Verlin Merlin

Chapter 48- The arrogant Xnarthan

Ray

The deals continued well into midday as people of various walks of life frolicked to the market. The sale on potions was its own attraction, who could resist a lot of potions? After all, there was a reason Alchemists were so vaunted. The reason certainly wasn't their good looks. The deals led to the collection of stupendous amounts of information, as the people worked full time to spread rumors and verify their own.

The Xnarthan had been meeting with every force in town, with ...

Chapter 47- Do you want to fool a bunch of nobles?

Ray

"So, they're going for the big drop, are they?" Gordon said. "Are they planning to directly kill the Emperor, or just go public with their rebellion?" The excitement in his voice was palpable.

"I don't know, I doubt even Ma knows'' Ray said. "The rebels have been pretty quiet about their intentions. But the question is, what do we want to do?"

"I don't think we have an actual choice, Ray. " Marcus said. "The rebels are already powerful, if we join in now our support woul...

Chapter 46- Why are the Deans just so nosy?

Ma sighed, her frustration evident. "I thought we already had that conversation."

"No, we had that conversation about you hiding the fact that you were the Scholar, not your knowing the most wanted rebel on the continent on a personal level. And I presume this friendship comes with knowing her location too?" Ray asked, exasperated.. "So there's another reason for the Xnarthan to want to hunt you."

"The Xnarthan wanted to hunt me the second I became the Scholar. And look w...

Chapter 45- A meeting gone very wrong.

"So it's a gamble." Marcus noted.

"On one side, on the other we'd be counting on our own capabilities." Rena said.

"No, we're still gambling on the fact that we can survive the hunt for rebels,not something that we can be sure about." Marcus countered.

"I suppose. But is it not better than relying on some unknown force." Rena said. "Not to mention, we're not really elected leaders. Why are we the ones making decisions anyway?"

"Well, who else would you want to be makin...

Chapter 44- A noble enters a warehouse full of poor alchemists.

Ray

Ray moved towards them, trying to overhear what they were talking about. "Do you know when Ray will be back? I have been waiting for hours." Torrin asked.

"No, but you can have some food if you want." Marcus answered, holding out one of those folded things. What was it called again/

"I thought this was a celebration in honor of a successful hunt. Ray should be here." Torrin stated.

"Yes, he should. But we don't exactly get to choose when nobles whisk us off, do we?...

Chapter 43- What has the world been up to?

Ray

Ray contemplated the future as he walked home. The dean's offer was something else. Ray did not have any deep relations with the rebellion, but if he gave this potion recipe to them, there would be.

In fact, he would be surprised if he did not become an honored member after he gave it. But it came with its own considerations. Did Ray want to part of a rebellion? The rebellion would presumably be under attack now that the Xnarthan were pouring into the city. But at the same tim...

Chapter 42- The Dean is doing things again.

Ray

"What do you mean?" Ray asked.

"The recipe is something I discovered years ago. The Emperor teleported to me minutes after I registered it. The potion was sealed as a banned recipe, but really it's been used by the Emperor to boost his most loyal followers all this time.

Now you and your little rebellion can have it. The recipe is Tier 15, so you'll need someone at that Tier to make it, but if the rebellion is even half as powerful as I think it is, th...

Chapter 41- The bait is a bit too juicy.

Rassi

Ronne eventually did teleport him back, but the five minutes he spent there were the worst he had ever spent. And that was saying something considering the things he’s had to do in the years before.

The memory changed his world. Ronne was wrong about one thing. Rassi did love their mother, and that was why he had worked so hard to make sure it never happened again. The reason the situation even came around was because he’d taken things from those in power.

A son wh...

Chapter 40- What do you mean the dean is actually a decent Alchemist?

“I have lived with not knowing what these items are for quite a long time.” the Dean said.

“The crown is a Fae heirloom.” Ray tempted.

“Ok, deal.” the Dean said, sighing.

“The crown is a Fae royal artifact,” Ray began, sensing at it. A hazy image formed before his eyes. “The crown was worn by a Fae Prince…”- Ray titled his head trying to sense at it-“ A Tier 31 I think.”

“The main headpiece is missing. I can’t get any information on it, bu...

Chapter 39- Ray on drugs. Or is it mana? Is there a difference?

Ray

“Oh, don’t look at me like that! I am not going to snatch it from you. I am pretty sure that it’s not even possible to do so.” the Dean said.

Ray looked at him suspiciously, “Why do this? The arrangement doesn’t benefit you at all. And you’re all about benefit.”

“What do you mean it doesn’t benefit me? I get a good disciple like you!” the Dean said.

Ray wasn’t buying that. “What are you hiding?”

“Come on, I am not some evil maste...

Chapter 38- The Dean is up to something again.

Matilda

“I need your help, Matilda.” Antasia said, taking a seat before her.

“The missing Satyrs?” Matilda asked. A few Satyr children had snuck into the city, and had gone missing. The Satyrs were beside themselves, an Elder had taken residence in the city and was insisting on sending Antasia's people to the surface. At the same time the Xnarthan were pouring into the city.

“Yes, what do you know?” Antasia asked.

“Not much, sadly. The children teleported...

Chapter 37- A scam is in progress.

Anita

“Oh? And what are you going to do?” Anita taunted.

“I will ground you if it comes to it, but I do not think it will.” the Dean said.

“And why in the world would I cooperate with you?” Anita asked.

“The heir to one of the nine main branches has a status similar to outer disciples of the Emperor. As such, you have that status. The Order of Mage-warriors will have to hesitate before taking action against you and your family.” the dean answered, makin...

Chapter 36- A lot to be gained by getting a class

Anita

Anita stared at the slouching figure of the Dean before her.

“Is it true?” she asked.

The dean sighed, his wrinkled old face frowning under the weight. “Yes, sadly it is. I couldn’t do much-'' he began, but Anita was out of patience.

“No, you could have just  followed the rules. Corriss broke them, Ray just defended himself.” Anita stated.

“Anita, Ray is a commoner that killed a noble. A ranked noble that was the son of one of the major o...

Chapter 35- A battle better left forgotten.

Ray

“I have to say, I don’t consider myself particularly lucky, but this is an unexpected stroke of luck. To run into you here, in the wild, with your head bobbing around like it's on some kind of drug.

Tell me, did you get bitten by some insect? A surprise one? Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. But you can rest assured, I could have killed you anyway. I realized that I’d been lazy. And stupid. I was a noble, not a silly commoner. Now look at me! Tier 9, a new shield, and...

Chapter 34- To choose a class is very hard

Ray took a deep breath as he looked at his options. The last one was obviously the best among them, but it came with a catch. And he wasn’t sure he wanted his power to be dependent on something that he could lose ...

Chapter 33- A new disciple has been accepted.

Trevor

Trevor sighed as he walked away from the battle area. The mongoose were still around, but he didn’t have the will to fight for them anymore. Corriss and his lot would have it anyway. Just injuring that Tier 7 mongoose had taken a lot out of him, golden light might look good, but it wasn’t the best element.

The Order of Mage-Warriors had not been what he had expected. The Academy program had always been something of a dogfight, but this was something else. The higher ran...

Chapter 32- A lot of mana is on its way.

Ray decided to do a little bit of both. Green glitter led grass to grow on the cracks, as yellow glitter lit it up, all while Ray did not show his face. The beasts died in hordes, falling prey to his attack.

The System hadn’t responded yet, so they must still be dying, but Ray had to admit, he felt a little unease at the situation. The cracks were still widening, and it seemed like the tunnel had more exploding to do.

The entire thing felt like a disaster waiting to happen. So R...

Chapter 31- And trouble is at Ray's door again.

Ray

“What do you mean they've joined the hunt? I thought it was just for the affiliated colleges.'' Ray asked.

“Eklard made a grand inspirational speech about how they had changed, and that they deserved some pity from the Dean. The fool caved, and now we have a situation.” Aunty Ariana said.

“I can’t stop the College Dean from teleporting you lot into the hunt area, the old man is just too good at teleporting people. So you’re going to have to deal with that lot...

Chapter 30- A conversation that wasn't awkward at all.

Ray

“Ma, when were you going to tell me about the Scholar of Afrieal thing?” he asked as Ma looked up at him.

“In a few days, when the Order of Mage-Warrior’s was dealt with.” Ma said, her voice calm.

“So you are behind it.” Ray stated, taking a seat.

“Yes, I think that much is obvious.” Ma replied.

“Why keep it a secret?” Ray asked.

“At first, I did not want you to get involved. The business is dangerous, Ray, you could get killed a...

Chapter 29- Ma is married?

Ray

The Dean tried to interrogate Ray for a while, but Aunty Ariana managed to get him out of the office. The two of them boarded Aunty Ariana’s vehicle, a disc-like car that floated in the air. The inside was cushy, to say the least.

A couple of recliner chairs were the only seating there. The insides were notably dark, but the darkness was more calming and comfy than dangerous. Ray felt sleepy just resting on the chair, it was clearly built for resting on long journeys.

...

Chapter 28- To talk with a money-grubbing Dean.

Ray had to admit, he was shocked. Aunty Anita was more powerful than the duke? The information seemed to come out of nowhere, not just for him, but for everyone in the courtroom.

“Now, does student Rosenmund have anything to add to disciple Fartallis’ explanation?” the Dean asked.

Ray jumped up at the call, clearing his throat nervously. “Yes, Dean, Corriss has given you a completely inaccurate account of events. Corriss was the one who opened fire, not me, there are sever...

Chapter 27- The important thing is how much one gets.

Ray

Ray immediately moved to block, drawing his wand as he spread brown glitter in a concentric manner. A wall of earth met the fire, absorbing the attack. But Ray wasn’t done, he brandished his wand, pointing it at the disciple, what did Anita say his name was? Corris or something.

A line of glitter emerged, shooting towards Corriss as he laughed.

“So the bigger mouse joins the smaller one. Did you think your sneak attack would work?” he said, laughing as the glitter ...