jmclarke

Chapter 809: Moving Energy and Moving Through Life

The sound of fire crackling had not always been a welcome sound to Alex, though time had changed that.

His little sister had come to see and accept fire as more than pain and death, and she’d been inspired to embrace its benefits, to consider making cold from flame, an idea inspired by her brother who’d used flame to smother flame at the windmill on the outskirts of Greymoor. Though she was likely a long way from achieving her goal…the concept of moving heat, controlling ...

Chapter 808: What is Mana?

Alex didn't tell Professor Val’Rok everything about the Ravener.

He couldn't.

The archwizard left out the parts about the god being the one who’d made the construct, about him being dead, and that he’d engineered the Ravener’s endless cycles. He also left out the hidden church.

What he did talk about was how they wanted to shut the Ravener down forever, some of what they’d learned about the construct, and the challenges they were facing putting the differe...

Chapter 807: Watching Them Move On

“It's been too long! Too long! Come in, my door is always open to you. Come in!” the lizardfolk wizard cried. “You look rather bony, have you been eating properly, Alex?”

“I’m pretty sure you’re just imagining that, professor,” Alex said.

“You think so?” Val’Rok turned away from the young wizard, who quickly checked his frame.

‘You haven’t lost any muscle mass have you?’ Alex wondered, checking his frame. He flexed. ‘Have you?’

Alex stop...

Chapter 806: The Ravener's Rescuers

“I want you to tell them exactly what you told me.” Sir Swift’s deep voice filled the church in Luthering.

A group of soldiers—swaddled in towels and bloodstained rags—shivered as they sipped hot soup, throwing glances at Watcher Hill, Professor Jules, Alex and Isolde. They looked like they'd hadn’t slept in days, their eyes were unfocused, with bags below them confirming the tale.

Their body language screamed of nervousness as they hardly met anyone’s gaze....

Chapter 805: A Vision of Culling

“Are you ready, Mr. Roth?” Professor Jules asked.

Alex was now seated in a comfortable chair in the middle of the lab, his feet firmly planted on the floor. He held the dungeon core between his hands as though he was trying to crush it.

Isolde was nearby, watching the General of Thameland. One gloved hand tightly gripping her other one.

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” came his reply.

“If anything goes wrong, please remember, you must stop immediately, Mr....

Chapter 804: Poisonous Possibilities

Hidden in a far corner of the room sat a container crafted of a grey-white metal, a material that Alex had never seen before. Glyphs of strengthening and hardening were etched into its surface; making it impervious to even the force of a battering ram.

Professor Jules waved a hand over the lid and—with the same tell-tale hiss of escaping air—the box slowly opened.

Inside, a padded container and two sets of metal prongs held a vial of reinforced glass. Within the vial was a sam...

Chapter 803: Reconstitution Theories

“It's good to be back,” Alex said, inhaling deeply.

He let the sights, sounds and smells pass over him.

The sight of researchers bustling about the lab dressed in their protective equipment. The sounds of liquids boiling in beakers, and the whir of mana powered machinery. The smell of brewing potions.

All felt good.

It felt familiar.

Comfortable. He felt at home.

“I missed this lab,” Alex looked around the laboratory in the Research Castle. “I mis...

Chapter 802: Closure

“Professor!” Alex called, waving his hand clutching the papers. “Do you have a moment or do you have a class or office hours right now?”

The force magic professor paused, looking at Alex sternly. An air of reluctance passed over his face before he exhaled then squared his shoulders. “I have twenty minutes before I have to be in my next class. What do you need from me, Mr. Roth?”

“I just wanted to…talk for a second,” Alex said.

Ram’s natural arm gripped th...

Chapter 801: Alex and Mangal

Alex and Professor Mangal stepped into the Cell, locking the door behind them. The room was empty, clean and spacious.

It wouldn’t stay empty for long.

“This is the very cell where you demonstrated your mastery of fifth and sixth- tier summoning spells to me,” the professor smiled at the memory. “To think that was only a little over three months ago.”

“A lot’s changed,” Alex said. “A whole lot has changed. I don’t have t...

Chapter 800: The Five Steps to 'Operation Everybody Lives'

“If these steps will keep us alive then I am all ears,” Khalik said.

The other members of Alex’s cabal moved closer.

“Alright, so here’s the steps,” the General said. “The first one is what we’re doing right now. We'll be dealing with a lot of monsters, and probably ones we've never seen before. In order to fight back successfully, we’ll need to be able to react quickly: since spells are your main way of attacking an enemy and defending yourselves, the faster you...

Chapter 799: The Beginning of the General's Training

“There you go, Khalik, that’s the way,” Alex said, watching the prince closely. ‘Remember, you don't need your tongue to convey meaning: even with spellcraft. As long as you can replace syllables with body language, or hand movements, you're still casting the spell.”

Khalik’s eyebrow twitched as though shocked with a lightning spell. “That is easy for you to say,” he said between clenched teeth. “You’ve said that many times, but casting a spell with a finger twitch o...

Chapter 798: A Future in Darkness

Uldar’s body floated before his creation.

All was silent in a cavern where ruined spawn corpses lay spread around the cave floor as a warning to their brethren. Cautioning the living of what would happen to any that disturbed the Ravener’s grieving.

The great orb of darkness hovered above water, its gaze—its attention—was fully on the silent form of the god who had created it. Days had passed since the body had been brought there, and for days it had guarded it like a suff...

Chapter 797: Potential Futures of Wine and Adventure

Alex, Khalik, and Thundar considered Isolde’s question, each one waiting for the other to answer. The prince spoke first.

“I believe I will remain here in Generasi,” Khalik said. “For the foreseeable future, at least. I want to show Sinope Tekezash, but there is little for me there that would require me to be there full time.” The prince smiled at Alex. “You inspired me to learn a teleportation spell in the future, and that will allow me to live here and be in contact with m...

Chapter 796: Cabal's Return from Hiatus

“It's been way too long since we've gotten together like this.” Thundar leaned back in his chair, his arms behind his neck. “Way too long.”

“I agree, Thundar, I know.” Alex went to reach for his satchel, his hand pausing partway. In the past, when they would meet on this balcony in Generasi’s castle, it was to study together, or plan for an event like the Games of Roal. Out of habit, he’d just reached for a textbook. He shook his head. “Way too long is exactly right.�...

Chapter 795: What is a Home?

“Are you ready to go?” Alex asked, entering a small room in the Research Castle.

Bjorgrund and Birger were fastening their cloaks as the late morning sun over Greymoor beamed through the window. The two giants looked up at him, surprised.

“Alex!” Bjorgrund cried. “That was the longest we've been apart in months! Did you miss me?”

The smiling wizard shrugged. “I missed our sparring matches, but I guess one day without you nearly cutting my head off was kinda nic...

Chapter 794: Different Roles in Different Times of Life

“This is why I don't like talking to old things who think they're above everything else,” Professor Jules grumbled as she walked down the hall with Alex. “Having a conversation with them is like trying to solve fifteen riddles at once, and their ‘cleverly disguised’ tests are more annoying than amusing. Why can’t they just speak plainly?”

“Yeah, I guess you're right…” Alex murmured, his brow furrowed in thought.

She glanced at him. “Oh, don't tell me you're <...

Chapter 793: Pride and Roles

“What do you mean I won’t survive my next trial?” Alex asked the Registrar. “Are you talking about the Ravener?”

“Yes, you mean to fully engage with the great enemy of your homeland, do you not?” Hobb asked, his eyes locked on Alex’s. The young wizard met the devil’s gaze, though it felt like those otherworldly eyes were piercing him, seeking his soul.

Hobb smiled at that. “Good.”

“Wait, what's good?” Alex asked.

“You met my gaze with no sig...

Chapter 792: Engeli and Devils

“Right on time, Mr. Roth,” Professor Jules said.

The slight, white-haired professor was standing outside the registrar's office holding a bulging satchel.

“Morning, professor,” Alex said. “Did you sleep well?”

“Well enough, all things considered,” she said wearily. “Now, then, shall we proceed?”

“Whenever you’re ready,” Alex said, frowning. “What’s the protocol for giving someone access to the ninth-floor, professor? For the other floors, ...

Chapter 791: Nostalgia, Spells and Memory

Under the midnight air, Alex Roth stood on the balcony of the villa. He looked over the courtyard with a dreamy smile, taking in the sounds, sights and scents of the Generasian countryside under moonlight.

Fireflies glowing in the distance.

Crickets chirping.

A warm wind.

Toraka’s golems patrolling the courtyard.

All were comforting. No more frigid Irtyshenan nights, huddled by a fire with the hidden church stalking him, Birger and Bjorgrund. Just the comfort o...

Chapter 790: To the Future

“What do you mean ‘if we didn’t have to abandon it’?” Mrs. Lu asked.

“What if you could start each day here—in paradise—and then go to the inn from here in the morning,” Alex suggested. “What if you had help, like an innkeeper who could manage the inn in the evening, while you came back here?”

“Well, there's an idea,” Mr. Lu chuckled, taking a long sip of wine. He was beginning to look a little flushed. “But we can't have you teleporting us between here...

Chapter 789: A Reunion Meal

Alex Roth slowly peeled himself off the golem when Claygon finally broke their hug.

His knees felt like jelly, but it was worth it, he would have been a pretty bad father if he’d denied his son a hug. And he’d seen enough bad fatherhood lately.

“It’s good…” he wheezed as the golem helped him stay upright. “It’s good to see you too, buddy.”

“You…are…home!” Claygon cheered, lifting Alex up as though he weighed no more than a ...

Chapter 788: A Walk Through Old Memory

“It’s good to be back,” Alex said quietly, walking through the halls of the castle. The young wizard strolled slowly, one hand holding his staff, and the other relaxed at his side.

His steps were light, his head held high, and—for the first time in months—he felt no tension, no worry of being hunted, no matter where he went. The hidden church and the Stalker had driven him from his home, but in turn, they’d been driven from the material world, he was still h...

Chapter 787: What Now?

“Thanks for the lift, Mr. Roth, I can never get over how efficient travelling by teleportation is,” Professor Jules laughed, stepping away from Alex. The two wizards had teleported to the alchemy professor’s office from the Heroes’ camp. “I wasn't aware that you’d become so proficient at travelling such a large distance in a single jump.”

“Neither was I,” Alex admitted, stretching and looking around. “I got better practising in Kelda’s sanctum…and…”

Pro...

Chapter 786: The Turning Wheel of Faith

Alex Roth stood in Uldar’s viewing room, scratching his head, trying to grasp what had just happened. He looked from the symbol of Uldar—on the floor—to the high priest of the god of Thameland, who’d thrown it there.

Had he really just done that?

He would have thought Tobias would be devastated: when Merzhin had found Uldar dead in his throne room, and later learned what he’d done to his own people, the young Saint had come close to breaking, close to falling into despai...

Chapter 785: A Major Crisis of Faith

“By Uldar’s beard…” Tobias Jay gasped.

The high priest looked around the empty throne room of his god, his mouth agape and eyes wide. His breaths came quick and shallow, his eyes barely blinked. He was clutching the holy symbol of Uldar that he wore around his neck so tightly, it was leaving an impression in his flesh. “This place is filled with divine energy. It’s blazing with it…yet…it feels like some of it is draining away…disappearing elsewhere.”

“Tobias,...

Chapter 784: The King's Hunt

Alex was surprised at how easy getting an audience with the king had been.

When they’d finished viewing Uldar’s journal, the group had split up.

Isolde, Watcher Hill, Grimloch, Theresa, Brutus, Birger and Bjorgrund had gone to Greymoor, while Alex, Cedric, Drestra, Hart, Merzhin and Professor Jules, teleported straight to Ussex.

It was late in the day when they arrived at the castle, and their sudden appearance had caused quite an uproar. Guards and soldiers were scrambl...

Chapter 783: Regret?

The next few entries were chaotic.

It was clear that Uldar was growing more forgetful. While his body would sometimes look healthier than others, his mind seemed to be fully on the decline.

“I…” he paused during entry ninety-two. He was blinking and frowning. “I…I…I’m not I…hard to order my mind these days. Poison is deep, deep in my essence. I…” He paused again. “What was I talking about? Oh yes, good days are becoming rare…have to record anyway. Right, wh...

Chapter 782: Hart's Anger

Merzhin bolted from his seat and fled toward the hallway with one hand clamped on his mouth. He shoved the door open, took three steps and heaved the meagre contents of his stomach onto the white floor.

Alex cut the recording, shaking with rage.

The rest of the room was in an uproar.

“You, filthy plague-spewin’ bastard!” Cedric roared, turning and running after Merzhin. “Are y’alright?” He called.

The Saint stumbled further into the hallway.

Drestra w...