The First Archmage

A week after I left that thieving village behind, I finally see another town, a town where several roads meet. There are others walking along the paths that met up with this one, though none of them travel alone.

I’m the only one walking alone.

As we near the city, the crowd gets thicker and thicker as more paths joins this one. I’m given a few sideways glances, but nothing more than that.

Well, a couple of thieves attempt to pick my pockets, but I have everything in the ring, and no one I’ve seen so far have recognized it for what it is.

“It’s not often I see a kid with a Mana Pool the size of yours,” a low voice says behind me as I walk on the path. I continue walking. “Nor one with a spatial ring. Are you truly thirteen, as your status suggests?”

I glance over my shoulder. He’s not much taller than me, though he’s definitely older. I’d put him in his forties.

Collin, Assassin (II) 24, Martial Artist 19, Ranger (II) 7

Title: Lord of Death

“Are you truly in your forties, as your features suggest?” I ask, and he chuckles. “I am.”

“I’ve never heard of the Wizard Class before,” he says. “I’ve only heard of around half a dozen magic-based Classes, since the shift two winters ago that increased the amount who qualify and enabled magic-based Classes.”

“Wizard is a rare one,” I answer. “It has a very, very strict requirement. Singular, and yet incredibly rare. How did you get your Title?”

“You can see it?” He asks, eyes widening in surprise just a little bit.

“Lord of Death,” I nod. “Your name is Collin, and you have three Classes, two of which are of the second Tier. Why is Martial Artist listed before Ranger?”

“Primary Class,” he answers. “Ranger is a result of bringing Archer and Scout to Level 25 and accepting and completing the corresponding Quest. Lord of Death is a Tier I assassination Title. You don’t seem to be intimidated by me.”

“I have a Level 4 Threat Detection,” I shrug. “It’s not triggering for you. There’s always the chance that you can fool it, but right now, you aren’t, and with my current LUK stat, I doubt I’d be this unlucky.”

Then again, that fucking Rift Wolf was fucking unlucky as fuck.

“So how does a child like you have such an immense Mana Pool?” Collin asks.

“Natural Affinity,” I answer. “Plus the Wizard Class. I also know a way to increase my Mana Affinity over time, outside of simply training.”

“And the ring?” He asks.

“How did you get yours?”

He chuckles, pulling off his glove-covered hand to reveal a large, black ring with a ruby set into it, the metal engraved in gold with various runes and lines.

“How did you know I possessed one?” He asks.

“What’s your Appraisal Skill at?”

“Six,” he answers. “Yours?”

“Hidden,” I shrug. “I can’t see it. I could sense magic around your ring, and the magic reads similar to the magic of my ring, so I figured it was a spatial ring, too. Smaller, but a ring, nonetheless.”

“I am the Guild Master of the Hunter’s Guild,” he states. “One of the few in the world with a spatial ring.”

The world is much larger than you think, Lord of Death.

“How did you come across your ring?”

“It was a gift from a slain king.”

“I find it difficult to believe you killed a King.”

“I didn’t,” I shrug. “His advisers had him killed. The ring – and its contents – were all part of Quests he gave me, to ensure that though they won the land, they would be spending a long time rebuilding.”

Something tells me I can trust him. He’s like an animal, I think. He says what’s on his mind, and is open. He’s honest, and he’s not someone to cross. He’ll protect what’s his.

“From where do you hail?” He asks. “I know of no slain kings in recent history.”

“Beyond the turbulent seas,” I answer. “There are ways to cross the continents of this world through Dungeons, and the late king granted me and my party a way. As we were coming here, I got stuck in a Rift and ended up leaving the Dungeon more than a year after they did. I’m now looking for them.”

“Teus,” he gestures ahead. “The city we’re heading for, is at a crossroads, where four great paths converge. Many traders, travelers, and Adventurers come through. In addition, there’s a Dungeon within it. Two, actually, but only those with at least one Tier II Class can enter the other. It would be an excellent place to try to collect information on your friends. The prices to stay are quite expensive. Do you have currency?”

“Of my homeland’s,” I nod. “But not of here.”

“I’ll let you enter with me,” he says. “As I doubt you have the necessary fee to enter, then.”

“I’ve got three pieces of loot from a kobold,” I say. “I tried telling the last village I was at that I could pay them back after selling them, if that was enough, but my language Skill wasn’t high enough yet for us to communicate, and they tried to steal my ring. They’re now short a guard and an Adventurer.”

“You’re the one who killed him?” He asks, then laughs, drawing stares from around before dropping his voice. “Serves them right. I’ve never much liked that village. I do remember that last spring, a trio of boys left that village. They would’ve been around your age, but back then. One of them was a beastborn, which is quite curious, because we’ve only heard of them in stories.”

“Michael,” I say. “Squire, Novice, and Royal.”

“Yes,” he nods. “Those were their Classes. Kade and Tyler were the last two. They had difficulties leaving that village. I’m not sure what happened to them after. I think I know the Dungeon you speak of, especially since we’ve been speaking in Jozan the last few minutes.”

“We have?” I ask, then realize that we are speaking in Jozan. I didn’t catch that. “You speak it?”

“I knew Wendell,” he nods. “He told me of the Dungeon, and its passage between the two continents. To think that the world we know isn’t all there is to the world was quite the shock. I never thought there could be anything beyond the turbulent seas.”

“Neither did I,” I admit. “So how come we’re speaking in Jozan?”

“Two reason,” he answers. “The first was to see if your slain king was my old friend, and the second is because I’m not known for talking to people, and so speaking in a language none of them can understand humors me, and allows for a greater level of privacy in our conversation, as they’d want to hear what the mysterious Guild Master of the Hunter’s Guild has to say. They never tried communicating while I was around, which might be why I never learned they spoke Jozan. If you stay in the city, I’ll reach out to the various branches of the Guild, and see if I can locate your team for you.”

“You seem oddly trustful of me.”

“I can read lies,” he says simply. “You’ve been entirely honest with me. I can also sense your desire to reunite with your team and rain a divine justice upon those that overthrew your kingdom.”

“Is reading lies a Skill?”

“Indeed,” he confirms. “Though it’s quite difficult to obtain.”

“Can you tell me various truths and lies?” I ask, and he raises an eyebrow. “I have a small boost to learning Skills, as a result of my Class. I want to see if it’ll boost me on this.”

“Ah,” he says, then starts telling me various things, and I can’t tell which ones are truth or lie, though I do my best to.

As we reach the city, a message appears in my vision.

Skill Gained!

Lie Detection 1/10: The ability to discern lies from the truth.

“It’s only Tier I?” I say in shock, and he laughs.

“Tiers are a bit odd,” he says. “Many of the Tier I Skills should be a higher Level. The real difference is actually that Tier I is a throwaway Tier., when it comes to Skills. Any Skill, of any level, can be on it. They all count the same, though, and reward the same amount of Experience for mastering: your Level times ten.

“All Tier I Skills,” he continue. “Only act on one Tier. All Skills above have four Tiers to them. Once you master the first Tier of that Skill, you gain Experience and it turns to Level 1 of the next Tier. Tier VII is the highest natural Tier, with Tier X being the highest-possible Tier. At least, supposedly. In our records, no one’s ever managed to get any Tier VI or VII Skill mastered.”

Kade told me that, back on the trip to the Dungeon.

We arrive at the gates to the city, having passed up everyone in line, and the guards wave us through. Collin leads me to the Hunter’s Guild, which sits between the entrances of the two Dungeons. He introduces me to their system here, including their own version of tags (which are still just tags that hang around the neck).

After that, Collin tells me that in addition to the two Dungeons, there’s also the Coliseum in town, a massive arena where people battle it out. Some do it to the death, others just fight until the other is disabled. There are no rules there when battling one of the prisoners.

I thank him, then leave, my Acting Skill useful for not showing my amusement at everyone looking at me, trying to figure out where I’m from with my language, and I get the sense that Collin is utilizing an Acting Skill as well.

Deciding to check out the Coliseum, I make my way there, but am turned away due to not having the four-silver fee. I find a loot shop to sell my stuff at, and leave there with ten silver, then make my way back to the Coliseum.

Fee paid, I make my way inside and take a seat near the front. It’s pretty empty, but it looks like they’re only just starting to pick back up from lunch.

My growling stomach reminds me that I still need to eat, but I tell it to hush as I look at the match going on.

A few hours pass as I watch Adventurers and regular people battle it out. Every now and then, they bring out prisoners and have them battle other prisoners or monsters or even Adventurers.

The last case is brutal. Someone without access to the System is pretty much a nothing to an Adventurer, and the Adventurers are pretty cruel.

“And now,” the announcer calls out. “We’re bringing out a crowd favorite!”

The crowd cheers louder than any I’ve heard before.

“But first! To battle him, we have a member of the Dark Swords Guild! He’s not an Adventurer, but if anyone will qualify, he will, so it’s only a matter of time!”

A large, bulky man dressed in dark armor, a massive, evil-looking sword on his hip, steps out onto the field.

“As always!” The announcer continues. “There is a reward for anyone who can beat our crowd favorite! And! I’ve just been informed by the owner just moments ago that the reward has been increased from ten high gold to twenty high gold!”

Ten silver to a high silver, ten high silver to a gold, ten gold to a high gold.

That’s…

That’s a lot of money.

Damn.

This guy looks powerful and tough, far tougher than anyone they’ve brought out before.

He looks confident, cocky, and dangerous, and I sense a dark power within him, even if he doesn’t have access to the System.

“This little guy has been one of our best fighters since we gained him eight years ago!” The announcer says. “He’s small, but he’s fast, and he’s strong – and that’s without access to the System, too! Let us introduce our reigning Champion, Warren!”

Out walks a boy around my age, with slightly pointed ears, shimmering green hair, emerald green eyes, and sparkly cheeks, a swirling green design that sparkles more than his cheeks beside his right eye. He’s wearing nothing more than a loin cloth, his lean, toned body visible, an unusual power filling him.

He looks scared and beaten, so they clearly don’t put him against anyone who truly can beat him. They probably don’t use Adventurers against him because they don’t want to kill him.

“This,” the warrior draws his sword and points it at the boy. “Is to prove that even if an Adventurer can’t best you, you are still beatable.”

He’s fought Adventurers? They were probably low in Levels, then.

The announcer makes some comments about how the odds are against the prisoner this time, and as he speaks, a look of shock crosses the prisoner’s face.

“That’s right!” The warrior laughs. “I may not be an Adventurer, but through the secrets of my Guild, I might as well be one!”

That’s not what he’s shocked about, judging by his expression. I quickly appraise the kid again, only barely containing my own shock.

He just gained access to the System, but that’s not what’s shocked me.

Warren, Fairy 1, Martial Artist 1

He’s a fairy.

The warrior charges the fairy, whose mouth moves, a new language reaching my ears. A moment before the warrior reaches him, the fairy fills with an unusual magic, and suddenly stands behind the warrior, his foot lashing out, catching the warrior in the back.

That power…

It feels like the Spirit I gained access to.

Thinking about that raises my anger again, and I push it down, focusing on the fight. This boy can use Spirit.

He moves fast, strikes hard. He only used that one spell, whatever it was. He breaks the warrior’s sword, dents up his armor, and by the end of the fight, the warrior is barely breathing.

The crowd is silent for several long seconds.

Then it breaks into booing. The fairy turns and walks back to the gate he came from, which raises. Once it closes behind him, medics rush out to the field to move the warrior away.

“And it seems, once again,” the announcer calls out. “None can best Warren! As always, his speed and martial skill surpass the challengers! Is there anyone else willing to go up against him today? Or will he, once again, only be challenged by a single soul?”

Another warrior challenges him. Then a magician. No one bests him, his speed unmatched. When he fights the magician, as he calls upon his strange magic with Spirit, I sense something near him, and realize what Spirit is for.

Communicating and using spirits. He’s summoning a spirit that bestows him with speed.

“Any more challengers?” The announcer asks. “Or will he, yet again, go unbeaten?”

To hell with this.

I jump over the edge of the seating, landing in a roll thirty feet down, then stand up.

“We have a challenger from the crowd!” The announcer calls out, and there are some hesitant cheers. The fairy looks at me oddly as I walk to the center of the arena and stare at him. “Challenger! Care to share your name and stats?”

“Begin,” I command, and the crowd falls silent.

“A boy of few words!” The announcer laughs. “Don’t be shocked when you lose, kid! This kid can’t be bested by some of the greatest Adventurers who challenge him!”

I’d estimate his AGI to be around 25 when he uses that skill. Any good Adventurer probably doesn’t bother.

“Begin!” He calls out.