Description

The Gladiator Gauntlet

Beneath the Dragoneye Moons: Book Nine

___________________________

Selkie Myth

Beneath the Dragoneye Moons

Oathbound Healer

Adventures in the Argo

Ranger’s Dawn

Beyond the Wall

Moonveiled Journeys

Immortal Moments

Return to Remus

New Horizons

The Gladiator Gauntlet

 

Copyright Information

This is a work of fiction, and the views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author. Likewise, certain characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

Cover Art by Kart Studios. Cover Typesetting by MiblArt.

The Gladiator Gauntlet (Beneath the Dragoneye Moons, Book 9)

Copyright © 2023 Selkie Myth

All rights reserved.

 

Dedication

This story is dedicated to my wonderful wife, Lauren, without whom this wouldn’t be possible. Her endless love and support keeps me going.

This story is also dedicated to my beautiful daughter Flora, whose smiles light up my every day.

I would also like to acknowledge my beta readers, who put up with my endless typos, fix my mistakes, and help guide the story, so it can be the best story possible.

I’d like to thank all the other supportive authors and writing communities, and all the kind words they have.

Lastly, I’d like to thank Royal Road. My story and success wouldn’t be possible without their website.

Thank you, to each and every one of you.

 

Chapter 1 – New Skills!

 

I opened my eyes after selecting the only class I could’ve.

[*ding!* Congratulations! You’ve gained the class [Bookwyrm]!]

No levels in it. Drat. Resetting my class didn’t seem to bring stored experience over. I wanted the almost 900 stat points per level!

My improved senses made me the ultimate sneak. I could tell what Iona and Auri were doing in the living room. Skye was studying in her room, and Varuna had left about an hour ago. Reinhard’s room was the only one I couldn’t peek into, the kirin having established a number of privacy runes in her room.

Smart. I should probably offer to make a set for Skye, so she didn’t think I was constantly spying on her.

Onto my new skills!

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Spatial Affinity]!]

Affinity, fun.

Figuring out the affinity tree had been one of my earlier classes. It came in four tiers, corresponding to the four stars in the constellation I’d seen when I built [The Dawn Sentinel].

Affinity came first. It was the ‘basic connection’ to the element. I could technically ditch the skill, but my skills would be significantly more expensive. As I leveled the skill up, I was technically getting more efficient, but after the first few dozen levels I’d need to look long and hard to see any gains.

Authority came next. The connection was improved. The efficiency was dramatically better, and most importantly, I’d get offered better skills than I would with affinity. Upgrading affinity to authority wasn’t easy; I’d been trying for years now with no luck. The generally accepted method was to completely surround oneself with the element.

Iona had apparently done it while in a frost wyvern’s lair, ice all around her. It was why we went to stargaze at the lake together, hoping that being under the vast starry sky would nudge our affinity towards becoming authority.

Mastery came after that. It was the advanced connection, with great skills, and a minor sense of the element around whoever had the skill. The efficiency was naturally greater than Authority. It also came with a minor resistance towards the element. If Iona got [Ice Mastery], she probably wouldn’t feel the cold until it got cold.

I had no idea how [Earth Mastery] would work on a high-speed rock, but I suspected that was the minor aspect of the protection.

Spirit was the final tier. A perfect connection, dramatically improved efficiency, a strong sense of the element, and the most powerful skills. Being able to turn into the element was one of the better-known skills that required spirit, but it wasn’t the only one.

The nice thing about improved efficiency is it pseudo-multiplied my magic stats. If I was getting triple the oomph out of each point of mana, it was like my mana pool was three times as large, like my regeneration was three times as strong, and my larger skills looked like I had three times as much magic power supporting them.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Reading]!]

Reading: You saw the name of the class, right? Read faster. Comprehend more. Let the visions that the book takes you down become richer and more vibrant. Always know where you left off. Always able to open a known book to the right page. Read in the dark. Read better.

The keystone skill for the class, it was exactly what the class wanted to do, just like my healing class wanted [Dance with the Heavens]. A pity there wasn’t an experience boost or anything.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Lair]!]

Lair: What good is a Bookwyrm without her own personal lair to devour books in? Small pocket dimension for reading. Can only store books and limited furniture. Space increased per level. 160,000 mana per cast.

HOLY SHIT WHAT THE FUCK. This was more like it! A personal pocket dimension!? Just for reading!? I had never heard of anyone having a personal pocket dimension. I suspected Acquisition had extra-large loot bags, but this was in a literal realm of its own.

The draconic theme of the class was starting to rear its head.

And that mana cost!! 160,000 mana per cast?? I only had 25,000 magic power! At 300 magic power per level, I’d need another 450 levels just to cast the skill!

[Channel] jumped to the top of my list for a general skill that I needed to acquire.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Bookwyrm’s Hoard]!]

Bookwyrm’s Hoard: Every bookwyrm needs a collection of the most precious books, safely stored away and immediately available. Book spatial storage. Increased collection size per level. Mana cost scales on book size.

My mind instantly jumped to spellbooks. Unless something about the skill was wonky, I could grab and store my spellbooks, spells already inscribed and ready to go, arcanite in them and everything, and have every single one at my fingertips at all times. With [Reading]. I’d also be able to instantly open the spellbook to the right page.

And that was before I considered having books to read at any time, any place! If I ended up in a similar life to when I was a Ranger or Sentinel, I’d always have books to read, without needing to cart them around!

For the sake of completeness, I should see if I could store non- books in there, and see when something counted as a book. Could I slice a mango up finely, carve some words into the flesh, and store it in my hoard?

I was also a little concerned about the mana cost line. [Lair] was absurdly expensive, and I knew as a rule Spatial was the second- most expensive element, right after Storm.

Thinking about storing different objects made me realize a flaw with [Lair]. It didn’t say anything about other people. I doubted I could get Auri or Iona to join me in the [Lair].

This called for experimentation! Right after I finished seeing the rest of my skills.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Beneath the Dragon’s Eyes]!]

Beneath the Dragon’s Eyes: You’ve snuck around a dragon’s lair under her watchful eyes, trying desperately to read the contents of the books in her library, unable to touch or move them around to read the contents. No more! Now you can read the pages of a closed book! Forbidden archive? Secret library floor? Magical encryption? As long as you can see the book – and understand the language – you can read it!

That… huh. It was a skill. The practical use seemed limited for such a grandiose name. I quickly checked ahead, but no. I’d only gotten offered 8 skills.

I did wonder if [Beneath the Dragon’s Eyes] worked with [The World Around Me]. Something to test!

The skill jumped to the top of my list of ‘replace or evolve’. Maybe I could merge it into [Reading]! The two seemed like they had enough overlap.

These were the initial skills on a level 8 class, never mind the purple draconic quality to the class. I’d need to work to develop the skills, just like I’d needed to work on my other classes.

Although… maybe I wasn’t giving ‘break magical encryption enough credit as a line. I hadn’t done a ton of digging into the subject. I believed knowledge should be freely available, and disdained the idea of locking or encrypting my notes, nor did I have the right mindset and inclination to try and break encryptions. For all I knew, someone would kill to have a skill like this.

I’d have to see.

[*ding!* [Bookwyrm] has leveled up! 8 -> 9. +40 Vitality, +40 Speed, +100 Mana, +100 Mana Regeneration, +300 Magic Power, +300 Magic Control from your class! +1 Mana, +1 Magic Power from your element! +1 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +1 Speed, +1 Vitality, +1 Mana, +1 Mana Regeneration, +1 Magic Power, +1 Magic Control for being Chimera (Elvenoid)!]

Ooooh, I leveled! I briefly wondered if it was because I was reading the text of my new skills – a classic [Bookwyrm] activity – or if Auri was doing something phoenix-like, and I was getting experience funneled from her.

I was fairly certain she got experience just by living. It was unfair!

Wait, hang on. Something was weird.

Chimera (Elvenoid)!?

I pulled up my status.

[Name: Elaine][Race: Chimera (Elvenoid)][Age: 25]

Welp. I was pretty sure most biomancers had screwed with this race, but I was going to stay real quiet about it. The School officially didn’t like chimeras, and I wasn’t going to go around waving it in people’s faces. Not when literally the only person who could find out was Iona.

She was bound to do the honorable thing. I didn’t think tattling on me would qualify.

I’d be offended if I wasn’t getting a bunch more stats, and if it wasn’t true. Basically the only thing human about me was my skin, brain, and body shape – which didn’t really count. A pleasant surprise, and not one I was going to complain about.

A quick math check showed that the change wasn’t retroactive. Drat! I’d known that was the case, but I’d somewhat hoped to be the exception.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Dream Reading]!]

Dream Reading: Why waste all that time sleeping on nightmares and other unproductive activities? Read books from your [Bookwyrm’s Hoard] while sleeping instead, and wake up fully rested! You can even turn your dreamscape into the scene of the book you’re reading!

I leaped out of my bed and whooped for joy.

“Dream reading!? No more nightmares!? It gets to look like a fully immersive mirage show while I’m there!?”

Bloody hell, I took back every mean thing I said about [Beneath the Dragon’s Eyes]. This class was amazing.

[*ding!* [Immortal Recollections] has evolved into [Astral Archives]!]

Astral Archives: Your perfect memories are like books, able to be rearranged and reordered at will. Archive memories for later, and hold open the knowledge you want directly at the forefront of your mind! Improved granularity, control, and open books at once per level.

This one needed work. Also, I was a little bummed that my high level [Immortal Recollections] got nerfed into a level 8 skill. Granted, [Immortal Recollections] leveling up never did much for me.

[*ding!* [Passionate Learning] has evolved into [Hunger for Knowledge]!]

Hunger for Knowledge: You are the fierce bookwyrm, and no morsel of knowledge, no little treat of a treatise, no little bit of information is left unread and unlearned in your presence. You devour knowledge like others devour food. There are no lengths you will not go to find something out. Fortunately, you’ve generally kept your search benign, and only vivisected a few people. 2% increased experience per level.

Gods curse them all.

[Passionate Learning] was one of my most powerful skills, the engine that kept everything else going. I’d just lost almost 450 levels of it, and at 1.25% per level, it was doing serious work for everything else. It was the reason I leveled quickly – relatively speaking – and it was a huge contributor to Auri catching up with my level. My experience had been getting multiplied, then shunted over to Auri.

Now it was back down to level 9. Sure, it’d level fast as [Bookwyrm] leveled up, and it now got a nice boost from [Sentinel’s Superiority], but ouch.

I decided to run some calculations. I used to have a 562.5% experience boost. I was now getting a 2.5% experience boost per level. [Sentinel’s Superiority] was one heck of a skill. That made the math easy – the boost was now twice as strong. Level 225 would be when I started to see real benefits, and the first 200 levels were…

Nope, not going to say it. Wasn’t even going to think it.

I looked over my skills and accepted them all. 8 skills, 8 skill slots, sometimes it was easy.

Shame I didn’t have a skill that helped me reach books on the highest shelf! Besides the very flashy “just fly up there”.

That sounded like a fun skill to try and acquire. Just look at a book, think about it, and snap! Teleport it into my hands.

Oh. Hmm. [Blink] and [Teleport] were the most famous Spatial skills. While I was at the School, it was probably worth taking a class dedicated to getting those skills.

Time to experiment with my skills, and get a feel for how they worked.

I glanced at one of the books strewn around the room, my eyes landing on one of the bodice-rippers Iona and I enjoyed reading together. I thought about it, and I could immediately see through the cover, able to jump to whatever page I wanted.

I thought about one… particular… scene, and it was like my eyes zoomed, the pages ‘flipping’ through while the book remained closed, and I could read them like the book was open in front of me.

She panted with exertion as…

[*ding!* [Reading] leveled up! 1 -> 2]

[*ding!* [Beneath the Dragon’s Eyes] leveled up! 1 -> 2]

[*ding!* [Spatial Affinity] leveled up! 1 -> 2]

That was even easier than usual!

I didn’t have the meta-skill or the power needed to cast [Lair]. I’d have to try it out another day.

Actually, hang on, it’d be silly if a skill didn’t let me cast it at all.

I focused on the skill, trying to activate it. I kept an eye on my mana, noting it was staying the same.

.. I guess the System was silly at times.

The last test was [The World Around Me]. I closed my eyes and got close to a book, then tried to read it.

Yup, it worked. Heck, it was almost easier to read with [The World Around Me] than with my eyes!

[Bookwyrm’s Hoard] was next for testing, and I got up and grabbed the book I’d been looking at earlier. I then realized I wasn’t experimenting well, put the book down on the bed, and walked to the door of my room. I focused on the book and the skill, willing it to move into my [Hoard].

Predictably, nothing happened.

I slowly walked towards the book, focusing on my skill the entire time. Only when I was touching the book did it vanish with a faint pop.

[*ding!* [Bookwyrm’s Hoard] leveled up! 1 -> 2]

Right then! The skill was touch-based. It had used a worrying amount of mana for a simple book, almost 8000 points worth.

Probably. I had just leveled up.

[*ding!* [Spatial Affinity] leveled up! 2 -> 3]

I experimented with a second book, but once again it only vanished with a faint pop after I touched it. It was about twice as heavy, having a fat cover, and it took about twice as much mana to vanish.

[*ding!* [Spatial Affinity] leveled up! 3 -> 4]

I then held my hands out, and focused on summoning the book back. It appeared in my hands, but I noticed it had cost less to return than it had to store. Possibly an effect of the massively disproportionate role Affinity had at low levels.

I felt a wild grin split my face, and I pumped my free fist.

[*ding!* [Bookwyrm’s Hoard] leveled up! 2 -> 3]

This was so much fun!!! Books on demand! I could carry everything I wanted to read on me at all times! This magic was bloody amazing! Spatial had been the right call, and seeing what it could do, well…

Okay, fine. I probably would flip out just as much over Mirror making clones of myself, Brilliance letting me make anything I wanted out of hard light, Gravity letting me float and have [Telekinesis]… magic was just too damn cool.

I needed to check if I could put scrolls into my [Bookwyrm’s Hoard], along with notebooks, journals, loose papers, and everything else that might be a book.

There were a lot of arguments in both directions on each one of those items. If nothing else, expanding the skill to include those items was on my list. They were close to what the skill already did, and small ‘nudges’ were easier.

If the rumors were to be believed, it would be extra-easy on the island. [Students] claimed, one generation to the next, that the island made it easier to learn skills.

I personally believed it was the fantastic environment the School cultivated.

I’d need to sleep to explore [Dream Reading], but I could check out [Astral Archives] now. I thought about my memories, and it was like I was in a library, and I knew where everything was.

On a lark, I picked Operation: The Improved Elaine to see what would happen. I mentally took the book off the shelf, and realized I was being silly.

This was my mind. I was a Spatial… hang on, what was [Bookwyrm] tagged as? Mage? Artisan? Laborer? Probably laborer. Anyways, I was a Spatial person now.

I mentally teleported the book to my mental hands, and opened it.

Knowledge flooded my mind. I knew in every single detail what changes I’d done to my body, and why. I had the complete image in my mind, just like that, no effort.

I quickly tied [Dance with the Heavens] off with that image to my [Persistent Casting], marveling at how easy it was. No need to spend hours going over everything!

I’d need to work on it more with… hang on.

I dismissed the [Persistent Casting], and brought up a second book, the memory of the first time I’d ever built my [Persistent Casting] permanent heal, with Ocean on my very first Sentinel mission.

The knowledge flooded my mind, but I clearly could only hold the two ‘books’ at once.

It didn’t matter. I expertly “stitched” the two together, turning it into my new perfect heal.

It had taken me minutes.

Doing this properly used to take hours, almost days.

I was already in love with my new class.

I closed my eyes to exit the room, letting [The World Around Me] tell me exactly where everything and everyone was. I wasn’t sure, but I hoped that cutting off my other senses and using the sphere of awareness that [The World Around Me] granted would level it up faster.

That, and it was just good practice. I wouldn’t always be able to conjure up light, mainly if I was doing something like sneaking around. [The World Around Me] was also based on my senses, but it didn’t require them to be active if that made sense. It was just as good with my eyes closed as open, because magic was weird like that.

“Hey [Bookwyrm]! Welcome back!” Iona didn’t look up from her sketch as she greeted me.

“Brrrpt!” Auri was standing perfectly still as Iona drew her. She did conjure up a little [Mage Hand] and gave me a cheerful wave with it.

Honestly, the two were a match made in the divine realm. Iona loved drawing people, places, and things, and Auri was a great subject. Auri, on the other hand, was the vainest little bird I’d ever met, and people to draw and adore her?

Perfection.

I sat down on the sofa, a pair of mangos freshly sliced on a plate in front of me. A minor congratulatory snack, since ‘you’ve already gotten your third class before’.

Fair enough, I supposed. I started stuffing the slices into my mouth, practically moaning in bliss as the luscious flavor burst in my mouth.

In this moment, I’d do anything for Iona and Auri, my two mango hookups.

“Brrrpt?” Auri asked. I swear the little scamp waited for me to have my mouth full before asking a question.

“Oh, the skills are great! Let me tell you all about them.” I explained my new skills to a rapt audience.

At the end, Iona stopped sketching and looked at me with her mouth open, her quill pointing at me accusingly. She was outraged as she spoke.

“Your class wants to read. You have [Reading], [Dream Reading], and [Hunger for Knowledge]. You are literally going to be leveling up in your sleep!”

 

[Name: Elaine][Race: Chimera (Elvenoid)][Age: 25][Mana: 610,990/610,990][Mana Regen: 297,721 (+613,971)]Stats [Free Stats: 248] [Strength: 1,356] [Dexterity: 2,134] [Vitality: 17,320] [Speed: 17,352] [Mana: 61,099] [Mana Regeneration: 61,244 (+61,397)] [Magic Power: 25,516 (+654,485)] [Magic Control: 25,516 (+654,485)][Class 1: [The Dawn Sentinel – Celestial: Lv 513]] [Celestial Affinity: 513] [Cosmic Presence: 322] [The Stars Never Fade: 11] [Center of the Universe: 471] [Dance with the Heavens: 513] [Wheel of Sun and Moon: 513] [Mantle of the Stars: 492] [Sunrise: 470][Class 2: [Butterfly Mystic – Radiance: Lv 401]] [Radiance Affinity: 401] [Radiance Resistance: 401] [Nova Lance: 401] [Lepidoptera: 160] [Nectar: 401] [Solar Corona: 401] [Scintillating Ascent: 401] [Kaleidoscope: 401][Class 3: [Bookwyrm – Spatial: Lv 9]] [Spatial Affinity: 4] [Reading: 2] [Lair: 1] [Bookwyrm’s Hoard: 3] [Beneath the Dragon’s Eyes: 2] [Dream Reading: 1] [Astral Archives: 9] [Hunger for Knowledge: 9]General Skills [Long-Range Identify: 380] [:] [Companion Bond between Elaine and Auri: 256] [The World Around Me: 21] [Oath of Elaine to Lyra: 513] [Sentinel’s Superiority: 513] [Persistent Casting: 431] [:]

Elaine’s skills explained:

Cosmic Presence: A powerful and large healing aura, it dramatically speeds up natural healing. Bruises vanish in minutes instead of weeks.

The Stars Never Fade: Can rewind time on a person, making them young – and Immortal.

Center of the Universe: Anti-pain skill. Still can feel things happening, but it doesn’t hurt.

Dance with the Heavens: Panacea healing skill. The main skill of the class.

Wheel of Sun and Moon: Support skill for Dance with the Heavens. Lets it be ranged when Elaine is in sunlight or moonlight.

Mantle of the Stars: Shield skill. Lets Elaine conjure a starry barrier. It’s slightly flexible and can move a bit.

Sunrise: Energy skill. Let’s Elaine keep on going and going and going.

Nova Lance: Powerful Radiance beam attack.

Lepidoptera: Ability to make runes and cast spells with them. The keystone wizardry skill.

Nectar: Passive mana regeneration ability.

Solar Corona: Radiance support skill. Dramatic DPS buff to Nova Lance and Kaleidoscope.

Scintillating Ascent: Flying skill.

Kaleidoscope: Summons swarms of explosive butterflies.

Long-Range Identify: Checks level and class abstraction from a distance.

The World Around Me: A ‘sphere of awareness” for what’s around Elaine.

Oath of Elaine to Lyra: Elaine’s Oath to heal others.

Sentinel’s Superiority: Buff to all class skills, and combat/fighting prowess.

Persistent Casting: Lets Elaine constantly channel skills without needing to think about or focus on them.

Companion Bond Between Elaine and Auri: Elaine and Auri’s bond, represented as a skill. Gives Elaine immunity to fire, faster thinking speed, the ability to heal Auri, and increased vanity.

 

 

Chapter 2 – War Class

 

“War.” The professor paced in front of the class. He was built like a soldier, his robes clearly modified to let him run and fight at a moment’s notice, and he carried a sword strapped to his waist.

In a twist, the class was held in one of the stadiums, not in a classroom, and the uniform for the class was the exercise outfits, not the typical poofy robes that were required everywhere else. Mormerilhawn, the Black Rose, master of the arena, was lurking near the sidelines, chatting with Shirayuki. I could eavesdrop on their conversation, but then I wouldn’t be focusing on the first lecture of the War class. “It is a word that encompasses so much, and is boiled down to such a little word. War. What is a war? Anyone.” He asked the moderately-sized class.

A few hands hesitantly went up, and one confident hand.

I kept my hands down. I didn’t know for sure, and venturing a poor guess would just waste everyone’s time.

The professor seemed to think the same thing, and immediately pointed at the student. He stood up and recited.

“War is simply a continuation of politics by violent means.” He sat down after finishing his answer.

The professor nodded.

“Good. Eloquently put. There is always an objective to war, and while you’ll rarely be in a position to know what it is, attempting to divine it is useful. The objective can be dumb. Sometimes it is as petty as pride, or a desire to show off. This class, like a war, will be ugly and brutal. I’m not going to mince words. I’m not going to try and pretend war is noble and glorious. Those of you who believe that have been lied to.” The professor continued to energetically pace in front of us like a caged tiger.

“The master of the arena has graciously agreed to assist with our class today, and will be assisting sporadically. All of you have gotten shielded. Nobody here is at risk of being harmed. I am planning on a practical demonstration later.” He announced.

The fact that he was telling us this ahead of time told me that the *practical demonstration was going to be a surprise. I started to evaluate the students around me.

“There are a dozen different types of war, which I’ll get into in a minute. Fundamentally, nearly every war, by the numbers, is economic. It’s about amassing wealth and power for those directing the war. These are the least devastating on a large scale, and also the most common. I call these ‘raider’s wars’.” He paused, like he expected the vast swaths of angry mutterings from his students.

“Yes, that’s what most wars’ are.” He continued on. “One noble doesn’t like another. They get a party together and raid the territory of the other. They’ll try to seize gems and goods, with the larger prize being capturing another noble and ransoming them back to their family. This can happen from small levels to a national scale, when an entire country ‘wages war’ on another country. In reality, the people there are simply trying to obtain wealth, in one form or another. Capturing and settling new land, a permanent source of wealth, is another, larger goal. Occasionally this is broken out into wars of conquest. End of the day, they’re all the same. Raider’s wars.”

The angry mutterings were reaching a crescendo.

“Homework! For bonus points. Write an essay explaining why I’m wrong. Moving on.” The professor had neatly and skillfully decapitated the brewing mutiny among his students.

“Knowing the motivation is important. If you’re against raiders, they’re in it for the money. Make it too expensive for them to continue, and they’ll generally cut their losses and return home.

Can’t bribe them, they’ll keep extorting you for more. Need to hit them in the pocketbook for them to go home.”

The mutterings were back, and he held up a hand.

“With that being said, I will acknowledge that pride and ego often come into play here. Attackers are willing to keep going, on the chance that they’ll end up making a profit, and because whoever’s in charge can’t retreat for various political and personal reasons once the attack’s commenced. It takes a significant kick to the teeth for them to retreat with nothing, but once it’s too expensive to keep going, and they get a minor win with which they can claim victory, then you can count on them leaving.”

A hand shot up, the same as before. The professor eyed the student doubtfully, but then called on him.

“What’s your number?” The professor asked the student. The student with his hand up in the air pointed at himself.

“Me? Number?” He asked.

The professor nodded.

“How many intelligent beings have you killed in a team or army? Monsters don’t count.”

The student paused a moment.

“23.” He answered.

“Alright Mr. 23. What’s your question?”

“Will they still leave if it’s a war of conquest like you said, where the goal is land?”

The professor sighed.

“Less likely, and that’s where it gets… messy. And by messy, I mean a lot of blood, screaming, and stacked bodies. Let’s continue on. One aspect to raider’s wars which is particularly nasty to handle is when the people making the money are the arms suppliers. People who are making their money and wealth selling weapons, armor, and expertise to those actually waging the war. They’re getting paid either way, and have every incentive to keep the war going.”

The professor continued to pace, and I was fascinated. He had a presence, an energy, that was captivating.

“Next up is what I’m broadly defining as an ideological war. The gods are only involved in a fraction of ideological wars, but fundamentally, they’re all the same. The attacker has a deep-seated belief that the defender must die. Rarely, the goal will be for something other than killing off another group. These are harder to deflect, and correspondingly rarer. It also segues nicely into my next type of war. Total war.”

He stopped, and looked at us all.

“Total war is what most people think of when they hear war. It is a war for survival. It is a do or die war. One country’s ideological war is another country’s total war. When a country believes it is in total war, all the rules are gone. There is no Treaty of Kyowa. There are no rules of engagement. There is no proper treatment of prisoners. It is why I have such respect for Nime.”

The students were talking loudly amongst each other, and the professor silenced us all with a gesture. It didn’t stop the students, of course, he simply used some Sound magic to mute them.

“Nime understands these principles better than anyone else. They cultivate Poison, Miasma, and Spore classers. Anyone attacking them knows that they’re not going to respect the so-called ‘rules’ of war, and will unleash anything and everything they can simply to survive. Every attack on Nime is an assault on the small nation’s very survival. They know how to properly threaten others. It is why nobody raids Nime. The cost to wage a raider’s war on the nation is too high, most of the attackers will get killed. An ideological war is likely brewing, as they are routinely condemned for openly violating Kyowa, but nobody acts on it. Nobody is harmed enough to do something about it. The nation is poor, and the cost-benefit analysis is always negative.”

I saw his point. “I might die, but I’m taking you down with me.” Was one hell of a deterrent.

“I want you all to spend a few moments thinking of conflicts you’ve heard of, and seeing if you can categorize them.” The professor said. “Then we’ll move onto the next section.”

I thought of the Formorian war. That had been a total war, Remus’s very existence hanging on the outcome. They were monsters. They didn’t want wealth or land, they simply wanted to consume.

From their point of view, it was probably a… raider’s war? They ignored the dwarves, who were too tough a nut to crack.

Lun Kat attacking the dwarves was probably something of an outlier. Probably also an ideological war, but designed to cause damage to the dwarves, instead of enriching herself. Probably a good example from everyone muttering about ‘that’s not how wars work.’

At the same time, when faced with stiff enough opposition, she did leave the battlefield.

“Moving on. Who can tell me why armies are primarily composed of [Warriors]?” He asked the students.

More confident hands went up, and the professor called on one of them.

“Number?” He asked.

“Three. Solo kills all.” The woman had a particular swagger to her voice. I could imagine her strutting, even though we were all sitting on the ground.

“Ms. 3. Why are armies primarily [Warriors]?” He asked her.

“Because they have staying power.” She promptly replied. “Level for level, stat for stat, quality for quality, a [Mage] is more lethal than a [Warrior] or a [Ranger]. But they run out of mana quickly, on the order of seconds. A [Warrior] can fight for hours on end.”

I snorted. A bad [Mage], sure. There was a reason all Rangers got trained, and were issued armor and weapons.

At the same time, I couldn’t deny that she was right. Most mages were significantly weaker without mana than a warrior of a similar level, and that was before armor and weapon skills were brought into consideration.

The professor nodded.

“Only partially correct. [Warriors] and [Rangers] are capable of fighting for hours, while [Mages] are only strong for a short period of time. A larger, more important aspect is that it’s physical work. Anyone with physical stats can pick up a spear and join a shield wall or picket line, letting armies recruit from the general population. Mages, in contrast, require significantly more time and training as a mage to get to a respectable level where they can make an impact. A mage is equivalent to a career warrior. Han’s generals, Rolland’s knights, Vollomond’s raid leaders, Lithos’s trolls and more are strong examples of career fighters from around the world, all of whom rival a mage in their ability to impact a battlefield. They simply do it over the course of hours, instead of minutes or seconds. Ms. Elaine, in the purple robes, would you be willing to give me a hand for this next section?”

It took me a tenth of a second to realize he was talking to me. The purple robes looked fantastic, but they made me stand out in the sea of black, and I was used to being the picked-on student in classes. I stood up.

“Sure! What are you wondering?”

“I picked you because you’re a healer, and healers are generally a known quantity in what they can do. Unlike, say, a mage, who could have any number of unusual skills. Please, feel free to decline, and I will pick on someone else to share. In broad strokes, would you be willing to tell us roughly how long it would take you, under ideal conditions, to empty your mana pool, and what you could accomplish in that time?”

I weighed his request. On one hand, skills were generally private, and asking someone to reveal their skills to the world was rude. On the other, the professor didn’t seem to give a damn about trampling over feelings, and he was right that healers were a known quantity.

That, and my skills had been on display in the arena, although I didn’t know if anyone here had watched me.

“I’m oathbound. I can empty my entire mana pool in a single second.” I deliberately included the oathbound detail as a misdirection. I’d had time to learn what most healers were like, and broadly, what people thought of oathbound healers.

Harmless do-gooders. I had absolutely no problem leaning into that reputation… and it was the truth!

“A single second. What can you do then?”

I shrugged.

“Keep everyone inside the stadium alive, from heart wounds to decapitation, bringing everyone back to perfect health. Naturally, exactly how many people and how many injuries depends on the number of people and the severity.”

The professor nodded.

“For a single second, the healer is a goddess, literally performing miracles. At the right time, at the right place, she can sway the entire battle her way, healing every single person. But what happens after that second? What happens after her miracle?”

“She dies.” One of the students answered, unprompted.

I loudly snorted. Not likely. I wasn’t going to ruin the professor’s lecture though.

To my surprise though, he gave me a wink.

Oh fuck.

I saw exactly where this was going.

“The healer dies! Exactly! Now, as I mentioned at the start of this class, everyone is shielded by the arena master. Nobody here can get hurt. Elaine, if you would do the honors of demonstrating an empty mana pool?”

He totally knew I was part of the combat team. I was guessing that one of his lessons was something about deception in warfare, since he’d deliberately called me out as a healer – which, on the surface, was entirely reasonable.

Just wished he’d talked to me before. Was probably another layered lesson in always being prepared.

I knelt down and stuck a finger in the dirt, and unleashed [Nova Lance]. The layers of dirt helped hide what, exactly, I was doing. and after 20 seconds my mana pool was depleted.

I then threw up my [Mantle of the Stars] in a sphere around myself, the skill requiring a single point of mana upfront to cast.

With an added bonus – it gave me enough space around myself

for what was about to happen. I already saw one or two students – including Ms. 3 – who had realized what was going on.

“Break it to empty my mana pool.” I announced, putting my foot over the glassy hole I’d drilled through the dirt. I subtly bent my knees in preparation for what was going to happen next.

I looked at the professor.

“I can use regenerating mana, right?” I asked him.

He gave me a tiny nod as he started to speak.

“Right! First practical demonstration of the day! Remember, you’re allowed to go all out, nobody here will be harmed! The healer has arrived, and performed a major miracle, revitalizing and saving hundreds! If she escapes, she’ll be able to return soon and do it again! All [Warriors] and [Rangers]! Kill the healer!” He announced, and the world turned to chaos.

I promptly activated the greater invisibility rune in my chest and jumped. I’d known what was coming, and I’d reacted faster than anyone else had.

What was nice about the rune was it took just a hair less mana to run than my current regeneration rate, and I’d gain more and more regeneration as time went on. The cost was fixed, and one day I wouldn’t notice it at all.

I’d reacted fast enough that I needed to take down my own shield so I didn’t slam into it. Nobody had smashed it fast enough.

I soared over the thinnest part of the crowd. As I did, the professor made another announcement.

“Healers, Mages, and non-combatants, if you could please sit down for this demonstration.”

People sitting down were off-limits. Got it.

I landed heavily on the arena grass, the force of my landing making the grass around me ripple. I carefully started to prowl around, trying to find the best place to start my part of the fun.

I heard a few students complain that they hadn’t known, and hadn’t brought a weapon along with them, and it was unfair and how were they supposed to participate.

Idiots.

That was the whole point of the exercise!

A few more people were wondering what was going on, since I’d clearly disappeared. Was the exercise over?

“The healer is still alive and around! What are all of you lollygagging around for!? Stop asking questions and find her!”

The professor roared with a smirk.

That got a few students to jump, but I’d already found my quarry. One of the students had a longsword, and was marching around. swishing it through the air.

I took a deep breath. I was putting a lot of faith in Mormerilhawn here.

At the same time, I knew how his shields worked, and what was effective, what would transfer and what a lethal blow was.

I stalked up next to the student, and as he completed a swipe, I chopped down with my arm. I hit the wrist hard enough that it would’ve been broken without the shield, but it was enough to disarm the student. Before he could shout a warning I twisted, using my other hand to punch him in the throat, and he vanished.

The Black Rose’s shield had considered him ‘dead’, and teleported him out of the arena.

Leaving his weapon behind.

I quickly picked it up, my invisibility automatically extending to cover it as well.

The hunt was on.

I was likely stronger and faster than most of the warriors and other physical classers here. I didn’t have skills supporting my weapons. [Sentinel’s Superiority] was about fighting prowess, not hardening weapons.

There was still uncertainty and confusion, but a few Classers were starting to organize the other students. I didn’t have a whole lot of time here.

I dashed forward to the first likely target, another student who was staring at the ground, seeing something I couldn’t. He was intently looking at the path I’d taken though, and while greater invisibility was supposed to erase my footsteps. I wasn’t going to discount a more powerful skill somehow divining tiny traces.

I was unused to longswords and how they handled, but fundamentally stick them with the pointy end’ was true of all weapons. A quick thrust at his chest, and he vanished without anyone noticing.

“Take in this feeling.” The professor lectured as I worked on my next target, my sword flickering out like a spear to teleport him to the sidelines. “The sudden chaos. The fear. The lack of knowing. The violence and confusion. The unexpected. This is a small fraction of what war is like, and the best I can replicate in a classroom setting like this. In the real world, you wouldn’t get a warning. You wouldn’t get a lecture at the same time. Try to grab onto these feelings, and understand a small part of what war is. What you will subject others to. Master yourself.”

I managed to take out three more students during his speech, focusing less on stealth, and more on speed.

I was tempted to force the professor to teleport off the field as well, to really hammer home the lesson he was trying to impart.

Instead I crept around a student who somehow had gotten himself a shield. I paused right before I was going to slice him in half from groin-to-head.

He didn’t exist in my sphere of awareness.

He was an illusion, a mirage. A clever lure by one of the other students.

The rest of the students had, by this point, realized something was up. That I was still here, picking people off, and they were organized and huddled together.

I skipped back a dozen steps and grabbed a pebble.

Time for Brawling’s favorite trick!

I wound up and threw the rock as hard as I could, aiming to brain the star organizer.

I cleanly missed. The rock went sailing over her head.

I mentally grumbled to myself.

I hadn’t fully figured out every last aspect of my new body, and it wasn’t like ‘how to throw rocks’ had ever been in any of my training courses.

“Stop! Halt the exercise!” The professor bellowed. “The healer has successfully escaped, able to come back later and heal dozens of people once again. What have we learned?” He asked the group.

I dropped my invisibility and rejoined the group. I got dirty looks from a number of the students jogging back from the sidelines, where they’d been teleported away. Didn’t care.

Mormerilhawn also came over.

“High level healers are hard to catch.” Ms. 3 said, giving me a look that was hard to interpret.

“That this class is bullshit.” A student muttered under his breath. I could still hear him.

“Level matters.” A familiar student called out. I handed his longsword back to him, getting a small nod of thanks in return.

The professor nodded.

“Another important lesson is not to judge by tags or looks.” The professor said. “Mormerilhawn?”

The arena master stepped up.

“For those of you who pay attention to these sorts of things, Elaine is the star of the School’s under-30 combat team.” He announced. “She is a mage-healer, and yet took out a third of you with her physical capabilities alone. She was on track to successfully eliminate the rest of you, in spite of her stated goal being escape. Deception is the heart of warfare, but do not underestimate the System, and what it empowers all of us to do.”

The professor turned to me.

“Elaine, given your age and level, are you willing to share your numbers with us?”

The request didn’t sting like it would’ve before I started seeing Linnet regularly. I closed my eyes, processing the numbers.

After passing the biomancy hurdle, and having a little more than a year left at the School, I was preparing for my Medical Track thesis. The Medical Manuscripts. I’d be getting endless looks and whispers… might as well start preparing.

Nobody would believe my numbers, but I didn’t care.

“14,878 intelligent beings killed in a team.” I stated. The vast majority of them had been shimagu at Ochi, where I’d let rip. “13,565,516 System kill notifications while working in a team.” I further stated. The end of the Formorian war was responsible for most of those, Destruction’s earthquake combined with the literal hand of a god descending to smite the dread queens.

I opened my eyes to a field of wide eyes and slack jaws.

 

Chapter 3 – Deep Lore

 

The professor had a controlled look on his face, and I got to watch in real time as the vast majority of my fellow students – probably the nobles with the training for it – controlled their faces and emotions.

Oh, now they’re able to properly control themselves in front of new information, and not before when the professor was lecturing.

“Ms. Highscore. You clearly have experience with war, would you mind sharing?” The professor asked me.

I was getting real annoyed being put on the spot.

I shrugged.

“Kinda. I don’t care if you don’t believe me, I’m more interested in what the expert has to say on the class.”

I sat down where I was, pointedly staring at the professor to continue his lecture. I ignored the students sitting down around me, furiously whispering with each other.

“There’s no way, right?”

“She’s gotta be lying.”

“Well, I’ve killed 15,000 people. See how easy it is to say!”

“I’ve seen her in the library. She’s got an excellent reputation for honesty, doesn’t care about our reaction, and seems annoyed by it all. [Cold Reading] says she’s telling the truth, somehow.”

 

“Yeah, but in what conflict? Had to have happened in the last 10 years, and I haven’t heard of anything of that size.”

“Worth investigating. If nothing else she’s unsponsored and high leveled, wonder if we can recruit her?”

“Even with her level and tag?”

“Details. It’s easy to work that out.”

Okay, that particular conversation was fascinating, and I wanted to know more. There was an easy way to let me travel mortal lands?

Sadly, the professor started lecturing again, and they shut up to pay attention.

“I’m going to touch on honor for a moment. In a war, it is important for most of you. Honor means you are following a code of conduct, and while you are following it, your opponents will follow a similar code. It tells you that you are in a typical raider’s war, and that defeat in battle will generally mean a ransom. Expensive, yes, but the alternatives are worse.”

He started pacing again, regaining some of the energy and attention he’d lost at my stunning pronouncement.

“What is worse? Simple. Your opponents believing they are at the end of their rope. Poisoning your food. Murdering your children in their cradle. Razing every stretch of land they can. Honor, as much as some sneer at it, is a social contract. It keeps the rules of war intact, and prevents small conflicts from escalating. It was mentioned earlier that war is simply a continuation of politics by other means. An honorable war suggests that non-violent resolution is still possible, is still manageable. It is half a step closer to peace. Once honor is gone, the only reason two parties will meet at a negotiating table is for one to attempt to assassinate the other.”

I felt like that last bit was a little hyperbolic, but his point was made.

If I ever found myself in a conflict where honor mattered, I was in the wrong fight.

“Speaking of escalating conflicts! Let’s discuss Immortal wars. You’ll notice they didn’t show up in the list from earlier.”

I knew Iona had quite a lot to say about the topic, although I’d come to realize she was a little biased on the topic.

“Immortal wars are the same as the other three. Raider, Ideological, and Total. Fact of the matter is, they simply have more power thrown around when they fight. A mortal mage is throwing high speed lumps of rock, an Immortal mage can throw a mountain. When two Immortals fight – not two countries, two people – the landscape is often rearranged, and they don’t care about collateral damage. When two countries fight, well. There’s a reason the end of the last major Immortal war is the start of the current era, with everything before being marked as ‘old’, and everything after being marked as ‘new’. Granted, there were a number of surviving Immortals, and civilization didn’t entirely collapse, but according to the records, this is a normal part of the cycle.”

He paused for dramatic effect. I was enthralled.

“Yes, cycle. There is a high level, somewhat predictable cycle over centuries and millennia of how the world works. Now, please keep in mind the exact details and speed will differ on a case to case basis. I am simply trying to speak of the high-level brushstrokes that occur. We will start at the end of an Immortal war. The ‘survival’ era. The world lies shattered. Cities have been razed, newly created volcanoes dot the lands, and fields burn. Monsters thrive, and expand into the missing ecological niche, their populations exploding as civilization isn’t able to beat them back well.”

“In that gap, people survive. Countries tend towards having a dominant race present in their borders, and the world ending doesn’t tend to cause mass migration of the sort needed to dramatically change what species lives where, although it does happen. Powerful fighters defend small enclaves from monsters as civilization begins to reassert itself. With the help of the System, and old knowledge, we rebuild. The powerful fighters are lauded and declared [Heroes], and they naturally turn into the first [Lords]. A crazy patchwork of civilization erupts, the small surviving villages turning into towns. We leave the ‘survival’ era, and enter into the ‘patchwork’ era.”

He paused a moment to allow those who needed to take notes to finish scribbling.

“The patchwork era is interesting. Tens of thousands of small city-states, each with their own version of a ruler, generally a warrior-lord. This era is defined by a rediscovery of knowledge, and by a thousand small scale conflicts between the various locals. Some remember that cooperation and working together is optimal, others try to conquer their neighbors. After all, civilization has largely been reset for a few generations at this point. The ethics, knowledge, and philosophy we take for granted has largely been forgotten, except for small enclaves.”

He gestured all around himself.

“The School of Sorcery and Spellcraft is an excellent example of this. The School’s highest calling is to help restore knowledge to the world after the cataclysm of a true Immortal war… when it isn’t burned down itself.”

I remembered orientation, and how the guide mentioned the Vault was supposed to store knowledge against that. It had sounded far- fetched at the time… but maybe it was the truth.

“This era is where ‘ancient magics’ thrive, where discovering the lost and powerful artifacts of the prior era help define who does well. Slowly, as time passes, the nations rebuild themselves, as the patchwork of various civilizations merge and meld together.

After all, a fledgling nation of seven cities can easily add an

eighth with no allies to their ranks, with minimal violence, and the vast tapestry of elvenoid civilization is stitched together once again.”

“As this process accelerates, we enter the ‘golden era. Lost knowledge is rediscovered, and life and civilization progresses in leaps and bounds. The old has been turned over, and there is vast room for expansion and discovery. The ancient forests are beaten back, monsters are driven back into their lair, and it is a bold, glorious time to be alive. Opportunities abound for everyone!”

Ah dang. Sounds like we weren’t in the golden era.

“The golden era moves onto the crystalline era. This is where issues arise. Nations are too large, butting up against each other. There is no room to easily expand, and the easily rediscovered lost knowledge has been found. True discovery and innovation is required. If only mortals lived on Pallos, it might be manageable. We might be able to find a way to move forward. But it is not only mortals that live on Pallos.”

He paused with that ominous pronouncement.

“Immortals live on Pallos, and they feel the effects of the crystalline era more profoundly than mortals. See, throughout the survival, patchwork, golden, and crystalline era, mortals are born and die. Most Immortals that are born don’t die. Now, all

Immortal countries have ways to mitigate undying [Lords]. The rulers that don’t tend to get killed by an ambitious underling, until enough turmoil settles into a sustainable pattern. Exterreri mandates retirement. The Golden Court along with the Tympestshard Council works along family and clan patterns, although with technical differences that aren’t the topic for this class. Draakveld culture doesn’t permit them to form anything larger than a village, and even then there is no village head. The Bhutai provinces have no interest in that sort of thing. Urwa, against all odds, does manage to have Immortal, undying [Lords] in positions of power for centuries. Study their succession if you wish to see how it goes wrong. Jurcor permits all this, but require enough paperwork, and the network and web of alliances and treaties is so confusing, that half the time the devils aren’t quite sure if they’re attacking their ally or not.”

Urwa sounded overall like the least pleasant place to be.

“Speaking of going wrong, all the systems I mentioned go wrong in various ways. Immortals gather wealth and power, and soon they butt heads against rivals trying to gather similar wealth and power. Inevitably, the lesson from the start of the lecture comes into play. War is simply a continuation of politics by other means. When the powerful Immortal with thousands of levels, and tens of thousands of retainers under their banner with thousands of levels decides to take what they want by force, well. The defender fights back, and rare is the war waged by people with eternity to gather strength and make allies where nobody else is involved. If nothing else, the previously mentioned collateral damage is likely to draw in new parties.”

“Thus starts and ends the shortest era of this lecture. The

Immortal war era, or the cataclysm era. When the dust settles, the survivors rule over a world of ashes, and the survival era begins once again. Now, you may have mentioned I didn’t talk about empires in all this. The rise and fall of empires is a curious thing. generally accelerating the patchwork era…”

 

Mormerilhawn teleported next to me as the class ended.

“Elaine.” He greeted me. I tilted my head at him.

“Mormerilhawn. Is there something I can do for you?” I asked him.

He studied me for a long moment.

“For what it’s worth, I believe you.” He said, and without further ado, turned and walked away.

That was… kinda weird. Probably the closest thing to an apology I’d get from him, for helping enable the professor.

Still, I kept him in mind. If he believed me, and my story about Remus, he could be helpful when I went to prove my ownership of the Medical Manuscripts. It was going to take more than a bit of work to convince the people I wanted to convince that I was telling the truth.

I did get a chance to meet up with Auri after the lesson though.

“Hey Auri! Off to baking class?”

“Brrrpt!”

“Oh, sorry, your Specialty Breads course.”

“Brrrpt.” Auri nodded like she was the wisest [Sage] who had ever lived, one mage hand zipping in to straighten her crooked hat.

“Save some for me, will you?”

“Brrrpt!”

–

I continued on to my destination – the student center. The start of the quarter had some big wargame tournament thing going on, and Iona was competing. I was showing up to give her moral support… and get some advance reading in on my next few classes.

“Hey love!” I gave her a quick kiss.

“Hey spaceosaurus!” Iona grinned at me. “You didn’t have to come, you know.”

I shrugged.

“I know. I wanted to.”

I shoved my way to a spot with a stool, overlooking the Mirage- board where the war games were held. Good practice for budding [Strategists] and the like, and they could even level playing it! It was supposed to mimic a real war, although after this morning’s lectures I had my doubts.

The game began with enthusiastic, yet inexperienced, fanfare.

“Go Iona! Pillage his villages, burn his towns, and leave no stone standing on top of each other!”

It was easy being bloodthirsty when it was just a game.

I did discreetly summon and drop one of my textbooks to the floor. I’d found I could read anything that was in my sphere of

awareness.

On one hand, it looked like I was intently staring at Iona’s game, watching her beat the stuffing out of her opponent.

On the other, I had words scrolling across my vision.

[*ding!* [Bookwyrm] has leveled up! 21 -> 22. +40 Vitality, +40 Speed, +100 Mana, +100 Mana Regeneration, +300 Magic Power, +300 Magic Control from your class! +1 Mana, +1 Magic Power from your element! +1 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +1 Speed, +1 Vitality, +1 Mana, +1 Mana Regeneration, +1 Magic Power, +1 Magic Control for being Chimera (Elvenoid)!]

[*ding!* [Spatial Affinity] has leveled up! 21 -> 22]

[*ding!* [Reading] has leveled up! 21 -> 22]

[*ding!* [Astral Archives] has leveled up! 21 -> 22]

[*ding!* [Hunger for Knowledge] has leveled up! 21 -> 22]

“The northern continent.” The professor started. “It remains largely unsettled. The reasons for this are legion. The wild and untamed nature allow creatures to obtain a much higher level than normal, giving a challenge to those who would explore. Natural treasures grow. But mainly, there is a significant aspect to might makes right. The non-elvenoid natives of the northern continent don’t tolerate elvenoid intrusion, and even the School flying over occasionally attracts… ire. Additionally, the Wardens, for reasons unstated, enforce the ban. Even during an Immortal war, they don’t permit others to settle there. Granted, crossing the ocean is a massive endeavor, and the ocean itself is theorized to have more high level creatures, but that is a topic for a different class.”

 

 

“The name of this class is exactly what we’re talking about. Divine items. Now, every quarter, there’s some fool who thinks we’re talking about well-made items, mysteries from a forgotten era that we don’t know how to replicate, or oddities. No. This class is about items handed down to us from the very gods themselves. The Woundspear. Farwalker’s cane. The Sword of the Betrayer. The Solstice Banner. The Everflowing Chalice. Crow’s Cape, the Supple Dagger, the Lantern of Truth, and many more. They do not follow the normal rules of what can and can’t be done with the System. They are not of the System, they are of the Divine. In this class, we will go over the known divine items, as well as theorize what properties and rules the gods must follow when bestowing one of them upon their followers.”

I glanced over at Iona, my eyebrows raised. She responded with a grin, and mouthed ‘love you’ at me, then turned back to the lecture.

I see why she’d convinced me to take this class with her! It sounded neat!

“Curses suck.” The professor started. “They’re difficult and tricky to break. The easiest curses to break are ones that are supposedly buffs, skills that drain your mana regeneration to boost something else. In the proper situation, you want these buffs. The worst curses are impossible to break and spread themselves. The werewolf curse is the most prominent of these curses, and believe me, if it wasn’t for their long history, they would be wiped out to the last. Now, often curses have a limited lifetime, but that can still be enough to debilitate or kill. In order to break them, you’ll need to know how they work. We begin with classifying them into groups…”

 

“… and as you should all know, a Grand Feat occurs for a species when a member of the race achieves level 4096, and ascends…”

The tip of my quill snapped as I shoved it too deep into the paper. Damnit, I liked that quill!

What?!

Iona could’ve mentioned that when she was telling me about the gods!! I knew about the ascension, but the Grand Feat had been completely skipped! Hello, that detail might’ve been somewhat important!!

“Shera, the Dreamer. Wulfric, the Bloody. Baojunshe, the Tyrant. Inias, the Divine. Teruo, the Pure. Iztacoatl, the Arcane. Ragnar, the Renewer. Manadhion, the Nightmare. Learn these names. Know these names. They are the Guardians, and we believe them to be our great protectors, our shield against extinction.” The professor started the lecture with a bang.

 

“Now, technically, the exact purpose and role of the beings known as Guardians is much speculated on. I will attempt to stick to known facts. There have never been more than eight spotted at a single time, a number believed to be significant for various reasons you should all find obvious. People have approached and studied them, and they act normal, if exceptionally high-leveled. The announcement declaring them as Guardians only appears during calamities, and they appear to know about them as they happen, appearing from around the world. This has led to speculation that they…”

 

“This is the Practical Spatial Magic class! If you don’t have a Spatial element, this isn’t the class for you. You’ll want the Introduction to Spatial Magic class right across the hallway.” The professor in orange robes said. He obviously knew his stuff, and knew it well from a practical standpoint.