d smiled at that last bit when she’d said it as there had been no allusion to him not making the top eight in the Tournament. Her faith in him had boosted his already increasing confidence in his skills and development.

With those thoughts, he pulled out his latest project and continued his preparation for the Capital. It was only a week away now and he was looking forward to seeing the city and the opportunities it might provide for both his development and art.

*************

The walls of the Capital of Etrua stretched across the horizon, separating the inner city from the outer one. Beyond the walls Nate could see the sea. Or was it an ocean? He didn’t know and he’d never asked. If he was being honest, he wasn’t going to, because ultimately, did it matter? He’d expected the capital city to be something beautiful. Something grand. Perhaps it was beyond the sandstone walls. But from where he was standing, all he could see were the outskirts, and they looked more like slums than anything else. They were still a decent distance away and maybe it wasn’t as bad up close as it looked from here, but he had his doubts.

The ambient mana had dropped even further and he was honestly amazed anyone could work in a place like this. Even basic Skills likely required a small amount of mana to function. How did the people here use their Skills at all?

“Aisling, how do people recharge their Mana Reserve in the Capital? Do they not use their Skills for work?” he asked.

“For basic labour, the workers are generally provided enough mana to do their jobs by their employers and no more,” replied Aisling, her own eyes conflicted as she looked at the city. “Beyond that, they need to purchase the mana themselves or just accept the very slow refilling of their Mana Reserves. It’s a bad system if your goal is to develop your population. But then, that’s never been the goal of the Etruan Nobility.”

He couldn’t do much more than nod at that. It sounded like a horrible position to be in.

“You mentioned other places do it differently?” he asked.

“Some do. But now’s not the time for that discussion. Keep your opinions to yourself till we’re in the Guildhouse. Frick, mind hiding while we pass through the outskirts?” Aisling asked before kicking her mount gently and picking up the pace.

Frick had vanished into the Familiar Contract by the time they entered the slums of the outer city. It was plain to see that his eyes had not been deceived, even at a distance. The buildings were ramshackle or crumbling sandstone. The people looked suntanned with hungry eyes as they watched them pass. Those that were close enough, he used his Awareness of the Runic Artist on and so far had failed to find a single one over level twenty. Every single one had possessed only a Common Class. The types had varied from things like Labourer and Cleaner to ones clearly suited for crime, such as Ruffian and Thug. A few of the older denizens had been too far away so he wasn’t convinced no one was over level twenty, but it painted a poor picture. It made him wonder why they didn’t leave.

The party move passed a dry fountain, children sitting on the edges of the sandstone edifice. As he watched one of the children got up to beg two passing guards for some water, only to be kicked to the ground without a word given. A few of the other children quickly moved to pull the fallen child away, but the scene left its mark on him. The casual cruelty. He hadn’t realised he was veering towards the guards when he felt Aisling’s hand on his shoulder. Glancing at her she gave a small shake of her head. With a sigh he fell back in with the party as they continued deeper into the city.

The further they got into the outer city, the more the surroundings improved. The houses were in better condition and he started to see the occasional shop. He also noticed the levels of the people began to improve slightly, spotting a few Uncommon tier Classes and more than a few over level twenty.

They passed through the slums quickly, the walls of the inner city looming before them as they approached. The walls were sandstone, like much of the city seemed to be. Unlike the outer city, the entry to the inner city was guarded by a contingent of men at arms. The men at arms mostly wore a loose blue material with a breastplate fitted alongside metal greaves and bracers. Each carried a sword at their hip and a couple wore conical helms. Nate fell into the line for the gate behind Aisling with Kiri behind him and Deverell bringing up the rear. He’d noticed that Deverell had been scanning everything as they made their way through the outskirts, detecting the flicking of the man's eyes through his Sphere of Awareness.

As they approached the Gate, the guards finally came in range of his Skill and a quick scan told him that they were all level forties with an Uncommon Class of Guardsman. Their Secondaries varied somewhat between a swordsman class and a warrior class. The fact that they were all level forty was an interesting find and he wondered if it was because none of them had managed to evolve their Class to the next tier. The alternative was that they hadn’t earned enough to purchase the processed mana required to level, but that seemed less likely.

The line moved fairly quickly and before they knew it, they were at the front.

One of the guards wearing a helmet stepped forward, glancing at the group before focusing on Aisling, “Purpose of visit?”

“We’re headed to the Adventurer’s Guild,” replied Aisling, flashing her platinum badge.

The guard nodded, noting something down on a pad before pointing at the rest of them, “Badges.”

Aisling had warned them about this and he and Kiri flashed their bronze badges. He felt Deverell flash his own gold badge through his Sphere of Awareness.

The guard made a few more notations before motioning them through, but not before Nate sensed a sneer on more than a couple of the guards faces. He might’ve cared but as they walked closer to the gate he could sense a barrier across its surface. As they got closer he could feel how it extended above the gate with a slight curve oriented towards the inner city. As they passed through the barrier he knew what it must be. The ambient mana went up by an order of magnitude and he felt his Mana Reserve hungrily absorbing all it could, replenishing what he’d been spending on his Skills. It was still lower than the ambient mana had been in Helmfirth, but compared to the plains near the Capital and the outer city, it was like a breath of fresh air.

“Surprised they didn’t charge a fee to enter,” said Kiri, looking around to take in the sights.

“They do,” replied Aisling, her eyes fixed ahead. “That’s why he wanted to know all our Badges. The cost will be charged to the Adventurer’s Guild. It’s one of the benefits of membership.”

“Why don’t more people in the outer city sign up then?” he asked curiously.

“They try. The Adventurer’s Guild can’t afford to take on everybody in the Capital. They conduct trials in the outer city every six months for new applicants. The Guild is far less strict the further you get from the Capital,” responded Aisling, giving him a pointed look.

He smiled at the insinuation and went back to taking in the sights. The inner city of the Capital was beautiful. It was like going from the slums to an upper middle class neighbourhood. Everything was more colourful and in better condition, especially the people. He even sensed a few Rare Classers with levels in the mid fifties. As they passed into what must’ve been the merchant sector, he saw stores for everything one could imagine. Food stalls stood next to clothing shops. He smelled what he thought might be a tannery on the breeze, as well as the salt of the sea they were slowly approaching. Best of all, he saw two Enchanter’s shops. He was definitely coming back here to see if he could pick up a few new Sigils.

Before they knew it, they were entering into what he could only describe as a compound. It had guards at the gate who waved Aisling through the moment she flashed her badge. Beyond the gates was a sprawling complex that included a multistory building, stables, what looked like a series of shops and he saw at least three inns. Over it all, he could hear the clang of metal and explosions that could only be magic from beyond the building. They’d finally arrived at the Adventurers Guildhouse for the Capital of Etrua.

He dismounted as he saw Aisling climb down from her own Alliram. A young boy and a girl who had been bickering nearby came running over to collect their mounts and Nate thought he saw a flicker of silver as Aisling handed over the reins before she motioned for Nate and Kiri to follow her. Deverell as ever brought up the rear, though Awareness of the Runic Artist told Nate that the man was a little more relaxed than usual, his muscles not as tense as they had been as they passed through the city.

Entering through the giant double doors of the main building he could see multiple desks serving a number of Adventurer teams. Most of the younger members seemed to be in the high teens for level and he guessed these were the bronze badges. A couple of the teams were in the high twenties and early thirties. Finally, there were two teams that stood out, mostly because of how calm and controlled they were. One was a team of three that were all level forty and he suspected that these were competitors in the Tournament. The final team was a group of four and he sensed their levels to be in the high fifties with one in the early sixties. That one glanced around the room when Nate scanned him. The girl had an Epic Class for her Primary and before he could push to see what it was, he felt her presence fade in his Sphere of Awareness. Rather than push the skill further he drew it back in. No need to start making enemies this early.

Following Aisling they approached one of the desks that had just freed up. The man behind it looked up and his face went through a series of emotions as he appeared to recognise Aisling before he offered an officious smile.

“Welcome back to the Capital, Stormspear. What can I assist you with today?” the Guild Assistant asked.