Ability: [Path of Shadows] (Dark)
Special ability (dimension, teleport)
Cost: Low mana.
Cooldown: None.
Current rank: Iron 0 (00%).
Effect (iron): Teleport using shadows as a portal. You must be able to see the destination shadow.
“Teleport between shadows,” Jason said with a laugh. “Now that’s a proper magic power.”
He looked around for a shadow to try it out on, then stopped.
“Aside from this weird springtime estate thing here,” Jason said, “we’re in the middle of the desert, right?”
“That’s right,” Rufus said.
“I don’t recall seeing a lot of shadowy nooks in the barren desert wasteland,” Jason said.
“It is a lot of open country,” Rufus acknowledged.
A little disheartened, Jason turned to his final awakening stone.
Item: [Awakening Stone of the Apocalypse] (unranked, legendary)
An awakening stone containing a seed of annihilation. (consumable, awakening stone).
Requirements: Unawakened essence ability.
Effect: Awakens an essence ability.
You have 10 unawakened essence abilities.
You are able to absorb [Awakening Stone of the Apocalypse]
Absorb Y/N?
“I’m a little wary of this one,” Jason said.
“What kind of stone is it?” Farrah asked.
“It’s, uh… an awakening stone,” Jason said.
“Of what?” Farrah asked.
“Of… well… the apocalypse.”
Gary erupted into laughter, falling back on the grass. Rufus raised an eyebrow while Farrah’s eyes went wide.
“Really?” Rufus asked over the top of Gary’s laughter.
“Should I actually use it?” Jason asked.
“I’m not sure,” Rufus said. “I’ve never actually heard of that one before. It does sound like trouble.”
“You should consider selling it,” Farrah said. “An awakening stone like that would get you enough to buy all the awakening stones you’re going to need.”
“Don’t you dare!” Gary yelled, sitting back up. “You’re going to use that stone!”
“Gary,” Rufus said, “He needs to be careful with his choices. We don’t know what kind of ability that stone could produce.”
“A powerful one,” Gary said. “Jason, you need to grab all the power you can.”
“He’s already using a rare essence combination,” Rufus said. “What if that stone unlocks some power that gets his combination on the restricted list?”
“You know they’re lenient on people who discover new things,” Gary said. “They can’t blame him if even they didn’t know.”
“It’s an awakening stone of apocalypse,” Rufus said. “That’s a pretty big hint.”
“It doesn’t matter either way,” Farrah cut in. “Look.”
Jason’s arm was blood red from where the awakening stone had sunken into it, before returning to a normal colour.
“That was rash,” Rufus said.
“Before everything else, adventurers are strong,” Jason said. “Your words. These abilities I’ve been getting are fine, but I saw Farrah spray lava like it was shooting out of a hose. I want that kind of power.”
“Yeah, you do,” Gary said.
“Not helping, Gary,” Rufus said.
“No, Rufus,” Gary said. “He’s right. He needs all the power he can get, and you know it.”
“There’s no point arguing about what’s done,” Farrah said. “Jason, you might as well tell us what power you got.”
23
I May have Made a Huge Mistake
“Uh-oh,” Jason said.
“Uh-oh?” Farrah repeated. “What power did you get exactly?”
“I may have made a huge mistake,” Jason said.
“Where was that sensibility a minute ago?” Rufus asked. “What were you thinking?”
“He was thinking,” Gary said, “that if you don’t want to be a pawn of fate, you need the strength to kick fate square in the beans.”
“Actually, that’s pretty close,” Jason said, nodding at Gary who grinned back.
“Would you please just tell us what the power is?” Farrah asked.
“It’s a familiar power,” Jason said. “That’s like a magical companion that follows you around, right?”
“That’s right,” Rufus said. “What kind of familiar do you get from an awakening stone of the apocalypse?”
“Funny story…” Jason said weakly.
An hour later, Jason was drawing a complex magical diagram in chalk on the floor of one of the manor’s many rooms. They had taken out the furniture and the rugs, leaving a smooth, polished floor. Jason had been working on the diagram for some time, guided by the ritual magic knowledge inserted into his head as well as Farrah’s expertise. He stopped drawing for a moment to take some powder from a nearby pouch on the floor. He sprinkled a pinch over the part of the circle he had just drawn, most of which started glowing. He rubbed out the parts that didn’t glow and redrew them.
The powder was ground-down monster cores from lesser monsters. Jason had several but they were all intact, so the powder had been provided by Farrah. She was guiding him through his first magical ritual.
“Putting together a magic circle isn’t as simple as knowing the right design,” Farrah explained. Any time she wasn’t pointing out something specific she was lecturing. “If it were that easy, I could just carry around a bunch of boards with different magic circles on them. Every time you draw a magic diagram you need to adjust for the ambient magic conditions. A weak source of congealed magic like the core of a lesser monster is a perfect way to check your work.”
“There’s a ritual room under the manor with a permanent circle,” Jason said.
“That must have been expensive,” Farrah said. “You have to design the whole room around something like that to regulate the ambient magic. Did we loot that room?”
“Wasn’t much in there,” Gary said. “The most valuable stuff was set behind the walls and into the floor, so Anisa wouldn’t let us touch it. It was all pretty trashed, anyway.”
Jason got to his feet. “I’m done. So, am I able to do a magic ritual like this because I already have essence magic?”
“You really don’t know anything about magic,” Farrah said in wonder.
“Was that not clear at any point?” Jason asked.
“Alright,” Farrah said. “You understand essence magic already. Simple, instinctive, usually doesn’t cost anything but your own internal reserves. External magic is the opposite. Complicated, requires extensive training—”
“Or a skill book,” Jason said.
“…or a skill book,” Farrah acknowledged through gritted teeth. “If you’re satisfied with quick and dirty knowledge.”
“Don’t knock quick and dirty,” Gary said. “All my favourite things are better quick and dirty. Or slow and dirty.”
Farrah shot Gary a look as Rufus shook his head.
“Ritual magic,” Farrah continued, “relies on external sources of magic. That’s ambient magic, plus more concentrated sources, like quintessence or spirit coins.”
Scattered all through the magic diagram Jason had drawn were small piles of blood quintessence, looking like uncut rubies. There were also stacks of iron-rank spirit coins. There were a few other materials, but the largest requirement by far was the blood quintessence.
Fortunately for Jason, and rather unsurprisingly, the manor’s magical supply room had more blood quintessence than anything else. The lord of the manor had taken all the bronze-rank materials when he fled, but most of the iron-rank materials were left behind. It was more than enough for Jason’s ritual.
“External magic doesn’t require you to have an essence,” Farrah explained. “There are people who make careers out of learning a specialised slice of external magic.”