Wizardly Dude

(63) 2.16. A Whole New Tier

“So, what is it you want to be able to do, Vin?” Eithan asked him, the two of them having retaken their stools on the outskirts of town once more. 

After lunch, Vin had found Eithan waiting for him here, and the two of them had immediately jumped back into the lesson. Once he’d shown Eithan he’d gotten a handle on Summon Stone, the Stone Mage had been impressed and declared it was time to step it up a notch.

“Seeing as you can only safely learn two ...

(62) 2.15. They Don’t Just Eat Rocks?

Despite Eithan’s unique take on magic and having lived on an entirely different world than Shia, it turned out that teaching someone how to cast a new spell was pretty much the same regardless of where you came from. 

Sure, Eithan made him spend a few hours closely examining hundreds of different rocks and making lists of all their many features, but once he was satisfied with Vin’s understanding, he gave him the runic formation of Summon Stone and tasked ...

(61) 2.14. Hey Kid… Wanna Learn Some More Magic?

“Before we begin, let me ask you this… What is magic?”

Vin stared at his new magic instructor, blinking at the familiar question and experiencing a sudden sense of déjà-vu to his very first lesson with Shia back in the Sacred Forest. Did all magic teachers start their lessons this way?

“Magic is chaos,” Vin said, recalling his conversation with the Goddess. “It is endless power, for good and for bad, which we give order to via runic formations to carry out our simple...

(60) 2.13. Level 20

Vin breathed out slowly, letting the smooth lines flow from his mental map out onto paper. He’d seen a quite good bit of this new world ever since arriving on Edregon, and he’d decided it was finally about time he began a journal to keep track of everything. But before all that writing, he was first drawing his own miniaturized map in the front cover for when he inevitably ran across another poor soul who didn’t understand what was going on and he needed to quickly explain how this new ...

(59) 2.12. A Slate Wiped Clean

Vin got to experience being beaten by an elderly woman in a foot race for a second time that day as they ran off in the direction the guard told them. Despite the lack of sun, Raulfa was easy to spot thanks to the cluster of warriors on the edge of the village holding glowing gems high above their heads.

Pushing their way through the throng of distracted warriors muttering amongst themselves, Vin gasped as he finally broke free.

Directly in front of him, with a proud grin on his n...

(58) 2.11. A Small Truth

“I have to say Vin, I’m a little confused. I swore I said, ‘this isn’t what it looks like,’ but clearly you must have heard, ‘lock away the tiny man and throw away the key.’ Might want to get your ears checked.”

Vin rolled his eyes at the petian’s remark as they walked into the small jail, but he couldn’t wipe the grin off his face at finding his new friend unharmed and waiting impatiently for them. The elder dismissed the guards, asking them to wait outside as the r...

(57) 2.10. Talk About Bad Timing

“Okay, so I’m with you on the part involving the rope and candle wax, but I think we should revisit your idea with the wicker furniture,” Vin said, frowning at their hastily drawn diagram Shia was scratching into the stone floor with his knife. “I just don’t think we’ll be able to muster up enough force to turn it into shrapnel.”

“I told you, let me worry about the explosion,” Shia repeated, patting her bag of magic seeds lovingly. “I got everything I need right here...

(56) 2.9. An Old Stone

The elder frowned, tapping her cane against the stone floor as she tried to decide what to do. To anyone unfamiliar with their customs and the intricacies of runic carving, it may look like she was fidgeting aimlessly. In reality, she had to be remarkably careful with every tap. Her cane was a powerful runic object that had been passed down from elder to elder for generations, and a few of the spells stored within the cane could level the building they were currently in if she accidentally re...

(55) 2.8. A Tiny Discussion

“He didn’t do it!” Vin repeated for what felt like the hundredth time, continuing to argue with the guard standing in the doorway. But just like all the previous attempts he’d made at stating Scule’s innocence, the guard remained impassive. Vin may as well have been arguing with a statue for all the good it was doing him.

Grinding his teeth, Vin stomped back from the guard, going back to pacing around the room aimlessly. He had no idea what was going on, and he didn’t like b...

(54) 2.7. Caught Red Handed

“What do you mean, not an artifact?” Vin asked, staring blankly at his magic mentor. “Look at it, it’s covered in runic formations!”

“Precisely,” Shia nodded. “Think about it Vin, you’ve encountered far more artifacts in your short time on Edregon than most people will in their entire lives. Even minor ones are actually rather rare, you just have an insane knack for getting your hands on them it would seem. How many of them were covered in runes like that?”

“...

(53) 2.6. The Return Of The Rock

The first time Vin had visited Sakis, he’d been led straight to what he now knew was essentially the elder’s waiting room where she conducted all her business. This time, Samtha made sure they got the full tour.

The eager warrior led them through the small village, introducing Vin to a handful of people and showing off some of her favorite ‘life records’ carved around the village. These records were the carved pictures of important memories that every house had at least one wall...

(52) 2.5. The Village of Sakis

By this point, their motley gang had perfected their system for travelling from one fragment to the next. Due to the fact that a person had to travel anywhere between six to twelve miles to cross the length of a fragment, depending on where they ran through it, the only one in their group capable of running that in any reasonable time was Vin.

Everyone else had found alternative solutions.

Where Vin relied on his high endurance and his Distance Runner passive, Shia’s method was ...

(51) 2.4. What Are Friends For?

After nearly two hours of weighing in on the many disputes that had made their way to the council’s desk, Vin was finally free of his duties as a councilor. Apparently taking a thousand people and throwing them into such an unusual situation was a lot trickier than doing the same with only a hundred.

Yawning, he walked with Alice out of the command center, nodding at Greg and Abby as they made their way over to the mess hall for the lunch they’d both missed. Vin had be...

(50) 2.3. A Brief Debriefing

“Hey Vin!” Alice said, walking over and giving him a quick hug. “Glad to see you’re okay! I was worried when you disappeared after we brought the second wavers back to camp.” Alice held him at arm's length, looking him over carefully. “You holding up alright?”

“Just dandy,” he said, offering her a weak grin. “So… Counselor, huh? Moving up in the world.”

“You’re telling me,” she snorted. “I was just as surprised as you when Spur came to me and offere...

(49) 2.2. Plotting a Course

Vin hadn’t gone too deep into the forest, meaning it wasn’t long before he found himself at the edge of camp once again. Already the additional thousand people they’d gained from the second wave were hard at work. Crafters were laying down paved paths and assembling simple houses for people to live in, warriors were sharpening weapons and training against one another, and he could only assume the myriad of random people working on their own individual projects were the support classes.<...

(48) 2.1. A Well Earned Rest

Leaning back against his favorite tree, Vin dug into his grilled sqerret with relish, all but moaning as the savory, meaty juices dripped down his chin. Apparently not one, but three of the crafters from the second wave had chosen cooking as their specialization, and Vin swore right then and there that he’d sacrifice just about anything to keep the three of them safe.

Attempting to wipe his face with his free hand, Vin paused, a spike of pain and sorrow radiating through...

47. The Second Wave

Seeing he had everyone’s attention, Spur continued, his voice booming out across the meadow. “I hope you all had a pleasant trip and that you’re ready for a fun time at camp!”

Most people simply looked at Spur in confusion, but at least some must have recognized him as Vin saw a good dozen of those closest to them turn and snap crisp salutes as though they were back in boot camp. Though not everyone that recognized him reacted in such a way.

“Colonel Spur,” an irritate...

46. A Hard Fought Victory

Vin stifled a gasp, nearly releasing the snakeskin in his mouth as a burst of golden light erupted from him at the moment of impact. To his amazement, the force of the divine energy not only protected him from certain death, but also managed to push him and the snake into the air once more to ensure he wasn’t pinned under the monster’s bulk. And while his divine boon had saved him from taking any damage, the same couldn’t be said about the snake, who seemed even more shakened after havi...

45. Fight Fire With Fire

Flicking its head, the giant snake tossed the limp body it had stuck on its horn to the side, letting it drop to the ground with a sickening thump. Vin stared at the elite monster that had somehow risen from the grave, his eyes darting to the three fresh victims it had already claimed. To his shock, he also spotted what looked like the deflated and shrunken charred corpse of the snake tangled in the grass from his spell only a few feet from the monster. It only took him a second to r...

44. A Moment of Silence

Explorer: A class based around discovering the unknown and uncovering secrets, Vin thought as he ran toward the snake large enough to devour him in a single gulp. This is not part of the job description!

Despite Vin’s speed, the snake managed to strike forward and impale another one of the defenders through the chest with its horn before he could reach them. This actually gave the surrounding fighters a brief window to strike back at the monster, a...

43. War is Hell

The first monster to fully manifest was a thick, scaly creature with eight stubby but powerful looking legs that stood close to the ground, looking around in confusion. Its forked tongue flicked out of its mouth, seeming to inform it of their presence as it slowly turned their way, revealing its lack of eyes and the sizzling, acidic saliva dripping from its maw. Barely a dozen feet to its left popped in some sort of lanky monkey-like thing with blades extending from its wrists where hands sho...

42. An Old… Friend?

“Who, me?” Scule asked, looking surprised. “Oh, you know… Just checking out all these old tunnels I found. Making sure they’re secure. Wouldn’t want any tiny monsters scrambling through them up into the middle of camp during the fight, am I right? Kinda defeats the purpose of all those walls your people are building.”

Vin didn’t even bother saying anything, choosing instead to stand there with his arms crossed, staring down at the petian. After a few tense seconds, Scule...

41. Prepare for the Worst

The next few hours reminded Vin of all the group assignments he’d always hated back in high school. The ones with dozens of people running around in a panic after waiting until the last minute before trying to accomplish far more work than they actually had time for. 

After finding and filling Lieutenant Myers in on the situation, the woman had once again shown exactly why Spur held her in such high regard by taking control of the camp in an instant and snapping out orders for pe...

40. Resistance is Futile

Patty’s usual beaming smile had been replaced with a victorious grin as she gazed around the room at the stunned and frozen council members, before turning her focus on Spur. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting to shut you up? For a military man, you talk far too much for the record. I can’t tell you how many times I almost pulled the trigger on my plans, but it looks like waiting for my capstone skill was the right call. Now that we’re all together, I think it’s time...

39. A Sudden Yet Inevitable Betrayal

“You’ve got bad news,” Spur snorted, sheathing his sword and shaking his head. Before he could say anything more, an angry guardswoman stormed into the room, glaring at Vin before snapping a salute at Spur.

“Apologies Colonel! Despite your orders, these three managed to get past us. Please allow me to remove them from headquarters.” Abby looked like receiving the order to physically remove Vin and his group would bring her nothing but joy. But to her disappointme...

38. Homecoming

As it turned out, the answer to that question was a resounding yes. Over the hour it took for Vin and his group to cross the border between fragments and make it to the location of the new camp, he’d leveled up his new Running skill five times, earning more than enough experience to tip him over into level 18. After obtaining Threat Detection and increasing his dexterity, Vin was feeling confident enough in his defenses to return to his old ways, and he tossed the three attribute p...

37. Hope for the Best

“The plan is simple,” Vin explained as they ran toward the magical border separating the citadel fragment from his camp’s fragment. Luckily, breaking out of the citadel had been far easier than breaking in; especially when all the guards were distracted chatting with one another about what that huge explosion from within the holy district might have been, and it looked like someone was burning a dozen tons of Skittles. He’d expected at least a few of them to finally throw caution to t...

36. Boom

“Keep running, keep running!” Vin repeated, doing his best to put as much distance between them and the shaking colosseum as possible. As he ran, he tried to ignore the ache in his back he’d received from slamming into the wall of the building at what felt like mach three speeds. He was thankful that the Gods included the resulting impact from the crazed guardian’s backhand to be part of his initial attack, but they could have at least prevented the resulting aches and pains.

�...

35. A Desperate Gamble

Lorkal sent another ranged slash lazily toward the annoying petian, watching the tiny man dive out of the way at the very last moment for the umpteenth time. The stone ground was littered with gouges and knicks all over the place now from how long he’d been playing with the Rogue, and countless pedestals had already been cut to pieces. It would have been child’s play to dart forward and actually take care of the little pest, but he had to do something to entertain himself un...

34. Divine Discussion

“What are you?” Vin couldn’t help but ask, all his previous thoughts vanishing in light of the woman’s sudden appearance and hypnotic voice.

“That’s a tricky question,” she said, giving him a sad smile. Her hair seemed to float around her head as though they were underwater, and the effect was more than a little distracting. “I can tell you what I was in the old universe. A powerful God with countless trillions of people spread out across untold worlds worshiping her. No...