The First Archmage

“There aren’t many people,” I observe as we pass through the village.

“Most have already scattered,” Garret nods. “The rest are already packing their things. The Council has been sending guards to harass us for awhile, but never Executioners. Those have been beyond our power. That man who showed up – was he your father?”

“Only by blood,” I nod. “I don’t like him, nor his bullshit reasons.”

“Did he try offering you four spatial rings?”

“With a bounty on them.”

“I can see why you don’t like him,” he says. “The magic around you is powerful, Gavin – just how powerful are you?”

“I’m an Archwizard,” I say. “The second Tier of the Wizard Class. My lowest stat is HLT, at 58 Points. I have 250 Mana and 280 Health. I noticed the soldiers had wyverns – how did they tame them?”

“Some of them have a sort of beast taming Skill,” he says. “They’ve learned Shatus, and managed to use it to command some of them.”

“Have they been using the wyverns against all of you?”

“They learned to keep the wyverns away from this village,” he laughs. “And pass by here quickly, too. They only brought the wyverns through us once, and when they did, the wyverns went crazy.”

I look around at the village. It’s a lot different than people think it is. To most, it seems like a weird group of people with multiple talents, but it acts as the stem. It’s a waypoint, and the reason the wyverns don’t pass through here and leave the monster-filled eastern regions of the continent. A small village with a powerful impact.

A plant we grow agitates monsters simply by the smell alone. Harvested, the scent can last for months, but only if the monster presence is weak and the plant is dried properly. The village has hundreds of it growing throughout.

“Sorry I sped up the attack on you guys,” I say.

“It’s fine,” he says. “They were likely going to in a few weeks, anyway, but wait for another Executioner or two.”

“Can you tell me about them?” I ask.

“Yes,” he nods, leading me into Chief’s hut, where we all sit down. “There are – were – eight of them total. I guess there’s five, now, though you can expect them to be replaced, once suitable replacements are found. Each Councilman had control of two of them. The Executioners are their most vicious warriors, and they enforce the law. They’re the ones who force Adventurers into service, now. The fact that you were able to kill one is immense.”

I could barely kill him. It’s because of my absurd stats and unfair Class that I could have, and only now, after the battle, do I realize that they could have killed me – and quite easily. I shouldn’t have gotten too close with Natural as Nature.

+0 INT!

Shut up.

“They’ll be furious,” he says. “When they discover that three are dead.”

“Four,” I shake my head. “I killed one when I returned as well. I caught him by surprise, and punched right through his armor with two Firebolts. Had he time to prepare, he would’ve been able to defend against it. That’s why I’m leaving again – to get stronger.”

“Understood,” he nods. “Each Councilman also has five Inquisitors under their power. The Inquisitors investigate crime, torture criminals and members of the resistance. They use magic dealing with the mind and illusions. They came almost immediately, and have no doubt been preparing for decades.”

“And the Grand Executioner?”

“Works for the new king himself,” he says. “The new king is just the Council’s puppet. Right now, he’s low in favor, but give it five or ten years, and the people will have been brainwashed into believing he’s acting on his own, not for the Council, and will have begun to forget about Jozan, gaining loyalty to him. The resistance will still exist, but weaker than before.”

Which must be why the Blood Quest is five years and not ten, even though I said I’d wait ten years when I was arguing with Kade. It would become significantly harder after that point.

No matter! I’ll still complete it.

“Alright,” I yawn.

“Tired?” He asks, and I nod. “Get some rest. I’m not sure where you three traveled from, but it must have been a long way. I’ll arrange for you to have food when you wake.”

“Thanks,” I say, then look at Michael and Warren. “You two going to rest as well?”

“Yes,” Warren nods.

“I’ll stand watch,” Michael says. “You’ll need your rest more than I will. Warren – I’m waking you up after a few hours, if he isn’t up, so I can get some rest as well. He fought harder than we did.”

I leave the hut and scale the wall, lying down on the roof. The warm, familiar ceramic tiles are hard, but comforting, and when I close my eyes, I dream of better days, days when I didn’t have any responsibility at all and could do as I wanted.

I begin to whistle, letting the old tune fill the air. I whistle until I fall asleep, waking as the sun is dropping below the horizon. Standing, I stretch, then jump off the roof, landing in a crouch, then make my way back inside the hut.

Warren and Michael are both asleep, and I smile to myself. Michael either forgot to wake Warren, or Warren didn’t care enough to keep guard. This is my village, my home, and so long as a single member of it lives, no harm will come to us here.

The villagers of Kar are no easy foe. The guards will learn, when they build their fort here, just how tough we were, when the monsters begin to harass them. I can smell them burning the plants that keep the monsters at bay, which means that within a week, the monsters will begin to draw nearer to the site, and within a month, will begin to kill the unprotected.

The legends of Kar have been forgotten, Chief said, but peoples’ superstitions of us have remained, which is why few ever come to us, and those that do are usually Adventurers. In ancient times, we were accused of making deals with demons and devils for power, because no one could win against one of us in a fight, and the monster never drew near. No matter how many times we were chased from our homes, we would always reclaim it, no matter how much time passed. Yet those that settled in our place were always subject to monsters, monsters who never so much as sniffed at us twice.

There are many secrets to our people, secrets we only share with our own. Searching the village, I locate Garret, who is chatting with Emilia, one of the best warriors from the village, second only to him and Chief.

Skill Gained!

Kar Sacred Language 10/10: The sacred language of the people of Kar, this is a Skill that can never be learned

Kar Sacred Language Mastered!

+70 Experience!

Crap. I should’ve switched over to Bloodline Gains. There we go!

“Hello, Emilia,” I greet her in our language.

“Hello, Gavin,” she dips her head to me. “Sorry I didn’t get to speak with you earlier, but I wanted to make sure my family made it out alright. We left for the fight before the others evacuated. Then we I went to speak with you, you were upon the roof, whistling.”

“It’s the last time I’ll get to sleep there, ever,” I sigh in what is, for me, the first sorrow I’ve ever really felt.

I’m going to miss this place. Back when I first became an Adventurer, I was sure I’d be able to return here, no matter what. Now… this place is going to be destroyed.

“Hey,” Emilia pulls me into a hug. “Though you weren’t one of us by blood, you are one of us in spirit, Gavin.”

“I annoyed all of you,” I feel myself starting to shake. “I got on everyone’s nerves, and constantly rallied the other kids into mischief. I-”

“We never really minded,” she interrupts me, speaking softly. “You were a light we hadn’t seen in a long time, Gavin, and to all of us, you were Kar, through and through. You reminded many of us why we stay here. We wouldn’t have taught you our village’s techniques if we didn’t think you worthy of them.”

“But it wasn’t you guys who taught me,” I say. “I learned it from the other kids, and-”

“Do you think we didn’t let that happen?” She laughs. “Gavin – you have much to learn about our ways. Natural as Nature is only one of many tricks an adult Kar knows to evade notice. Find us, once you’re older, and I’ll teach them to you.”

Quest Granted!

Quest: Reunite with Kar!

Requirement: As an adult, return to the people of Kar

Reward: Learning Advance Kar Techniques!

Accept: Y/N?

A System Quest…

Yes.

“You just got a serious look in your eyes,” Emilia says, wiping the edges of my eyes, and I realize that I’d started to cry. “A look of determination.”

“I’ll see you guys again,” I step back, wiping my face with my sleep. “I’m getting soft, crying like this.”

“You’re human,” she laughs. “I’d be concerned if you didn’t cry like this, Gavin – you’re facing the fact that you may never see your home again. But I have faith in you.”

“We all do,” Garret puts a hand on my shoulder. “Preparations have all been completed, and we’ve no more business here. Once you and your friends are gone, we’ll be leaving. You know how to find us, should you ever need to.”

“What are you guys going to do, now?” I ask.

“We’ll remain scattered, for a time,” he says. “Then we’ll regroup. We’ll let them build their fort, for now. Eventually, we’ll destroy it, but the Executioners aren’t foes we can handle, not at our current power. Each one of them is of the second Tier in not one but two Classes. The Grand Executioner is said to be nearing the third Tier for his first Class.”

“Okay,” I say, thinking about that.

I’ll need to reach the third Tier before I can hope to return, then. That must be why the System recommends I be at the fourth Tier – to not just be on even or slightly-better grounds, but to be superior. Over time, they’ll grow stronger. Not as quickly as I can, but with their devotion to their goal and their leaders, they’ll receive an Experience buff as well.

+0 INT!

Thanks for confirming that… it’s not like I needed the confirmation my enemies are going to Level a little faster than most.

+0 CHA!

Now it’s being smart with me again.

“Do you think we should tell him?” Emilia asks. “He’s fifteen, now-”

“Fourteen,” I interrupt. “I got stuck in time for over a year, and so I’m only fourteen.”

“Oh,” she says, then laughs. “Well, that will be an interesting tale, when you return. Do you, Garret?”

“We generally don’t,” he says. “Until they’re sixteen.”

“I know,” she says. “But he may be older when we finally see him again.”

Garret thinks about it, then nods.

“Tell me what?” I look between them.

“Kar,” she says. “Is a Divine Being, a sort of god. The village of Kar are his people, his priests and priestesses and paladins. Those whom he blesses with his power are capable of learning a variety of skills, and doing them well – it’s why the people of our village are all multitalented.”

“Where is he a god of?” I ask. “I thought the world’s Divine Being was Yggdrasil?”

“It is,” she nods. “But there are many Divine Beings who aren’t for a specific world. Kar is one of those. He is not of any specific thing, but this valley and forest – they are his, and his alone.”

“Okay,” I nod. “We’ll be leaving once they wake. We’re on our way to a nearby Dungeon, though I don’t know the Dungeon Michael’s talking about.”

“It’s hidden,” Garret says. “We wove illusions and protections around it so that you children wouldn’t accidentally stumble into it. You wouldn’t find it by simple exploring or wandering. You have to be searching for a Dungeon to find it – to find any of the ones around here. Imagine the looks on the soldiers’ faces when they can’t find any Dungeons to farm around here.”

I chuckle at that – Dungeons are a good way to gain Experience and resources, after all.

“That would be fun to see,” I smile. “You can leave now, if you want.”

“We’re staying until you’re gone,” he says. “Emilia and I will walk with you to the Dungeon. I’m assuming you know about the little trick.”

“The king told me,” I nod. “How did you know?”

“It’s Kar who set them to do that,” he smiles. “Our god is quite the mischievous being. Supposedly, the king of the fairies hates humans because of Kar.”

I’m starting to think the king of the fairies just likes to hate people.

“I’m going to go check on my team,” I tell him. “And eat the nonexistent food awaiting me.”