The First Archmage

(Gavin)

For dinner, we find ourselves in a larger room than for breakfast, with several more people seated at the table. Judging by their stats, Mana, and collars, some of them are Adventurers, others, magicians, while a few others who lack Access are probably the nobles controlling the strings of the King.

The nobles look at me with distaste, probably due to my lack of a collar, but I ignore it as I take my seat, and Ryan takes his. Prince Wyatt sits up by his father, and dinner commences in silence, no one speaking.

The servants clean up the table after we finish eating, serving wine for us to sip as we talk.

"The Enchantment," the King says. "Has been verified, and it worked. We were able to communicate from here in the castle to guards in the Middle Wall. Isil will accept the previously-stated terms for peace."

"Jozan has changed its terms," I inform him. "As stated, the Paired Mirror Enchantment is an offer of goodwill, and we will still offer you Shroud of Gardens. However, instead of Mysts of the Lake, we will instead offer you the recipes to produce Lesser Mana Potions, Minor Mana Potions, and Lesser Mana Regeneration Potions."

"That was not-" a noble begins speaking.

"I believe," I interrupt him, and the man shrinks back in his seat when I lock my gaze onto his. "That I was speaking with the King. He is the one who rules Isil, and is the one who makes the rules, the laws, the treaties, the agreements, and everything. Unless he is a mere puppet, that is. In which case, then his presence is not required here. If he isn't, however, then it is him I am speaking with, not you, and it will be his decision that is made. The three recipes are ones your nation could use greatly, and is of equal – possibly greater – value than the other item you would receive."

The nobles stare at me.

"Shall the King of Isil and the representative of the King of Jozan," I look around at the nobles. "Continue their discussions? Jozan will only accept terms made freely between the two, without outside interference or otherwise."

"Look, kid," one of the nobles speaks up.

"Look, faisute," I meet his gaze, and he flinches. "I do not want to waste anymore time, so I am now going to be blunt, as I apparently was not very clear. The discussions of what will happen between Jozan and Isil will happen between your King and myself. He will make the decision of his own will, without your interference, without being affected by the collar or given any sort of threat in any form. He is a King, not a puppet, and he will be treated as such. You are nothing more than noblemen and advisers, and you can and will be replaced, if you attempt to interfere in this discussion.

"In fact," I hold up a hand, aimed at the King. "Dispel. The magic in your collar is now inert, and cannot be used to punish you for acting against the wishes of your 'controllers'. You are a King, not a tool. You are above the law forced by those beneath you."

"You-" a noble shouts, standing.

"What?" I turn to meet his gaze, and he, too, flinches. "I what, sir? I… am here as the representative of a King of another nation, here to discuss things with the King of this nation. I believe me freeing him from the binds forced upon him the moment he became King is an act of goodwill on my part. As further proof of this act of goodwill…"

I snap my fingers, creating an Air Slash just beneath the King's neck in four spots. Though he would barely feel it, my magic is powerful enough that the four vertical slashes cut through the collar with ease, the four fragments of it falling to the ground.

"…I will further show that the collar cannot bind him any longer," I finish. "As it can't bind that which it isn't embracing.

"Now," I look around at the nobles, meeting the gaze of each and every one of them. "Does anyone else wish to interfere in the talks between the King of Isil and the representative of the King of Jozan, something intended to end a war caused by the usurping by Turas?

"If so," I continue. "Please know that you will then be considered an enemy of both Jozan and Isil, as attempting to stop something to end a war when neither side comes out with a loss is the same as intending to continue the war. Jozan gains peace with a former ally, Isil gains the same, as well as several powerful resources, having to sacrifice nothing in return.

"That," I conclude. "Would make you traitors to your own people, by telling them that gaining several things and losing nothing is worth less than continuing a war that results in the loss of resources and, more importantly, the lives of their own people.

"Now," I look to the King. "I do apologize for my bluntness and the disrespect I have shown you, but I tired of their games. You are above your nobles, not below them, and they should have no hold on you. If the faisute had kept his mouth shout, he would have heard the next part.

"Jozan will also," I inform him. "Give you Mysts of the Lake on the condition that you, as King, outlaw the collaring of those with Access to the System, just as Jozan did a few days ago, contingent on accepting the peace between our people, the three alchemy recipes, and Shroud of Gardens."

Each of Isil's borders is lined with rivers, waterways, tributaries, lakes, ponds, and so on. Isil has prospered because of the nutrient-rich soil and the waters that flow through it. Many of their magicians have high affinities for water magics.

Mysts of the Lake would be a powerful asset for them in any war. All it takes is agreeing to end one, as well as outlawing something the King himself likely did not appreciate in the first place.

"Apology accepted," King George says. "And I believe it to be in the best interests of Isil to accept the two offers of Jozan. Our neighbor, despite the changes it is undergoing at the moment, is still powerful, regardless, and the offer is fair, allowing us to partake of part of this power and use it for ourselves. Naturally, I am sure Jozan is keeping the secrets to countering them to themselves?"

"You assume correctly," I nod. "Our magicians are hesitant to grant you that much, should you turn against the agreement made and invade once more. That said, I am willing to grant you a single spell from my personal source of powerful spells on top of the other offers, which I have also granted to the Royal Witch of Jozan. Ice Lance, only Tier II, yet is still quite powerful on its own. It explodes into a spray of ice around the impact point, dealing even more damage from that, with a certain tweak to the runic formula, which I will also happily give to you.

"For this spell," I summon the papers from my ring, setting them on the table. "There are no conditions attached. This is my act of goodwill, from me, personally, to show that I hold no hard feelings against you for the actions of your nobles just now and their attempts to continue a war that is likely costly on both sides. It is also a part of the apology to you, just now."

I manipulate the air around the papers, letting them float up, then over to the King.

"Thank you, Archmage," he dips his head slightly. "As I said, Isil accepts the offer of peace, in exchange for the spell formula and three alchemy recipes, and I believe that Isil can grow as a nation and as a people were we to not enslave those who are truly powerful among us. As of this moment, the collaring of those with Access to the System within our borders is illegal, and all those with the collars must be freed. I will give four days for this to go fully into effect. Anyone who has still collared an Adventurer will be imprisoned as such."

"Very well, then, Your Majesty," I say. "Before I grant you these papers, would you be willing to swear a Blood Oath to the matter? It will verify your intent and honesty."

"How does one swear a Blood Oath?"

"Milord!" A noble exclaims. "You shouldn't-"

"I can end his life now, if you wish," I tell the King. "As he clearly wishes to see the war between our nations continue."

The King's Acting Skill isn't high enough to fully conceal his smile, a small twitch occurring on his lips as he attempts to hide the smile that says he understands I'm just fucking with the noble.

"I think he should be given another chance," the King says. "I do believe the stables are looking for someone new to muck out the stalls. How does one swear a Blood Oath? If verifying the agreement between us requires one, then I will swear it – on the condition that you do as well."

"I swear on the blood that flows within me that I intend to uphold the agreement as stated."

The crimson glow forms around me for several moments, then fades away.

"I swear on the blood that flows within me," the King ignores the protests. "That I intend to uphold the agreement as stated."

His body glows with a crimson light, the power of my patron confirming his honesty.

"Here we are, then," I pull the other five things from my ring and float them down to him. "The other two spells, as well as the three recipes, as agreed."

The King accepts the papers, scanning through them before handing them to one of the magicians, who looks through them, then nods to him.

"Thank you, Archmage," he stands, and the rest of us do the same. "If you would kindly stay a few more days, we will hold a feast to celebrate the end of the war. There are several ambassadors from other nations around and on their way as well, and I am sure you could be grateful for the chance to begin the amends with them as well."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," I dip my head to him. "I-"

Threat Detection is Now Level 9!

The fuck?

There is almost nothing that could-

Almost nothing.

Dragons can definitely trigger a detection, and scanning the direction the sense directs me to, I spot a dot moving towards the castle. I don't know how far away it is, other than that it is drawing closer.

"Everything alright?" King George asks.

"Forgive my sudden departure," I tell him. "But it appears that-"

"Dragon!" A guard runs into the room. "Your Majesty-"

"That," I point at the guard. "It appears that there's a Dragon flying towards the city. I'd hate to see an ally lose his life so soon, so I am going to go and eliminate it. I will be back once I finish.

"Ryan," I switch to English. "Stay here, and follow them, should they try to get you to go somewhere. We're under attack, and I need to leave."

Before he can respond, I have left, utilizing the full power of my 699 AGI to move through the castle, out of it, onto the rooftops outside, and across the buildings.

The Dragon is easily forty feet tall and at least half that more in length. Its crimson scales shimmer in the evening sun, magic flowing around it.

Baby Dragon 19

Damn, this is powerful. But Nahor said I would kill the next Dragon I fought, which means that, so long as the battle begins, this fucker dies.

Once I'm close enough that I won't be wasting Mana, I take off and start flying towards it, meeting it two miles from the city with a Spear of Frozen Lightning to the face.

The Dragon roars, its shields protecting it from the spell, and I begin assaulting it with blasts of Psionic power, Spears of Frozen Lightning, Blood Smites, Voids, manifested meteors, threads of woven Aether.

I told Reij to only protect me if absolutely necessary, and for the most part, I seem to be able to deflect its magic on my own.

The Advancement of my Species made me that much more powerful.

And yet it's still draining, and we draw nearer and nearer to the city with every passing moment, though not by much. The Dragon's slowing down, however, which means I'm taking a toll on it. A heavy toll that also affects me.

The Dragon unleashes a breath far more powerful than any it's sent my way before, and I throw my hands up, using the last of my Void to create a Black Hole, which sucks up the breath.

The Dragon's nearly out of power, now, but it still regenerates its Resources much, much faster than me, and needs far less than me.

I inhale as much as I can, then let out a massive Roar, shaking the air around us and causing the Dragon to lose hold of its focus. I feel myself slipping, my Resources nearly spent.

Hopefully, it's enough to perform one final spell.

"Come forth," I intone in the Dekami Runic Language. "O Beast of the Violet Flames, born to devour all that opposes you. Blaze through all that challenges you, through all that tries to slay you, all that tries to stall you.

"Let no power be your bane, and be the bane of all powers. Let no life end yours as you end theirs. Burn and blaze, O Violet One, and bring about the final end. Your Health is endless, your Mana, infinite, your Spirit, everlasting, your Aura, unbreakable, your Blood, limitless, your Will, unyielding, your Psionic, unchallengeable, your Arcane, undreamable, your Void, unconsumable, your Aether, omnipresent.

"Manifest," I hold my right arm out in front of me. "O Violet Dragon!"

The spell complete, the last of my Resources drain away into this spell as the Dragon regains its senses. The serpentine spell forms around me, the tail forming around my left leg, then wrapping up and around my leg, then my torso, then my right arm, the head of the Violet Dragon looking over my hand at the Dragon, its flames surrounding it, bathing the area in a violet light that makes the sun seem dulled, as if drawing in the light around us.

Shadows lengthen as the Dragon hesitates, sensing the power behind my spell, noticing the changes around us, the air stilling, despite my clothes rippling as if pushed by a powerful gale.

"Consume."

The Violet Dragon, in all of its powerful might amplified by the incantation for the spell, flies forward, the Dragon exhaling a Void-infused Breath. The Violet Dragon tunnels through it, the flames drawing into it, fueling it, making it stronger.

The Violet Dragon then slams into the Dragon, blasting through it, leaving no scorches or burn marks behind, failing to cauterize the hole it puts through the length of the Dragon's body. A hole only the thickness of my arm, yet one that is, ultimately, fatal.

Not even a Dragon can withstand its heart being consumed by such a powerful magic.

A message flashes into my vision, but I don't register it, my body beginning to drop, my vision turning black.