The First Archmage

(Gavin)

"Yes, Master?"

"Please don't ever," Kade frowns at me. "Use that tone of voice and that phrase with me again. Ever. Please."

"As you wish, Master."

He groans, smacking his face into his hand.

"You were wanting something?" I ask.

"Yeah," he shakes his head. "I-"

"Congrats on your Advancement, by the way."

"You're not going to let me talk, are you?"

"I'm not stopping you."

Kade sighs, shaking his head. He still looks exhausted. It's been two weeks since we reunited, and while I've checked-in back home, I've mostly stayed here. I've given the magicians in his party the proper versions to the spells they have, and in this time, they've all become more powerful for it.

"We're going to go hunt it down," Kade tells me. "With our current boosts, and the Spells you gifted us in addition to those, we should be able to manage it. We'll be leaving tomorrow. We want to take it out before it comes near us again."

"Can you wait another week?" I ask, and he raises an eyebrow. "I think I'm almost done with the spell I'm trying to craft, and if I manage it, I might be able to assist your non-magicians with their training as well."

Non-spells don't use Magical Runes, and thus, there's no real 'improvement' for them. This means they take longer to Level still. And one major downside is Mana. I've granted them recipes for Mana Potions, though they still aren't easy to craft and are pretty expensive.

If I can manage to complete this spell, then Mana won't be an issue for training… while I'm around.

"If it draws near-"

"Won't be an issue," I tell him. "The Alpha Demon Boar will avoid this area, due to the spells I've placed around it."

"Spells?" He asks. "I haven't detected-"

"They're not through Mana," I state. "And it uses a touch of my true essence, from being a Tier IV Species. It will avoid this area. In my true form, without my Species Dominance turned off, any being of a lesser Tier of Species than me will feel a sense of awe and fear. The difference between our Tiers affect this. It's a Tier II Species, so it's not as great as you would feel, but combined with the spell I used, it will leave us be. The effect will fade in eight days. Seven will be sufficient."

He thinks about then, then asks how sure of that I am.

"I swear on the blood that flows in my veins," I say. "That the spell I generated will prevent it from drawing within two miles of this settlement."

I glow with Nies's confirmation, and Kade accepts that.

"What kind of spell is this?" He asks. "That would benefit us?"

"If I manage it in time," I tell him. "You will know."

He accepts that, then leaves, and I return to focus on increasing my Resource Pools while pulling Runes together in my mind.

On the fifth day after that, I succeed in my goal, with a quartet of notices appearing in my vision.

New Spell!

Training Dimension (Mana): A pocket dimension to allow for the training of Skills; time is stretched within at a rate of 1 hour per Level to each hour in real life (current ratio: 1 hour for every 1 hour in real life); Mana Regeneration of all those within is at the rate of the creator's; learning and Leveling all Skills within is boosted by 100% per Level of this Skill; can contain two people other than the caster per Level of this Skill

That's a powerful-ass spell, and with a little bit of work, I could probably bring it up to its Maximum Level, which is only Level 10. However… the Title means that it could be a little bit more work, as I don't even need to check to see its Tier to know what it's at.

Title Acquired!

Limit Breaker: One who has transcended the previous limits of the System, this one was obtained by obtaining a Tier X Spell without a lower Level enabled for the Skill

In other words, this Spell is automatically Tier X, and I'm not surprised by that. I had to forge all five Runic Languages and all eleven Resources together in order to design the spell. I also had to keep expanding my Resource Pools. Over the last three weeks, I expanded everything by 2,000 Points, except for Mana, which I brought up by 6,000 Points. I had to, partly to acquire more RRN for it.

Part of that is so that those within can train even faster, but part of it's also so that I can actually sustain it. I knew from the start that it would drain a lot of Mana and other Resources to continue to sustain. Right now, I regain roughly seventy-four points of each Resource every ten seconds, while it will take me seventy points of each Resource to sustain in that same time frame. For now.

With higher Levels, it will take less, as well as with me improving the spell as time goes on. Hopefully, I will be able to manage to make the better versions of it for each Resource before I pass, so that my heir can use it for those around him.

Returning my focus to the remaining two windows, I dismiss the first one, as it's simply the notice that I'm the first Limit Breaker.

The final notice… is a juicy reward.

For Bringing a Skill to Tier X

+10,000 Experience!

Even though Training Dimension starts at Tier X, and thus, probably cannot go any higher, it still referred to it as 'bringing to', probably a wording from the fact that it's literally the first Skill in existence that can start above Tier VII, so the System doesn't actually have a wording for those that just skip the others.

I dismiss that notification, then pull up my Subspecies options, debating between taking on Dekami or Void Mage. Void Mage will benefit me with Leveling Training Dimension and Teleport, as well as boosting my 'extra' Resources and my RRN.

On the other hand, Dekami would boost all Spells, including those two, and increase all of my Attributes. I don't really need the Attribute boost, but the bonus to all of my Spells would be major, and a huge help for bringing me up to obtaining more Subspecies Slots.

In the end, the fact that Training Dimension is both temporal and spatial magic makes my decision for me. I can bring another one up to Tier X within it, and the boosted RRN will enable me to do that even faster. Bringing Training Dimension up to Level 6 would automatically exceed the bonus that Dekami Species would grant me, too.

Though considering this is a Tier X Skill, that could be awhile.

I pick the Subspecies, then immediately put the 7,500 Experience into it to bring it all the way up, dismissing the notification about the increased Resources before checking the amount of Experience I have left.

Experience Remaining: 51,048

Still a decent amount. The amount acquired for reaching Tier X in a Skill didn't even get used up all the way for the Subspecies that just boosted my power a fair bit.

As soon as I finish, I lean back onto my bed, allowing myself to pass out. Way too many Stat Points and Resource Points in too short of a time frame for me. I've more than doubled all of my Resources, bringing me to the point that even my Clarity of Power and Tier IV Species cannot fully push away the Fog of Power.

When I wake, the sun has begun to set, and a quick check with a pouting Divine Being later, I confirm it's the same day. I was out for six hours total. My Clarity of Power and Tier IV Species at least kept me from being out for too long.

Missing several days would have been bad.

It wasn't arrogance that led me to doing that, though… it was me forgetting just how dangerous massive leaps in my Resources in a short period of time can be. I could feel the Fog of Power at the corners of my mind, but it was ignorable.

But then adding in all that extra Resources from Void Mage Tier I, coupled with the thousands more I acquired over the last month…

Yeah. That was foolish, and will serve as a reminder to me. Do not do that again, Gavin. Ever.

Got it?

Yeah, I've got it.

Good.

Taking a deep breath, I burn off Mana to test my new regeneration rate… and the continue to burn it off… and off… and off…

Eventually, I summon the Violet Dragon with the full force of my Mana's extent, expending 5,000 Mana instantly to do so.

Well, Gavin, it looks like you regenerate nearly 3,000 Resources per second of a Resource. If my math is right, if there's another one of those Species that gives +100 RRN per Level, I'll exceed a million points per second.

I'd be truly unstoppable.

And yet… some sense within me tells me more and more than Nahor was honest, and that I will be slain by a Dragon. I've never looked to the future before, though I know it's possible for me, considering that King Wesley possessed the power to.

Perhaps… I can look to see that which will kill me? Not when, but rather, what.

Closing my eyes, I draw on my Psionic powers, looking forward with them. Forward from here and now, searching for myself. It only takes me a few moments to gain the Skill for Foresight… and the vision of that which is destined to kill me.

An Elder Dragon more than five hundred feet in height flies through the air, its scales a deep black in color, its eyes a rich violet. Magic swirls around it, the air thick with the beast's power. This is a being that has awakened its own Bloodline for sure, and no doubt has reached higher than nigh any other mortal existence.

As it flies across the ocean, it comes across a majesty of Dragons, dozens of smaller ones that challenge it for the territory it's migrating to. Without hesitation, it burns them all with its breath, not a single one able to resist its power with their shields. It expends tens of thousands of Mana per second, yet recovers it just as quickly, even my absurd PER barely capable of noting even the slightest drop in its Pools.

In just seconds, its foes are dead, and it continues to fly on, towards the continent it has decided to settle on now.

The vision fades, and I'm reminded of one simple fact: How much I can regenerate per second means nothing when I can't even reach that much. The Elder Dragon I saw likely has hundreds of thousands of each Resource, possibly millions.

Slaying something like that would take everything I have, and then some. I didn't see how long it would be before that happens, though. At least Nahor was honest about what would kill me, though some sense tells me it isn't the Dragon itself that kills me, which is odd, considering I just looked for the being that would kill me.

Shaking my head, I decide to go find my former teammate.

Even if the Dragon kills me, I'll guarantee its death. It isn't a Divine Being, which means it can die. And if it can die, then I can kill it. That is a guarantee.

The trick is putting it off for as long as possible so I can get the Order prepared fully for my departure from this plane of existence and ascension into the next.

No doubt the afterlife will be quite fun for me. I'm not sure what'll happen, but if I become a Spirit, I'll definitely be able to have a lot of fun.

Speaking of Spirits, maybe I should forge another contract?

Oh, and go back into my other Form. I've been in my real form, minus the wings and weird eyes, while training in my room. People might be confused if they suddenly see the real me.