Chapter 27
A full month passed since they had become adventurers, their victories grew in number as did their scars. Gideon now had a crescent scar around his right eye, a burn mark on the underside of his chin and several other various bite marks and cuts hidden under his clothes. Rhordan fared no better, with a wide cut on her left cheek arcing diagonally up to her nose, a similar burn mark on the underside of her chin as well as the array of bite marks and cuts hidden under her clothes.
They now adorned a nearly full set of iron plate mail armour, a secret steel chest plate that Paylor had made the day after, and various parts around their legs and upper arms. Their plain clothes covered the chest plates while allowing the other pieces to be visible, it gave them a sort of mismatched appearance. Gideon had the two short swords attached to his belt, the cursed sword hidden behind a larger dark brown leather backpack they had purchased alongside the replacement for Rhordan's.
A few days after acquiring the short swords, Rhordan found herself disliking the close quarter combat, though she had the skill to evade the opponent's attacks easily she could never find the opportunity to attack like Gideon did. She struggled to take advantage of openings, missing chances to strike the opponent when she was face to face with them. With Gideon's encouragement, she tried out various other weapons to find something that worked for her while trying to ignore the slight dent to their finances.
That was when she stumbled across the bow, during one of the extremely few hunting quests for goblins they ran across another adventurer group that was struggling to hold their own, their weapons discarded and at the mercy of the goblins. The group was seconds away from being mercilessly slain by goblins when Rhordan sprang into action, snatching a discarded bow from the ground and with seemingly apparent ease, shot the lead goblin through the throat. After that, the goblins fell one by one, with Gideon charging into the fray soon after, the shock of her skill startling him for a split second.
Returning to Bardia, they used a decent amount of their silver to buy her a good bow and a quiver full of arrows. Rhordan had tried to argue against spending that much, but was effectively silence when Gideon explained the benefits of having a ranged combatant. With both of them on the front-line, it forced them to be aware of the other's position and sometimes due to the high stress of the situation, they would run collide with one another and destabilise their positions. However, with an archer, Gideon would be free to focus solely on the enemy while Rhordan tackles the stragglers or flankers.
Of the few kill quests shortly after acquiring the bow, they found their dynamic changed greatly. True to his word, Gideon no longer had to worry about keeping an eye on Rhordan, not that he doubted her skill, and focus on fighting the opponent with all his might. Rhordan could pick her targets carefully, hitting vital points or eliminating others flanking Gideon. The bow also offered Rhordan a lot more mobility, she could run around the battlefield and evade attacks before creating an opening and firing upon the target. Yet, she had no idea how she was able to use it as easily as she had been, not even Gideon knew since he couldn't rationally explain his apparent skill with blades.
Gideon didn't want the second short sword to go to waste, he had at first thought of Rhordan keeping it on her just encase even though he found dual wielding them to be quite effect against multiple opponents. At Rhordan's insistence, he kept both short swords attached to his hip.
As for the two special items Gideon acquired at the Yellow Bird Armoury, they proved next to useless. Even Rhordan investigating it with her magic sense ability yielded nothing, so they stored them away and forgot about it, deciding that further down the line they would have better skills and a way to examine them.
During the last month, they had cleared one quest after another, never relenting for one second or taking a break. Their diligence and hard work earned them the rank of low silver, granting them access to better quests with greater rewards. Though their secret quests with Baltharn had been a contributing factor to their progression, and what had earned them many of their scars. Baltharn took it upon himself to pit them against a stronger foe after another, hoping that one will eventually destroy them, yet each time they pulled the impossible and escape by the skin of their teeth.
The majority of those fights forced them to lure other stronger monsters into the fray, hoping they either kill each other or deal enough damage that they could take care of the monster themselves. It wasn't a useful tactic, but it was the only one they had as their own magic and physical capabilities were sorely lacking.
Then again, their physical strength had been increasing gradually with each life-or-death battle, they weren't exactly sure how it worked but they didn't complain about it. They could run faster, jump higher, and withstand a greater amount of pain. Their bodies felt tougher, stronger and more resilient, and yet they were still far too weak against any magical beast.
With each quest and secret mission they completed, they amassed their own fortune of coin. They were close to reaching a single gold piece, a feat they had managed in a single month. The silver quests didn't yield more than a half a silver per, far better than the measly few coppers at the bronze rank. Their true income came from the infrequent secret missions and multiple magical beast cores they acquired, trading them and whatever extra pieces they found to Paylor, who grew accustom to their arrivals with a faint smile and an irked glare.
They were somewhat worried about trading constantly with Paylor each time they acquired items from a secret mission, that was until they learned why blacksmiths desired the cores. Magic cores are what gives magical items their skills and power, infusing one into a normal item or including it into the forging process has a chance of fusing it into the item and giving it special properties. Although their a major contributing factor to the creation of magical items, they weren't the only methods, there were a few others that the pair couldn't find out about.
There were many factors that determine the outcome of a magical item made from a core; the rank of the core, the cores grade, and its magical power. The lower the rank of the core, the less magic is imbued into the item. The lower the grade, the less chance in succeeding with the infusion, and the magical power was pretty self-explanatory in determining how powerful the item could be as well as the effects the item inherits.
Knowing this, they started to keep some of the cores they acquired, deciding that if they get the chance then they would try to learn how to forge magical items themselves. It was a farfetched dream, but one that could provide them an insurmountable amount of coin as magical items go for nearly fifty silver for the absolute weakest one available.
They currently sat drinking ale in Bob's bar, quietly eating their food and thinking about their latest quest to find a missing merchant along the road to Fulra. It wasn't difficult as the caravan had taken the wrong road and turned itself around one to many times, finding it and leading it back to Bardia proved simple. What was bugging them had been the noble travelling with the merchant, his arrogance and rude behaviour irritated them to no end, but they couldn't talk back to him.
Before the quest, Chrysanthis had warned them that since they were commoners, they had to be subservient to the whims of the nobles. They reluctantly had to keep their mouths quiet when the noble lecherously tried to have his way with the few females on the caravan, it made Rhordan grateful she was dressed as a male while detesting herself for being weak and unable to help those girls.
"You shouldn't dwell on it too much, there is bound to be far worse monsters out there than that idiot." Gideon tried to comfort Rhordan, he too had wanted to make that noble pay, yet he knew that doing so could be the end of them. He hated the depressed look on her face, if he could cheer her up, he would try anything.
"Not very comforting." Rhordan glared at him, his words striking a chord within her. She knew that worse people existed even in their own world, but to accept that as reality and ignore it, was beyond her.
"True, and yet sometimes we have to face the fact that evil exists even when we don't want it to." Gideon morosely stated, offering Rhordan a grim smile as he took another sip of his ale. "I have no doubt that he won't be the last monster we come across, all we can do is focus on becoming stronger and finding a way home."
"And what if we do?" Rhordan held her head in her hands, unable to process the rampant thoughts tearing her mind apart. "We are titans. Heroes. How can we go home and not do something to help those in need?"
"Rhordan, this isn't our world." Gideon sighed, he couldn't blame her for thinking that, he had the same worry as well. How would they be able to stand in front of the other titans and tell them they had ignored those suffering at the hands of evil people, leaving them to their sorrow and despair with no hope in sight. "No matter what, there will always be evil, injustice and suffering. Even if we fought for our entire lives, we would never be able to make a dent in the forces of evil. Maybe in our world we can do something to help those suffering, but here we have nothing, no backup, no support, no safe place, not even the luxury of taking off our masks and disappearing into the crowd when we want to. We're alone, and we have to focus on ourselves first, even if it means ignoring those suffering."
"But…" Rhordan tried to argue, she wanted to prove him wrong, to tell him that with perseverance that they can make a difference. And yet, she knew he spoke the truth, that she knew deep down that he was right. "It isn't fair…"
"It never is, Rhordan… it never is." Gideon agreed with her, both solemnly returning to their food, hoping the distraction could tear the dark thoughts from their minds. Sitting there quietly, they cleaned their plates and slowly nursed their drinks, thankful the bitter liquid soothed their nerves and ebbed the pain in their hearts away.
"Did someone die?" A deep gravelly voice mockingly addressed them, wrenching their attention away from their drinks, they found the large monk from the exam standing before them. His attire had changed from their first meeting, and instead of the monk like attire that earned him his nickname among the pair, he now had a set of plain clothes with parts that bulged from underneath in a similar manner to their own hidden armour. He had a large circular hat on that covered most of his face, and two immeasurably heavy black metal one-handed war hammers resting comfortably on his back. "Seriously, what has you two so down?"
"Nothing… so what brings you our way?" Gideon replied, offering the large man one of the two remaining seats at their table. Though he didn't fully trust the monk, he knew that he wouldn't be approaching them if he didn't have something to offer.
"Direct, huh…" The monk grumbled, he didn't seem offended by Gideon's candour, rather a small smile appeared on his large features. "Good! Anyway, I heard you two are doing well. Beating Conrad in the exam, and I recently heard you managed to kill a Hellboar without magic!"
The pair shuddered at their last kill mission, a group of bronze ranked adventurers went missing on their last mission. They had found them cowering in a cave, afraid of a magical beast that had suddenly appeared on their gathering quest. The Hellboar, slightly bigger than a standard boar that had bright red fur and crimson tusks, though its power was similar to that of a normal boar, its set just about everything on fire.
Killing it turned out to be far trickier than they had first imagine, Rhordan's arrows burned before they hit, and Gideon couldn't close without his clothes being set on fire. Through trial and error, they found the Hellboar's weakness lied in it use of its most powerful fire attack. For a few short moments after it launches the fireball, it's fire shield drops, allowing a well-timed arrow to fly through and strike it directly in the eye.
"That isn't something we like to remember, got burned one to many times…" Rhordan groaned, rubbing the burn marks on her chin and the other one on her knee. The scars, bitter memories of the lengths they were forced to go to in order to survive, and a road map of each of their victories, and each of their kills.
"Ha! Getting a scar is worth it, it's a badge of honour!" The monk roared triumphantly, a massive grin on his face as he slapped Rhordan's shoulder heavily, causing her to spit out the sip of ale she had taken from the impact of the hit. "Anyway, I have a mission coming up with my team and we need a couple extra hands."
"Why us?" Gideon curtly enquired, they weren't exactly remarkable, especially for someone as powerful as the monk, and whoever his team may be.
"Why not, you have serious skill and can take care of yourselves." The monk grunted, blunt in his answer. He waved a hand at Bob, who in turned glared harshly at the monk before ignoring him. "Not friendly much…"
"Bob's nice, just don't expect him to serve you." Rhordan defended Bob, his hulking size and brutish appearance tended to get him a bad rep among those that didn't know him. Gideon rose from his seat and took his and Rhordan's plates and tankards back, politely asked for three ales and brought them back to the table.
"Thanks." The monk took a swig from the tankard, savouring the taste before setting it down on the table. "We haven't been properly introduced, I'm Xanforess, though you may just call me Xan."
"Emerald, and this is my brother Amethyst." Gideon gave their adventurer's names, his trust for Xan was sorely lacking and he was fairly certain that that wasn't his real name either. Rhordan nodded at her adventurer name, taking a long draft of her ale as she sat patiently to hear what the quest he was offering to them.
"There is a local dungeon that a lot of the silver and gold ranks use to practice, they can sometimes find a good piece of magical gear when clearing it, but generally it's just the odd magical beast items." Xan informed them, detailing the exact specifics of the mission he and his team were preparing for. Rhordan and Gideon were interested in learning of a local dungeon, though the lack of reward to hunt there soured their interest. "The dungeon has an unknown number of floors, each one harder than the last. So far, the lowest floor reached is twentieth floor, beyond that… well… no one ever comes back from it."
"Killed or lost?" Gideon enquired, he would understand if the floor number was twenty-one or nineteen, but for it to be exactly twenty, something was off about that.
"Good catch!" Xan grinned, glad to have someone as perceptive as himself. "Nobody knows, each floor has a teleportation device leading to the next, that same device allows one to return to the entrance of the dungeon. They only allows those to return to the floors they had gotten to, and if someone in a team hadn't been to that floor before then the entire team has to descend through the floors."
"So, past the twentieth floor the device prevents anyone from returning to the upper floors?" Rhordan had a better insight in how teleportation worked than Gideon, she could tell that there were methods to prevent someone from leaving a zone without meeting certain requirement. Something that could be devastating to those who didn't know what they were getting into.
"Possibly, although some people think that the device teleports you to another location entirely." Xan shrugged, uncaring to the real reason as to what happens to those that descend below the twentieth level. "Anyway, that's not what the mission is. We recently found an original map for the first floor, there is a whole section that is missing from modern maps. Apparently, there was a cave in that claimed the lives of one of the first groups to enter the dungeon, that whole section could have limitless amounts of treasure hidden within!"
"Thanks, but no thanks." Gideon immediately declined the offer, sending Rhordan for a loop while Xan practically leapt out of his chair.
"Woah woah, hold on, it ain't a trap!" Xan's words startled many in the room, even Bob stopped his cleaning of a set of tankards to glare menacingly at the monk. Sitting down, Xan lent forward to quietly address the two of them, hoping to not draw any more unwanted attention. "I thought so too when I heard it, but I did some digging, and it turns out that its total true. A lot of the clans that had entered there had come across the cave in, they couldn't move it or use magic as the material the dungeon is built out of destroys magic upon contact."
"So what, someone sooner or later would have found a way in." Gideon countered, still not fully convinced that this wasn't a trap. Rhordan tried to focus on the conversation while trying to sooth a fairly ruffled yellow bird who had been abruptly awoke by Xan's outburst.
"Not so, no one can get around it and no one thought of the way we found." Xan grinned, knowing full well that he was breaching the terms that his captain had strictly given him. This new route was found alongside the map, one that no one else would have thought to think of. "Look, I wouldn't have gone along with it if I had heard the same thing, but the evidence is there. All I can ask is that, my team needs both of you to pull this off, plus you both are highly skilled."
"Need us for what?" Gideon pushed, no one specifically comes after unassuming people like him and Rhordan with words of how important they are to the mission. He levelled a glare at Xan, daring him to try and continue his attempt to paint them as the heroes joining the team to pull off a major score.
"Alright. Alright, fine! Damn, you don't trust anybody." Xan groaned, grimacing as he took another swig of his drink before leaning back in his chair. "Look, I only recently join this team, and this is our first major mission together. The team originally had four, until one of them betrayed us for the gold pieces we scored from our last mission. Now, with three, the major mission isn't doable."
Xan rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing slightly as he remembered the events surround the death of one of their teammates at the hands of the captain.
"Our team's mage is bringing in another to complete the four needed for the mission, but I thought that an extra pair of hands would make the mission easier." Xan finished off his drink and focused entirely on the pair before, trying to portray honesty and truth to the very sceptical Emerald glaring at him. "The team's dynamic is two warriors and a mage, not very versatile. The mage's friend is supposedly a rogue, but I know nothing of their skill, however I do know both of yours."
"You want to bring us in encase the mage's friend doesn't pan out." Gideon leaned back in his chair, understanding the monk's reason fairly well, though a note of distrust still clung inside his heart.
"Exactly, plus having another long ranged combatant plus a flanker doesn't hurt our chances…" Xan trailed off, knowing the next part could totally dissuade the pair from joining. "However, the reward is already split four ways, to split it six ways is way too much… but five ways…"
"One share between the both of us!" Gideon barely kept his voice low, enraged that Xan would bother wasting his time talking to them when his was effectively cutting their pay in half. Rhordan completely forgot the cantankerous bird, rounding on Xan with a fierce glare. She knew how dangerous fighting magical beasts were, so to be paid half the reward was an absolute insult.
"I know it's bad, but in exchange I can teach you two a couple of magic moves that beginners can use." Xan had come prepared, he knew that offering one share to two people wouldn't go down well, so he planned ahead. "These moves can be used regardless of your element, it uses pure mana for offensive and defensive purposes. They are tricky to learn but can be the difference between life and death."
His offer gave both of them pause, they already had a few abilities, but they doubted the ones that Xan could teach them would be the same as the ones they knew. If they could learn something that could give them the edge in battle, beyond that of what they were previously capable of, then it would be almost priceless.
"Fine, but we get a portion of the magic cores and magical beast parts." Gideon negotiated, trying to even out the unbalanced reward they were getting.
"Done, though you carry what you keep." Xan happily agreed, knowing he got them with the magic lessons. As for the magic cores, he and his group didn't really care much about the lower ranked magical beasts, they were just a waste of time for how little they were worth. "However, we won't slow down each time to collect them."
"Deal, when do we leave?" Rhordan accepted the terms, allowing Gideon to take a sip of his drink. If they both could get their hands on at least a handful of magic cores, then they could pay off Baltharn without looking suspicious. The more they acquired, the better off they will be.
"We leave at dawn tomorrow, meet us by the north road outside Bardia. Don't be late." Xan left shortly after, leaving the two to dwell on their choice of joining up with Xan and his group. They were startled from their brooding as Bob brought them both another tankard of ale, taking the seat that Xan had left.
"Don't trust him… but do go on this mission, it isn't a trap." Bob assured them, he had enough experience to know when someone was being genuine in their offer. "The dungeon doesn't have much to offer, but the experience in working with a larger group can help."
"Thanks, Bob." Both Gideon and Rhordan thanked the lumbering giant before calling it a night, heading to their room and settling themselves in their usual spots. It took Rhordan a while before she managed to convince Gideon to switch with her occasionally to sleep on the cot, it was partly out of guilt and partly out of necessity to grow accustom to sleeping on hard ground. Higher ranked quests can have adventurer's sleeping in the wilderness for days on end, laying on hard ground would be a common theme for that.
The morning came and the two were walking along the road leading north out of Bardia, they had fully packed for a journey of several days after Bob had told them how far it was to the dungeon. They had wanted to leave behind their hard-earned silver, though knew of no place to store it that couldn't be found.
Reaching the borders of Bardia, they found Xan and three other people standing there waiting for them. One of the three they knew, the blue clad woman from the exam, still twirling daggers. Her short red hair had been tied back, a set of equally bright blue eyes glared harshly at her mage friend.
As for the other two, a woman was dressed exactly as one would expect a mage to wear. A long flowing plain brown robe, a plain wooden staff with a large uncut ruby at the top. She had long brown hair and pale grey eyes, soft round features completing her look of elegance.
The last member had full iron plate mail, covering practically his entire body except for his head, a helmet attached to his leather backpack. A standard iron sword strapped to his waist and a large iron shield on his back, with short blond hair and dark brown eyes he looked the part of a knight. On the main section of his chest plate was an insignia of what looked like a wolf leaping with its claws extended, a similar one was emblazoned somewhere on Xan and the mage.
"Ah! They are here, you two are on time!" Xan called out, drawing the attention of the others as he walked over to the pair to meet them. "Sapphire just arrived as well, we are all set to head out."
"Hold on, you said that you had a fifth person, not sixth as well." The knight barked, clearly upset of not being informed about the change of plans. The other two as well looked somewhat upset, though who they assumed to be Sapphire gazed at them with a slight note of admiration.
"Yeah, I did say that I was bring a fifth, you didn't say they couldn't be twins willing to accept one share." Xan countered, smirking slightly as he watched their leader scowl at him.
"Nice! Those two have some serious skill, this might be a walk in the park." Sapphire called out, defending Xan's pick and startling the knight as well. She strode over, still twirling her daggers, smirking as the knight tried to argue before shutting his mouth.
"Why did you think I invited them." Xan proudly smirked, puffing his chest out slight as he showed off. Sapphire glared at him, then a thought popped into her head.
"How much magic do they know?" Sapphire asked innocently, enjoying the painful flinch rocking through Xan's body as she knew she struck a chord.
"I'm going to teach them before we reach the dungeon." Xan caught the knight groaning in despair, he quickly tried to reassure his team. "Don't worry too much, they killed a Hellboar without magic, they will be fine."
"A Hellboar isn't much of a threat, what we are up against… you better hope you can train them before we arrive." The knight angrily stated, glaring at Xan before turning around the address the others. "We're heading out!"
"Don't mind him too much, Jacob's a bit rattled after one of our own betrayed us." Xan reassured the pair, walking beside them as they followed Jacob and the mage out of Bardia. Sapphire strode along beside them as well, interested in the conversation.
"Hmph… I never liked him, he was always acting weird when he thinks no one is looking." Sapphire grumpily stated, stowing away her dagger as she kept pace with the team's fast march.
"You're just paranoid." Xan groaned, irritated by her words, she never cared to filter her thoughts before she spoke. The two angrily stared at one another, itching to attack the other with the intention of inflicting bodily harm.
This bickering carried on for leagues, Rhordan and Gideon enjoyed the sense of normality though silently tried not to laugh at them, they reminded them of how things were back in titan's tower. It was a pleasant break from their last quest. When they weren't listening to the two bicker, they were being taught the basics of magic.
"Controlling mana is like deciding where a river shall flow, directing its path from the well source inside the body to wherever you decide." Sapphire explained, glaring at Xan to try and argue with her after his failed attempt to explain magic. "To create a spell, you need a flow of mana. To power a magical item is also the same. The difficulty lies in controlling how wide that river should be, the more power leaving means less left in your core."
"So, to power a spell, you need to know how much mana is needed to start it and how much it needs to continue powering it." Rhordan tried to understand Sapphire's words, she had been eagerly listening in to everything spoken about magic, trying to understand the complexity surrounding the magic of this world.
"Close. Spells are split into three parts; instant, duration, and self. Instant only needs enough power to cast it, any more can increase the power but increases the chances of the spell destabilising. Duration are spells that are cast over a period of time, they first require a pool to set up the spell and then a constant stream to power it for its duration which is usually determined by its rank." Sapphire corrected Rhordan, breaking down the types of magic spells. "Self is a bit different, sure it requires a pool to start and a constant stream to power, but the longer a spell is used the higher the chance of it destabilising. A mage who has mastered a self spell type can hold it indefinitely, though a lapse in concentration can still break it."
"A mage cannot continuously hold a self spell, their mana pool wouldn't last forever even if their mana recovery was high." Xan countered, finding it ludicrous that Sapphire would lie to the twins.
"Shows what you know." Sapphire glared at Xan, smirking somewhat at her insult. "Low rank magic spells can be held for a long time, though high rank spells that have been mastered can be powered at a lower rate of mana. Meaning, someone can hold a powerful self spell indefinitely."
"What about our magic cores? We keep being told that only a highly trained mage could explain it to us?" Gideon interjected before the two could spark up another bout of their bickering, interested in learning what he could from these two while they could.
"Ha! It isn't that difficult, complex yes but not difficult." Sapphire laughed, annoyed at how often people tell others that only an experienced mage could explain things. "Magic cores are split into three parts; the core itself, the mana it contains, and the element it has. The mana and element is rather self-explanatory; how much you have and what element you can use. The core itself is where things get… difficult…"
"Surely, it isn't that complicated?" Xan asked, he had enough of an understanding to know the basics but there were things he couldn't wrap his head around.
"Magic cores have types, each person has a different type of core from the standard five. Hell, even twins would not have the same core." Sapphire reluctantly explained, she wanted to spite Xan in any way she could, but in this case, it would stunt the brothers. Something she wanted to avoid as she had grown a liking to them after their victory in the exam. "The five standard types are; Warrior, Caster, Archer, Rogue, and Priest. What type of core you have determines your fighting style, I have the rogue type so I excel in fast quick attacks while Xan here is a warrior, a brute force fighter in more ways than one."
"You can talk…" Xan meekly retorted, glaring at her as she explained continued to explain the magic cores. A small smirk etched onto Sapphire's lips as she spoke.
"Core types can be upgraded through various different ways, too many to list. However, this is where things get difficult." Sapphire stared directly at the two brothers, forcing them to pay full attention to her as if they would never get another chance to hear this. "Your magic power and physical power can be upgraded separately from the core, but if you don't upgrade your core then you will reach a limit in how high you can increase you physical and magical power."
"So, in order to grow stronger, you need to balance increasing your physical and magical power while mastering your core?" Gideon's head swam with this, though little was said it was enough to throw him for a loop.
"Well, technically you only need one of the two, the other isn't exactly necessary depending on what type of core you have." Xan chimed in, explaining the little he knew. "As a warrior core type, I use physical power more than magical power. A mage doesn't need physical power to cast spells, so they have no reason to train their bodies."
"As expected of a block head warrior." Sapphire quipped, barely containing herself from laughing at his lack of knowledge. "Yes, you can prioritise one over the other, but that will stunt your future growth. To cast magic, you need to flow mana through your body to where it is needed, but higher ranked spells require a greater amount of mana. In order to pass that mana through the body, it has to be strong enough to withstand it."
"Physical power strengthens the body while magical power increases the strength of spells." Rhordan summed up her current thought process, she found the magic of this world to be immeasurably complex as it would require years of dedication and training to become powerful without stunting future growth.
"Magical power does far more than that… but basically yeah." Sapphire couldn't argue with Rhordan's simplistic answer. Magical power influenced at lot of things; the amount of mana in reserve, the complexity of the spell, the number of spells one could cast in a row, how long one can hold a spell. The same could be said for physical power. "Training in both, while difficult, can greatly increase your overall power. That said, how they are measured is different. While physical power is basically measured in the strength of your body, magical power is measured in the strength of your strongest element."
"Element? Why not mana?" Rhordan enquired confusedly, she thought that the mana strength would determine a person's power rather than the element.
"Mana is just a power source. When increasing your magical power, you focus on absorbing the elements under your control, pouring them into your core. Not only does that increase your mana pool, but it also strengthens the control and power over that element." Sapphire walked merrily alongside the other three, gazing at the vast trees spanning out around them as they took the common short cut through the forest to the dungeon. "Though the common number of elements a person has is usually one, if you're lucky enough to have two then you practically double the amount of mana available. However, you are still measured by the rank of your strongest element…"
"We're making camp in the next two leagues, keep an eye out for any magical beasts in the area." Jacob called out from the front of the group, still marching without missing a beat.
"What about magic potential? I remember that being important to a person's growth?" Rhordan asked, remembering the time back at the guild where they measured the potential of an adventurer's magic.
"It does, having a larger mana pool or stronger element means nothing if you can't control the mana itself." Sapphire and Xan constantly scanned their surroundings, Gideon followed suit though he wasn't nearly as trained as those two. "Your magical potential determines how much mana you can control in one instance, going beyond this and you can either damage yourself or cause whatever spell you are casting to fail. It doesn't stop you from reaching the higher ranks, rather it slows your development once you reach your peak."
"Certain stones can determine a person's potential, though they aren't entirely accurate." Xan weighed in, filling in where Sapphire had left out. "As a person grows, they can control more of their mana, it isn't until they reached a certain point in their growth that that stops. When it does, they will no longer be able to control more mana than they already do."
"Exactly… although sometimes a person's mana pool doesn't have enough mana for them to control, and they dumbly believe that that is their limit." Sapphire chuckled, knowing that she had met her fair share of idiots that believed they had met their limit until they made a dumb mistake, the look of surprise was always priceless. "Anyway, a person's potential determines how high they can climb the ranks before it becomes too difficult for them or their progression is so slow that it could take a hundred years before reaching the next rank."
"What are these ranks? I hear it all the time to describe magical beast's power and magic core strength." Gideon enquired, hopeful that it wouldn't expose them as everyone spoke of them like it was common knowledge.
"Strange question, but I suppose that it isn't necessary information for some." Sapphire muttered aloud, uncaring that she had spoken her suspicions directly to those she was suspicious of. "The ranks are levels that, as I said before, determine the power of magical beasts or a person's element and physical power. Each rank is split into; low, middle, high, and peak. A low rank is far weaker than a middle rank, and a middle rank is far weaker than a high rank. You get the point."
"As for the ranks themselves, they start at with the Beginner rank, the base point for all humans." Xan jumped in, beating Sapphire to the punchline. "The ranks go in order; Beginner, Novice, Apprentice, Knight, Baron or Baroness, Lord or Lady, and Prince or Princess. There are ranks beyond this though its unlikely you would reach them even in your hundreds."
"Most magical beasts start at the Novice rank, though the higher ranked ones start at the lowest rank available to them. For example, the Hellboar is a Novice rank beast, it cannot go beyond this so it will always be a Novice rank beast. However, a Firebolt Hawk is an Apprentice rank beast when its born, but as it grows older it can progress into the Knight rank." Sapphire explained, occasionally casting a look towards the brothers to ensure they were listening. "Stronger magical beasts can climb higher while others are stuck at whatever rank they are born at. Though, for some reason or another, a magical beast doesn't have the same low to peak stages that humans have. They are far stronger than any human at the same rank unless that human is at the peak stage of both magical and physical of the same rank, and even then, it would be one hell of a fight."
"Yep, magical beasts are a pain to deal with on your own." Xan agreed with Sapphire, a rare sight that stunned the brothers for a second. "Low ranked magical beasts aren't that difficult to kill in a group, but higher ranked beast requires a well-trained group with at least ten or more members. Some even need a whole army to take on."
"We camp here." Jacob called out, drawing everyone to halt. They had entered a small clearing in the forest, it was wide open to give them a ring around their campsite. They made a fire in the middle of the clearing, setting down their packs and getting comfortable on the ground. "Night watch will go in turns; myself first, Sophia second, Xan third, Sapphire forth, and you two can decide between you who goes fifth and sixth. I'll cook the food tonight."
Sophia had to be the caster of their group, the one that had been glued to Jacob's side. Gideon and Rhordan sat together far from the other four, cautious to trust any of them despite the friendly conversation they had coming there. It was mostly Gideon who pulled Rhordan away from them subtly, though she knew herself that they couldn't trust them completely yet.
Handing out bowls of a dark brown soup, they all ate while chatting about the upcoming dungeon. Talking about what kind of magical beast they could come across to what they might find in the closed off section. While they chatted, Gideon quietly and quickly ditched a part of his food and pretended to wipe his mouth as if he had eaten it. He would sneak a snack from his backpack once the others had gone to sleep, he had wanted to warn Rhordan as well, but he knew she would dismiss him as being paranoid.
The night wore on and they all finished their meals, setting it down on the ground beside them, still chatting peacefully. Gideon soon felt himself regretting his decision, it wasn't that he was hungry, rather for his inability to trust others. Thus far he could find little reason to mistrust this group, Sapphire was painfully blunt with a slight mischievous side to her, while Xan was her exact opposite. He was reserved, careful of what he says and how he acts, cautious to share any of his knowledge unless it was trivial.
As for Jacob and Sophia, they were an enigma, quiet and distant from others. They had learned from Sapphire that they were adopted orphans, together since they were children and all but inseparable. Sophia had been dating the member of their team that had betrayed them, with that incident still fresh in their mind, they were still mourning their loss.
That was what they should have been doing, though it was far from it. Rhordan had started to feel slightly numb, her body becoming sluggish and her mind fogging over. She couldn't figure out why this was happening, what could cause her to feel as if her body was no longer under her control.
"What's happening…" Rhordan tried to speak but her confusion silenced her, her words drew Gideon's attention. He wanted to go beside her, yet something was wrong as both Xan and Sapphire tried to lift themselves up only to struggle to keep upright. A note of worry etched into him as he mimicked the symptoms of the others, falling to the ground and pretending to struggle to control his body.
"Oh dear, it seems someone may have put something in the food." A mockingly surprised voice announced, standing before the four downed adventurers was Jacob and Sophia, a dark grin plastered on their faces. They maliciously stared at Xan and Sapphire, a dark tinge to their eyes as they stalked forward.
"What is the meaning of this, Jacob!" Xan roared furiously, he lay slumped against his backpack, unable to move a muscle other than his mouth and eyes. Sapphire glared death upon the two, though a twinge of anguish shocked through her as she saw the heartless malevolence in her supposed friend's eyes.
"For someone as cautious and as devious as you, I am surprised that you don't know." Jacob's malicious grin widened, the slow tortured paced he dragged out his words spoke of his enjoyment of Xan's agony. "You think you could galivant around without someone figuring out who you really are? Its laughable for someone of such a family as yours to go unnoticed."
"You want me for ransom!?" Xan exclaimed incredulously, staring wide eyed at the man he had called his captain. Unable to rationalise how he could have fallen into such a trap so easily. "My family would never pay a dime for me."
"Oh, I know." Jacob's giant grinned grow impossibly wider, his face taking a very dark appearance, one that sent cold shivers down those who saw it. "Although… There are those that would pay handsomely for the head of one of your family, some even going as far as offering powerful magical items."
"We can make a fortune off of just selling your body piece by piece." Sophia finally spoke, her lavishly sweet voice terrifying all before her as her face matched her supposed foster brother's. "We would love to keep you alive… though you are too strong for us to handle on our own, so we have to kill you."
"And Sapphire here is just the icing on the cake." Jacob turned his dark smile upon her, approaching her and stroking her red hair. Sapphire tried to recoil though her body wouldn't respond. "We never thought we could get you as well."
"How could I have fallen for such lies! How did you manage to make the information so real?" Xan roared, confused as to how he managed to fall into their trap.
"That's the funny part, it is real." Jacob grinned, shifting his attention to Xan and walking over to him. "I knew I could never get you to lower your guard unless it was something real, it was a sheer stroke of luck that we came over that map when we did, I was running out of ways to persuade you that I was your friend."
"Oh it was almost perfect, and if it wasn't for that fool for finding out about our plan then we would never have managed to get Sapphire here as well!" Sophia grinned happily, leaning on her staff as she watched horror strike across Xan's face. "Oh yes, that dear friend of yours was trying to warn you… except he decided to tell me, his beloved girlfriend first!"
"You!" Xan couldn't form a sentence to express the anger he was feeling, he wanted to tear her apart for her words alone. The one that had betrayed the team was Xan's greatest friend, the two had met when they first became adventurers, and it was him that had encouraged Xan to join Jacob's team.
"Oh, don't fret, you will be joining him soon." Jacob drew his sword from his waist, the metallic sound ringing out as he drew it, settling a cold dread in all of them. "I haven't forgotten about you two brothers either, it's a shame that you got to know dear little Xan when you did. Can't have any witnesses."
"Wait! Surely there is something… anything that can change your mind?" Gideon called out frantically, he knew he didn't stand a chance in one-on-one combat with both of them, but if he could take one out then the other would be far easier to handle. Though he had to let them think they had the upper hand, let them get close to him before he pounces.
"Kid, there ain't anything you have that could interest me." Jacob laughed, stalking his way over to Gideon, intent on getting the dirty work out of the way first before he started the fun work.
"There is nearly a full gold coin in our bags! Even magic cores… surely there must be something to spare me and my brother?" Gideon pleaded, trying to sound as weak and defenceless as possibly. A trick he remembered from a few animals of their old-world use to use, lay lifeless and allow a predator to get close before launching the trap when they were lest expecting it.
"Haha, We are going to make hundreds of gold coins off of Xan alone, what makes you think we care about a single gold piece?" Jacob rhetorically asked, laughing viciously as he stood before them. "Any last words before I kill you?"
"We have nothing to do with Xan! We are struggling to get by, and he comes with an offer we can't refuse, how is this fair!" Gideon roared angrily, ignoring the glare that Xan sent his way as he tried to throw him to the wolves.
"Life isn't fair, its just your misfortune that you accepted the quest." Jacob laughter grew in volume, his grin baring his teeth as he stared with such bloodthirst at them both.
"Then… then can I ask that you take my brother first?" Gideon pathetically asked, shocking Rhordan who stared wide eyed at him. Even Xan and Sapphire looked at him as if he had lost his mind.
"You are one nasty brother, but why not." Jacob happily raised his sword, aiming at the still baffled and hurt Rhordan who could only stare at the bright iron sword raised above her.
The next few moments stunned everyone in the clearing, when Jacob had raised his sword far above his head, seconds away from striking down Rhordan, Gideon made his move. He leapt like a panther, launching himself at the exposed knight who wasn't expecting him to be in control of his body. Using the short sword he had drawn from its sheath, he thrusted it with all of his might into Jacob's neck.
The sudden move caused Jacob to take a step back out of surprise, but he didn't move far enough for Gideon's attack to hit with full force. The blade pierced his throat, except it didn't go as far as Gideon had expected it to. Only a few inches of the tip of the blade pierced Jacob's throat, forcing him to stumble backwards as blood gushed out of his throat.
Jacob stood their stunned, the short sword still buried in his neck. Regaining his senses, he ripped the short sword out and held his throat as he glared daggers at Gideon, hatred and revenge burning in his eyes.
"You… you…" Sophia broke from her disbelief, whirling on Gideon who stood somewhat stunned that his attack hadn't killed Jacob. She raised her staff and chanted a few words, glaring death at the brat who had hurt Jacob.
"Watch out!" Sapphire called out, breaking Gideon out of his reverie at the last second, barely dodging a blazing ball of fire launched at him. He quickly relocated himself away from the three that were downed on the ground, the caster's spells could become a problem if he wasn't careful. The knight however was slowly recovering from the surprise attack, he didn't advance upon Gideon just yet, allowing Sophia to launch one fire ball after another at him.
The worst-case scenario was playing out before Gideon, with both of them on the field he was at an absolute disadvantage. The knight wouldn't allow him to get close to the mage, and the mage could constantly force him to evade with how many fire balls she was throwing at him. Gideon tried to count the time between cast times of the mage's spells, hoping to get some basis on what his window of opportunity was, though with a brief landing on the ground after missing another fireball one struck him directly in the chest.
Gideon was sent flying backwards, the impact had directly hit the steel chest plate that took the brunt of the damage. His clothes and part of his exposed flesh around the steel plate mail seared instantly, sending shockwaves of pain throughout his body. Quickly recovering, he found Jacob on the offensive, the wound on his neck all but gone, with only blood stains remaining.
Struggling to avoid the mage, Gideon kept himself in front of the enrage knight bearing down upon him, using him as a shield against the fire spells Sophia was casting. That tactic meant he was face to face with a skill combatant with a sword and a shield, both of which made it very difficult to get in any attack with his last remaining short sword.
The battle raged on, with Gideon taking on one cut after another as Jacob's skill with the sword proved difficult for him to avoid all of his strikes. He had to prioritise dodging attacks that were either fatal or could cripple him, a challenge when the knight tried to reposition himself away from being in front of the mage. As Gideon rounded the knight, aligning himself beyond the knight's sword swing and still shielded from the mage, he lunched himself into another attack to the neck, hoping this time he could deal actual damage to the knight.
What Gideon expected to happen was that Jacob would try to defend with his shield, which he would then use to propel himself upwards and get a clean strike to the neck. What did happen, was Jacob diving out of the path at the last second, allowing a massive fireball to strike Gideon directly in the chest. Launched once again, he rammed into a nearby tree before falling harshly to the ground, a pungent smell of burnt flesh pervaded throughout the clearing.
Painfully getting to his feet, he watched as Jacob and Sophia readorned their dark grins, stalking towards their prey. He casted a quick glance to Rhordan, a look of muted fear in her eyes for his safety. Resolving himself, he focused solely on his two opponents. Tearing a strip from his tattered and burnt clothes, tying it around his eyes and cutting out his sense of sight.
He could hear his two opponents laughing at his choice to blind himself, yet they didn't stop their approach. Eager to kill him, they were not expecting him to crouch on all fours and leap away like an animal. Gideon had to find a way of dealing with an opponent that could heal from a strike to the neck and another that kept her distance, on their own they would be a challenge but together, his chances of survival were slim.
He focused on his main opponent, the knight that was stalking towards him, shield raised and sword at the ready. The neck, though a vital point, most likely wouldn't yield him any viable results. In all sense, the knight didn't have a weakness, but had to. All living things had to.
Then it hit him, Gideon found his weak spot, one that may not take down the walking iron clad monster, but it may give him the chance he needs to take out the mage. Once the mage was dealt with, then all he had to do was keep the knight busy until the effects of the paralysis wears off of Xan and Sapphire.
Charging forward, Gideon aimed directly for the mage, knowing the knight would try and block him. He waited for the sound of the sword cutting through the air directly towards him, he abruptly twisted through the air, narrowly missing the sword strike. Before Jacob could react, Gideon flipped over and behind him. Jacob tried to turn around, but before he could Gideon ducked under his shield swing and into the area between him and his shield. With as much force as he could muster, Gideon thrusted his short sword into Jacob's eye, this time yielding a far better result than before.
Jacob screamed in agony as the short sword plunged into his eye, though it wasn't far enough for it to hit his brain, it was enough to blind him in that eye. Waving frantically, he swung maddingly at Gideon with his shield, his other hand had dropped his sword and now clutched the short sword in his eye. Taking advantage of the knight's predicament, he tried to find the mage's location through just sound alone.
"I'll kill you!" Sophia roared, giving away her position to the feral beast. Zeroing in on her, he darted towards her new location, intent on killing the physically weaker combatant. Bounding forward, he nearly reached her when she casted another powerful fire ball spell, the distance between them left Gideon with no room to avoid. With death all but certain, Gideon reacted with pure instinct, thrusting out his hand to intercept the fire ball.
Seconds before the fire ball hit his hand, he forced out his energy into an instant sphere around it. The Suppression Orb encompassed the fire ball and smoothed it quickly, destroying the spell easily. To the naked eye, Gideon had extended his arm as if to block it, then within seconds the fire ball was puffed out as if blowing out a candle. Too stunned for words, Sophia couldn't react to the feral beast launching himself the last remaining feet between them.
Though he no longer had the short sword, he did have a new dagger, one that he secretly bought behind Rhordan's back. He didn't want her to worry about his paranoia, that he had to have multiple weapons on him at all times.
Whipping out the secret dagger, he aimed for her neck, intent on silencing her once and for all. Recoiling in fear, Sophia stared in shock as Gideon was seconds away from claiming her life, unable to cast a single spell to save her life. Then, before his strike could land, a large metal object slammed into Gideon's side and catapulted him away from the mage.
Crashing into the ground, Gideon tumbled over and over until he eventually stopped nearly on the other side of the clearing. His arm holding the dagger had landed at an awkward angle and broke with a loud crack, his other shoulder hit the ground hard and dislocated while his legs were luckily spared though heavily bruised. His body parts protected by armour pieces were only lightly bruised, yet parts of the armour had buckled inwards.
Jacob, who Gideon had thought would be out of play long enough for him to take out Sophia, had ignored his own injury and charged forward in time with Gideon. With no time to grab his sword, he put all of his power into his shield swing and rammed it directly into the feral beast. He now stood there panting, the short sword still in his eye as he tried to glare at Gideon.
"You beast! I'll make you pay!" Sophia had regained herself, yelling obscenities at the downed Gideon. The cloth covering his eyes had fallen off during his tumble, giving him a full few of an enraged Sophia and Jacob glaring at him.
"Here I was thinking that you two wouldn't be a problem." Jacob laughed darkly, dropping his shield to wrench the short sword out of his eye with both of his hands. A light appeared in Sophia's eyes, a dark look crossed her features as she turned to look at Rhordan.
"I'm going to make you suffer, you little brat." Sophia lifted her staff, preparing another fire ball spell and looking with killing intent towards Rhordan. "You may be able to avoid or block my magic attacks, but can your brother do the same?"
Panic shocked through Gideon as he tried to lift one of his heavily damaged arms, trying in vain to reach out to Rhordan. A look of absolute fear crossed her features as she shifted her eyes to Gideon, terror and dread filling her once beautiful amethyst orbs.
"Brother's are alike, he most likely has a similar chest plate that the other one has." Jacob advised Sophia, sharing in her evil grin.
"His chest may be protected, but his head isn't." Sophia chuckled with glee, aiming her staff directly at Rhordan's head. Time slowed down as the spell started to manifest in front of Sophia, Rhordan's terrified eyes shifted to Sophia, watching her life play out in front of her eyes as the fire ball grew in size.
Everything she and Gideon had done together, their fight for survival and struggle to earn a living. How they fought together, their battles and scars a memorial to their life on this world. The few people they had come to see as their friends, the ones they could somewhat trust after arriving here in this new world.
With no way to defend herself, Gideon out of commission and Aurelia paralysed beside her after she had given her some of her food to her, there was nothing she or anyone could do to save her. Turning her head, she looked into Gideon's fearful eyes pleading for any deity to save her. All she could do was offer a small smile to him, grateful that it was him that she could spend her last moments with.
Closing her eyes, she awaited the inevitable. Waiting for the darkness to take her.
Author's Note: Don't hate me.
Hope the magic system wasn't too complicated, but I like it. Also, you may be able to work out their core types.
Comments:
Eris – Thank you for your comment. I'm glad you like the story.
I imagine Gar being the type that doesn't back down in the face of adversity, even when the odds are highly stacked against him. Though, he is still the same fool that would directly oppose the dark brooding types.
Who knows about the sword, though I tend to forget it exists half the time even though I have something planned for it. As for Paylor and Grey, they will come back, hopefully soon (can't remember the chapter off the top of my head). Gar doesn't really care that much about the sword, only someone with a magical sense that was within a metre of the sword could tell, as for Paylor, he is a skilled blacksmith that has a few abilities to detect a cursed sword upon contact.
I like your idea on the werewolf, but not from the bite. I have his magical power worked out, and I think you might like it since its rather crafty and situational. As for the beast, I don't know yet, I know I said that that part would be brought back, but I don't know. Still fleshing out the full effects of his abilities.