Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (135/?) WiP 1

Author’s Note: Hey everyone! I’m really putting in every ounce of energy I have and I think I’ll be able to make this week’s schedule! :D So here is the Work in Progress for Chapter 135 I hope you guys enjoy! :D

The Crown Herald Town of Elaseer. Riverfront. His Eternal River Boat (HERB) Pursuit of Constance. Pleasure and Recreation Deck. Local Time 1400 Hours.

Emma

If you’d have asked me a day ago what I expected to be doing at the start of the dragon quest, then receiving the honorary rank and title of siege lord definitely wouldn’t have been on my radar, let alone on my list. 

“And to you, newrealmer — earthrealmer — Cadet Emma Booker, goes the masquerade title of Emirius Bokero — first of her name, Knight-Regent of Arthmilian, Grand Protector of the Realm, and last but not least… SIEGE LORD of the House of Bokero.” Lord Etale spoke, his voice echoing throughout the domed hall as he stood high and triumphantly atop a glorified stool. 

The silence that followed was punctuated by the awkward clapping of the curiously named pleasure-hall’s staff. Their claps eventually filled what the pair had informed me was their dedicated game-room for the duration of this entire cruise.

The elven pair had quite literally dragged both me, Thalmin, and our respective mounts onto the riverboat as soon as we’d agreed to their terms. Their excitement had caught even the crew on board off guard, as they all struggled to receive — let alone accommodate — the elven pair’s very particular list of requests. 

But accommodate they did, which was precisely how I currently found myself standing awkwardly in the center of this domed room near the center of the vessel, beneath a fresco of tabletop role-playing elves staring down at us from the dome above; creating an impression that it was us who were the pawns of some grand and eclectic game of dungeons and wyverns.

The magically-imbued art didn’t really help with that assertion, as their painted eyes quite literally followed our every movement.

“And to you, mercenary prince, usurper, and savage barbarian of the Havenbrockian hinterlands, goes the masquerade title of Talnin Heavrockis — first of his name, War Chief of Rockis, and SIEGE LORD of the House of Heavrockis.” Lord Etale continued, spraying both of us in a mist of some ritualistic mana-water, but not before Thalmin gave off a startling growl and a stern glare at his ‘masquerade title’. 

A fine haze quickly formed around us as a result, before suddenly, and quite abruptly, we found the entirety of the marble floor we stood upon glowing a fluorescent blue hue.

I quickly craned my head up to see that the dome itself had transformed from a fresco to something more resembling stained glass. 

The reason for this was quickly made clear to me, as this glass allowed for a projector-like effect to be cast upon the floor beneath its circumference.

Everything outside of the dome’s light faded into the darkness at this point, while curtains were quickly pulled by the staff to hide most of the room from our view.

Following this, the glowing floor beneath us started to change. 

What had been flat and two-dimensional reliefs of rolling hills, grand mountains, meandering rivers, and roaring seas, suddenly started to raise upwards. 

It started small, as I felt the floor beneath us starting to bubble and creak, the formerly smooth surface feeling bumpy and uneven, like the floor of some shoddy DIY-er’s first treehouse.

Then came the visible changes, as waves and protrusions started popping up here and there like cracks and splinters on a wood floor snapping under immense strain.

Cracks started to form along very specific patterns on the floor, while water from some unknown source started to fill them the moment they reached a certain size.

This continued for a few seconds longer.

After which, all hell broke loose.

CRACK! 

Tile and grout shattered.

FWOOOSH!

While large boulders and rocks quickly took their place.

However,  it didn’t take long for me to realize that these weren’t just any plain old boulders.

Because while we were distracted with the largest and most impressive changes, the less noticeable bubbling beneath our feet had just as quickly formed recognizable terrain.

The cracks that had been filled with water now resembled grand rivers and rapids, whilst larger cracks continued to sink even deeper, forming valleys and canyons that dominated their specific ‘region’ of the floor.

Eventually, the plains and rolling hills were coated with a soft and velvety surface of grass. With plants, trees, and even entire forests emerging up soon after; tying the whole scene together as a living, breathing simulation.

“Welcome to the Realm of Israphel.” Lady Evrail spoke through a magically-assisted shout. “A land of vibrant life, breathtaking scenery… and warring factions.” Her tone suddenly turned grim, as the distant sound of drums echoed somewhere ‘off-screen’. “This adjacent realm is a battleground of intrigue, spilling over into outright conflict and bloodshed, all to fulfil that which is the inherent trend of all realms.” She soon turned to Lord Etale as he nodded firmly. 

“To fight for dominance and primacy, to determine the rightful ruling family in this battle for the…” 

The orange haired elf paused, turning to his counterpart as they raised both hands upwards, before conjuring a glowing title card that read—

“LINES OF SUCCESSION!” They both shouted theatrically.

“While we typically would provide a tutorial, we simply do not have such luxuries given the condensed nature of this game, and our fixed departure schedule.” Lord Etale explained.

“This will make this game a… trial by fire of sorts.” Lady Evrail continued. “Though we are nothing if not fair in our games.” 

Soon enough, a list of basic game rules appeared before us, hovering ominously above the landscape as the music in the background evolved.

The basic tempo of the drums was quickly joined in by a quartet of shrilly brass and meandering string instruments, creating this soft and melodic classical tune that rose and fell with the opening title crawl. 

I was too focused on the rules to realize what this was, and only when the music was over did I figure it out.

This was the game’s menu theme…

However, before I was able to fully grapple with that amusing interdimensional parallel, both the EVI and Evrail quickly chimed in.

The former promptly condensed the rules into a neat little annotated list, while the latter moved on to point out the clearly demarcated four quadrants that the map had slowly highlighted.

“Each player takes charge of their own kingdom. Each kingdom consists of a crown capital, two regional capitals, and four towns. While a typical game may involve the expansion of these settlements in both size and quantity, this hastened ruleset has removed that dimension of the game.”