The First Archmage

(Gavin)

Christopher currently sits at a table, studying a tome with great intensity. He failed to notice my arrival, as evidenced by his thoughts. Judging by his Resource Pools, he's undoubtedly powerful.

Yet he's nowhere near my Level. He's still a Human, too, and his Bloodline is only Level 9. He's had plenty of time to advance it past Level 8 when we met, yet has failed to go far, because of the difficulty.

Simply stealing from people doesn't work.

It seems he managed to get rid of Oberon's curse, and has even gained the Blessing of a Divine Being called Slkar. If my source is correct, he'd recently lost the Blessing of the other Divine who had given him one… because that Divine didn't want to risk Nies's fury.

Christopher, your son's standing behind you, a silky male voice says into his head.

Christopher immediately stands, knocking his chair down as he spins to face me, eyes widening.

"Hello, Christopher," I say. "Your other children need help awakening their Bloodlines, and you're going to give me the information on how to do it. And properly."

"Welcome," he smiles at me. "I suppose this saves me the effort of going to that irritating world of yours and tracking you down. You hurt me, you know, back when you-"

"Summon Void," I state, a Void appearing around his right forearm.

Immediately, I can tell he's being shielded by a Divine Being.

"Ah-ah-ah," I say. "You shouldn't have done that, Slkar. You really shouldn't have violated that little rule of the elder Divine."

"Really?" A Divine Being appears between my father and me.

He appears to be in his thirties, with pale skin and pitch-black hair and eyes, his irises crimson. He's dressed in an outfit forged of flowing shadows, and he does his best to exert his Divine Power over me.

Divine Appraisal Resistance is Now Level 2!

Divine Appraisal Resistance is Now Level 3!

Divine Appraisal Resistance is Now Level 4!

Wait, what? He's using Divine Appraisal on me, and it's increasing my resistance to it? What? Was Stem sick when he generated this aspect of the Skills? Or are my bonuses just that immense?

"Give it up," I say. "You've just violated several big things. And attacked another Divine's Hero. And unfortunately for you, my Divine… isn't very merciful."

I find a Divine Shield around myself as the room explodes. Christopher's still alive, fortunately, but Slkar has found himself flung across the mountain we were within.

The mountain that's now partially rubble because of Nies's fury, which radiates throughout the air around me far stronger than any power I've ever felt before.

The Divine Shield surrounding me is tinged with a deep crimson color, while the one protecting Christopher is tinged with a blue so dark, it's nearly black and seems grey. Despite that, Christopher still took some damage.

The only reason he's still alive is because Nies knows I want information out of him.

Slkar picks himself up, glaring at the Divine Being hovering between his Hero and me.

Nies isn't in the forms I know, but I doubt this is his true form, considering that I haven't shit or pissed myself or frozen up in absolute terror, as he said I would if I ever encountered it.

However, he does stand over twenty feet in height, with the torso of a tiger-man with dark blue fur with a cream belly and chest, his legs replaced by a snake-like appendage, matching his fur. His face is mostly human, save for the crimson horns protruding from its sides, spiraling up and inward, and the crimson swirl mark on his forehead. Nies also possesses a trio of tails, two of them catlike, one of them wolflike, each of them a deep red. Spines run down his back and along his arms, forming an almost armor-like getup.

The snakelike appendage suddenly shifts, splitting apart into two separate appendages that grow feet on them, Nies's crimson eyes blazing with fury, his claws curled into fists.

"HOW DARE YOU?" He screams at Slkar, who promptly pales. "First, you directly interfere to save a mortal from another, then you directly attack another Divine Being's Blessed?"

Thousands of fireballs manifest, pelting Slkar, followed by lightning bolts, shards of ice, massive boulders, gales of wind, and more. I'm not even sure what some of the things are. Then, the other Divine Being gets sucked into a sudden tornado that threatens to pull Christopher into it.

As the tornado rages, various elements and powers striking into Slkar, I notice several tigers within it as well. And the color of the wind forming the tornado turning green. And the Divine Shield surrounding Christopher fading.

And Nies transforming into an adult version of his kitty form that's twenty feet to the shoulders, standing on all four legs.

He walks over to Slkar as the tornado fades, the other Divine Being beaten, his body riddle with injuries, his clothes destroyed. I doubt he could run from this if he tried, knowing my patron. Nies is the Origin of Adventurers – just as he can pave the way for people, he can no doubt seal them up as well.

Nies glares down at Slkar.

"Have you learned your lesson?" He growls at the lesser Divine Being, who trembles before him. "Very well, then."

Nies then proceeds to eat the lesser Divine Being. When looks at me, the Divine Shield around me fades away.

"So much effort," he sighs, then vanishes, his Divine Presence fading away as well.

I turn my gaze to Christopher, and he flinches.

"Answers. Now," I state. "If you lie, I will know, and you will not like the anger of a Third-Tier Species."

His eyes widen as – to him – my robe and tunic disappeared, and I grew wings and my eyes shifted to an otherworldly look.

"I don't have much patience for you," I say.

He gives me all of the information regarding awakening Bloodlines that I request, and then I knock him unconscious and open up a Rift, passing through it. It's an instant-movement, resulting in me appearing back home immediately.

I revert back to my human appearance and look around at the miniature village here. Max, Warren, and Michael are all chatting around a table, getting to know each other a bit better, though I believe it's a bit platonic. Michael just wants to introduce Max to his good friend, and Max is glad to be able to meet others at last.

Tristan, Ryan, and most of the Order are probably in the training hall or one of the study halls, while Eli and Dylan are likely arguing about something or other.

Actually, I know they are, because I can hear them. This time, they're arguing over whether or not runes I didn't see fit into this language or that.

Shaking my head, I head to find Tristan and Ryan, the latter of whom is practicing his Magic Bolt spell under the supervision of the former.

"Want to awaken your Bloodline?" I ask, and he raises an eyebrow. "What?"

"Isn't that dangerous?" He asks. "You told me-"

"About me," I state. "Remember – you don't have the absurd bonuses that comes from having the Dekami Bloodline, as yours will probably be the Earth Bloodline. According to Christopher, it provides a decent bonus, as usual, but no bonus to Experience."

"Alright," he says. "How do I awaken my Bloodline?"

"Either through immense growth of power," I say. "Deep meditation and concentration and dedication to awakening it, or by having it awakened by someone else. Remove your tunic and sit with your legs crossed, in front of me."

He does, and I place my hands against his back. This will be similar to what I did to Max to alter his Mutt status so that he could live past his thirteenth birthday.

I focus, channeling my energies and pushing them into my apprentice, who shivers at the sensation. I continue to push my energies within him and reach into the various aspects that make up the boy known as Ryan Smallding.

I'm… not sure why he had his last name changed, nor what that's supposed to mean.

As I reach into his makeup, I notice each of the Resources within him, linked in some way – small or minor – flowing smoothly and steadily. He has a decent level of Aether and Void, and a small amount of Aura and Blood. His Life, Soul, and Will are quite high, even beyond his Aether and Void. His Arcane, Mana, and Spirit are around the same, and probably make up the average range for him.

His Resource Regeneration Rate is not half-bad, either, resting at a decent level. With training, he can easily exceed what most people do, especially since it already takes only forty-seven minutes per point, sitting thirteen less than the low end of average.

-3 LIF!

Target +3 LIF!

"Gavin?"

"Ignore that."

"Did you just-"

"Ignore that."

I return to sensing every aspect of his makeup. He has decent senses. Once I am sure I am able to sense every part of him, touch every aspect of it with my Aether, I get to work. This is a much less painful version of what Christopher told me the process was, and I'm sure my apprentice will be grateful for it.

It takes me almost an hour, but I manage it.

Your Target's Bloodline has been Awakened

Releasing a breath, I lean back, resting on my hands. I'm soaked in sweat from the effort that took. The way Christopher mentioned brute-forces it awake and nearly kills the target, and becoming powerful enough for it to awaken on its own or focusing on meditation and shit takes so long that it may never happen.

"Are you okay?" Ryan twists, looking at me.

"Yeah," I answer. "Awakening your Bloodline was taxing. I'm probably going to get some sleep in a minute. Mind sharing with me what it is?"

"Sure," he says, then a window forms in my vision.

Earth Bloodline: +5 to INT, CHA, and LIF, +10 to AGI, STR, CON, PER, and all Senses, +25 to RRN, +100% to learning and Leveling all Utility Skills each Level.

"My RRN and Senses are still hidden," he tells me. "And you said that I won't get those Stats until I Level it up, but the percent bonus is always there, even before it's awakened. What's a Utility Skill?"

"Stuff like cooking, alchemy, enchanting," I explain. "The Skills related to them are utility Skills. Acting counts as one as well, I think."

"Ah, okay," he says. "You look pretty exhausted. You should go get some sleep, first."

"Can you go fetch my brothers?" I ask. "And Warren and Michael, too?"

"Sure," he says, then runs out, and Tristan looks at me.

"Are you awakening theirs as well?" He asks.

"Yeah," I answer. "I'll do Warren and Michael, first, then if I still have the energy left, I'll do my brothers. If not, I'll handle them after I get some rest."

"How did your visit to your father go?" He asks. "Did you need to use force?"

"No," I answer. "I used a Void on him, but his new patron protected him, then attacked me."

"You survived being attacked by god?"

"I did tell you who my patron is, right?" I ask.

"Right," he smiles. "The second-eldest of the Divine Beings, and among the most powerful of them all. He shielded you?"

"And killed the other Divine," I nod. "At least, I think he did. I'm not entirely sure. He kicked the shit out of him, then ate him."

He's dead.

"Ekre says he's dead."

"Who?"

"Another Original Divine Being," I answer. "Is he napping your realm again?"

He's completely crashed. He stumbled in here, told me he killed the Divine who Descended into Lrunai, then passed out. I had to contact Twist to find out what happened. I hate talking to that boy.

"Pretty sure he considers you a boy, Ekre," I remind him. "Considering you're significantly younger than him. Would you mind letting him know that I'm grateful for that, when he wakes? Though that he didn't need to kill Slkar?"

He's wanted to for awhile. The bastard attacking his Blessed was enough for him to decide to finally do it. Anyway, I need to go. Ultarna's knocking on my door, probably because she wants to know if Nies snuck back in.

"Good luck," I tell him, and his presence fades from my mind.

I rest until the others arrive, Tristan studying the tome in his hands as I do. When they arrive, I let them know what is about to happen, and ask each one if they are alright with it. They are, so I call Warren over first. His tunic swirls in fire, and as the fire descends, the tunic disappears. When it reaches his waist and continues to move down, it leaves behind a pair of pants.

His outfit changed, the Fairy sits in front of me.

I straighten up, then place my hands against his back and focus, channeling my Aether into him. He shivers as well, though his body feels warm. Don't Fairies have cool-feeling bodies? Why is he hot? Is he ill?

I cannot detect any illness in him, so I make a mental note to ask when I finish. It takes me around an hour to finish my work, and determine that I can probably only perform one more Awakening before having a severe need to rest again.

Warren fixes his clothes as Michael removes his tunic, then sits in front of me, and I place my hands against his back. His tail immediately starts swishing back and forth, brushing against my stomach as it does. I still haven't returned my tunic from when I removed it earlier, so it's brushing my skin, and that just feels weird.

Really, really fucking weird.

I create a small membrane of Mana over my skin, to protect me against that feeling, then focus on channeling my Aether into Michael's warm back. Why is he warm, too? Him and Warren both are, yet neither are sick.

Another hour later, Michael's Bloodline has awakened, and I ask him and Warren what they are.

Eisnar Bloodline: +10 to INT, CHA, PER, LIF, LC, +25 to MNA, SPA, ACA, AEA, +40 to RRN, +200% to learning and Leveling nature magics and Spirit magics each Level.

That's a pretty good Bloodline, in my opinion. Considering what Yggdrasil is, I'm not surprised by that. It's possible Bloodlines are affected by the age and power of the World Deity connected to the world the person was born on, and considering how much older and more powerful this world is, as well as the Divine Being attached to it, than Earth, it would make sense that the Bloodline would be more powerful as well.

However, that's only a theory of mine, one I'm not exactly able to just test, unless I want to go around and grant random people awakened Bloodlines and find out how old their world and World Deity are.

"I'm going to go get some sleep," I say as Michael pulls his tunic back on, and I look at my brothers. "I'll take care of you two later."

Then, I Teleport into my room and collapse onto my bed, promptly falling asleep.