Ends of Magic

Nathan quickly reached the end of the hallway, taking in the two doors and wondering which to open.

Both were made of metal-inlaid wood, but while one was fancy, the other looked secure. He stepped towards the fancy door, finding it opened with a gentle touch. Beyond was a wide-open living space, sumptuously decorated but uninhabited. He panned his eyes quickly over couches, a kitchen, an empty pool, before shaking his head and turning around.

Ok. That looks like a luxury penthouse suite. Let’s see what’s through door number 2!

He pivoted to the other door and busted through its enchanted lock with a slight run-up, emerging into what looked like nothing so much as a spaceship engineering room from a sci-fi show.

There were panels all around covered with displays, indicators and controls. Screens at the front displayed images of the Heirs, who appeared to be hunkered against the base of one of the walls. They were protected by layered barriers of force and divine mana that were under continual attack by a variety of spells and weapons carried by the sword-golems. It was hard to tell, but it appeared that Aarl was slowly battering his way through the walls with an enchanted pickaxe.

There’s probably a shut-down somewhere around here. But I don’t know where, what fail-safes are on it, and I’d probably break the controls trying to hit it.

Beyond the screens was a giant crystal that looked grown, with internal refractions that revealed a complex internal structure. It was nearly five feet tall and blazed with power which flowed into the enchantments around it.

Why is it always a crystal? You’d think there’d be a dungeon with a magical plant as a power source or something. I guess there was that one dungeon where a giant snake statue was the power source, so nevermind.

Regardless, Nathan hopped a safety barrier and dropped into the pit in which the crystal sat. He was ready for one final threat, one last challenge. But nothing happened. He just walked up to the crystal and examined it.

Nathan spent a moment looking over the connections into the crystal and trying to figure out if there was a self-destruct somewhere. It wasn’t something he could have done unaided, but the combination of [Notice], [Identify], [Spellsense] and [Enhanced Memory] helped him pick apart some of what was going on in the giant construct.

A lot of it seemed to be some kind of mana-siphon, a complex knot of flowing mana that Nathan could feel from feet away. It sucked in ambient mana, allowing the crystal to recharge.

Mid-tier Identify 10 achieved! Congratulations, you have maxed out this utility skill! It cannot be improved any further. You must achieve Insight into this skill to develop it to high-tier.

Doubt it’s recharging faster than this stronghold is spending mana trying to kill my friends.

Nathan shook his head and focused on what was important. It only took him a handful of seconds to be sure he’d identified all of the enchanted conduits that fed magic into the rest of the fortress. Each mana flow was a different mana type, matching the ones Nathan had seen outside. Force, fire, sound, void, metal, acid and many more.

High-Tier Spellsense 8 achieved!

It’s like an artificial mage, in a lot of ways. A mana pool that recharges and has different mana types. Damn.But I haven’t found a self-destruct yet, and that makes me nervous.

He spent nearly another minute studying the crystal, intensely aware of the sounds of explosions and other mana outside.

The Heirs will be fine. Both Stella and Khachi can shield them now. The fact that the sounds are still going means they’re fine. But they won’t be fine if I let my Rage or impatience dictate my actions and let this crystal detonate.

After a moment, Nathan realized he should be looking for parts of the crystalline growth that were inactive. Places where he couldn’t currently feel a significant quantity of mana flowing. The self-destruct wasn’t currently charging, after all.

He touched each of those sections gently, getting the feel for how the traces of mana left behind siphoned into his hands. His [Identify] helped greatly, giving him cues for what each module was for. This one seemed like a communication nexus, while that one was some kind of mana conversion system that wasn’t currently active. But the third one reminded Nathan of the crystal spellbook.

Specifically, it reminded him of the self-destruct spell that had left a crater in the banks of the Drakefish river. It seemed built to compress mana down to incredible densities while instilling a complex layering that Nathan didn’t try to understand. But the real nail in the coffin was that this section of the larger crystal was cursed, though it was subtle enough that Nathan would have missed it without his experience using his antimagic to de-curse items.

Congratulations, you have developed the [Mid-tier Identify] utility skill into [High-tier Identify].

Utility skill: [High-Tier Identify]

This skill will help you interpret complex cues to understand strange objects, curses and effects, as well as give you clues on how to manipulate them. Will not help you identify types of mana or spellcraft.

As the curse activated, the self-destruct started to fill with mana, building up to detonation. It was fast, and would have only taken a few seconds to complete the process. Nathan didn’t give it that time.

He jerked into motion and snapped off that portion of the crystal before crushing it to powder beneath his fingers. Much of the mana was absorbed into his hands, but what remained reacted wildly. Nathan spun around, putting the bulk of his body in between the unstable mana and the magical reactor. The leftover mana flared, and Nathan braced himself as it lashed out, doing nothing so clean as a simple explosion.

He almost slid back into the crystal, but managed to brace himself as fingers of wild mana scourged the inside of the control room. More grounded themselves against Nathan’s chest, and he once more felt Stamina overload. He’d barely not felt overloaded with mana this fight.

Well that’s nice. But I still need to disconnect the crystal from the rest of the fortress so it stops barraging my friends with military-grade explosive magic.

So Nathan let the crushed chunks of inert crystal fall to the ground as he turned and examined the rest of the room. He struck quickly, disabling the various connections he’d already scoped out. It was simple work, merely a series of powerful stomps atop each of the mana conduits.

After he finished, Nathan spun towards the giant crystal. Both of the inactive portions he’d avoided breaking before to avoid setting off the self-destruct prematurely were now active - the mana conversion and long-distance communication modules. A wave of disintegration was sweeping out from the mana conversion system, and he had no idea what the communication module was doing.

Oh. Bad. Should have seen that coming. Maybe I should have broken those before moving on the conduits. What is my priority? Not waking up something that’ll eat a village, I think.

Nathan made his choice quickly, smashing the chunk of crystal that was probably casting some equivalent of [Message] before moving around to the source of the disintegration spell that was steadily consuming what remained of the magical reactor.

The disintegration spell was tricky - it was some sort of self-propagating spell that fed off the mana contained in the crystal to keep itself going. When he tried to disable a region of the spell, it tried to disintegrate him, but quickly burnt out and was absorbed. However, the advancing tide of destruction was insidious, and Nathan couldn’t tamp it all down quickly enough to halt the spread. It was only by ripping off chunks and using his antimagic to nullify all of the disintegration effect on each piece individually that Nathan was able to save even pieces of the original monolithic construct.

Now that’s some aggressive DRM. I can’t dispute its effectiveness, though.

Then he was done. He had been tossing the crystalline chunks after he’d finished decontaminating them, and they were scattered around the edges of the room and in the control area, which was quickly losing its power. The magical lights stayed on, but the displays were flickering out and dying as Nathan watched.

The explosions from outside were also dying out. Nathan stuck his head out the door, cautiously looking around to see if there were more of the spiritual guardians outside. They remained, facing away from him and faithfully guarding the staircase leading up into the courtyard.

As he watched, the enchanted stones powering the constructs dimmed, and the ghostly soldiers started decohering, losing substance and reality until no trace remained. Nathan scooched around the corner, surreptitiously eyeing the slot in the back wall that had unleashed the giant ballista bolt earlier.

Nothing happened, and he walked upstairs to see what was going on with the rest of the Heirs, relinquishing his Rage as he went. The fight felt over.

His friends were in the process of squeezing through a hole in the wall that looked melted, as if a giant blowtorch had blown its way through the wall. They looked unhurt and whole, as Aarl reached back to haul Khachi through the tight gap.

I haven’t leveled up yet, and I’m pretty damn sure I will after this is over. That means there’s still a threat.

Nathan called out to be sure. “All good? See any additional threats?"

Sarah responded, looking around the fortress with both revolvers drawn. “We’re hale. Everything stopped a moment ago. Was that you?”

Nathan grunted in the affirmative before elaborating. “Ayup. Broke a big crystal downstairs.” He was keeping his head on a swivel, examining the inert magical constructs around him for any additional threats.

Then Sarah snapped her pistols up and let off a quick fusillade of shots above Nathan’s head. He jumped sideways but failed to avoid the cascade of sharp metal that fell on him. They all bounced off his skin in a series of distracting impacts, clattering to the stone of the courtyard around him.

He looked at Sarah in confusion. She shrugged. “Few of the sword golems tried to jump on you”.

Then Nathan had other things drawing his attention.

You have leveled up to level 81! Congratulations, you and your team have destroyed a fully functional nodal defense outpost of the Edrani Empire without casualties! Please choose a developed class from the following list to continue leveling, as you have unlocked a level higher than 81!

Potential classes: Woundless Berserker: You have repeatedly fought through extreme and lethal wounds to defeat your foes while Raging. This class will enhance your physical durability and allow you to survive nearly any wound. Additional skills will enhance the power and intensity of your Rage, and enable you to do yourself damage to exert tremendous strength. This class may further develop into classes focused on immortality, endless Rage or transforming forms while raging. With this class, you will be nearly impossible to kill. Manadrinker Einherjar: You have dedicated yourself to a cause, consuming oceans of mana to sustain your fighting style. This class will enhance your ability to use Stamina to boost your efforts while Raging, along with increasing the amount of Stamina you receive from absorbing magic, and giving you skill with a wide array of weapons, especially while raging. This class may further develop into classes focused on mastering a diverse array of weapons, limited divine magic or fighting extraordinary numbers of enemies. With this class, you will become an army of one. Magicsunder Siegebreaker: You have broken magical fortifications and destroyed immensely dangerous magical artifacts. This class will enable you to break enchanted objects with the smallest touch, and greatly increase your abilities to shatter solid fortifications. You will also gain supremely enhanced durability while raging, and the momentum of a battering ram. This class may further develop into classes focused on destroying magical effects in an area, breaking city-scale enchantments or incredible overwhelming strength. With this class you will become a human battering ram capable of breaching any fortification, enchanted or not. Implacable Antimage: You cannot be slowed by magic, and use your agility to overcome physical threats. This class will enhance your antimagic while Raging, making you truly immune to magic and its effects. It will also enhance your physical agility, and increase your proficiency in hand-to-hand combat. This class may further develop into classes focused on permanently draining people of their magic, deflecting or controlling hostile magic or excelling at close quarters combat. With this class, you will become an unstoppable mage-hunter.

Nathan was interrupted from his consideration of his new class options by a bundle of fabric hitting him in the chest, which he reflexively caught. He blinked away the notification to find Aarl looking at him, cocking an eyebrow. His gaze flicked down, taking in Nathan’s nakedness.

Nathan noticed that Stella was looking away, cheeks flushed a bit pink. His own followed suit.

I completely forgot I was buck-ass naked, storming the control room of the fortress.

He turned around to spare his friends the full frontal, hurrying to pull on the fresh pair of pants.

Aarl’s voice sounded across the courtyard. “Did you hit 81?”

Nathan nodded, glad to have a topic readily to hand. “Yup. Was just looking over the options. Some of them look pretty good, I’m excited about the variety.”

Stella was glaring around, frowning at the debris of the golems littering the inside of the fortress. “What was downstairs? Anything magical left now you’ve killed the problem?” She looked suspicious, and ready to be disappointed.

Nathan grinned. “Actually, I think we might want to stay here for a couple of days. And I do have a present for you, Stella.” He pushed his excitement over his new class choices to the back of his mind. There was cleanup to do here.

She perked up at his words, hurrying to approach the steps. Nathan held out a hand. “Let me go make sure all the traps are disabled. Some of them were pretty nasty.” He walked down the steps, not expecting any problems.

And there weren’t any. He led the way through the hallway and down to the double doors. First he gestured the Heirs into the now-defunct control room, where Stella went slightly feral over the chunks of crystal Nathan had left scattered around the room.

The other Heirs watched as she nearly vacuumed them up, and Nathan blinked as she started rubbing one of the larger chunks against her face, clearly basking in the feeling she was getting from the material. Then she looked at the shattered base that the large crystal had occupied, and up at the ceiling, frowning. “... how much more was there? It looks like the crystal that was here was much bigger. How much did you destroy?” Her voice started soft, but quickly grew angry.

Nathan shrugged, not feeling the least bit guilty. “I saved maybe a tenth of it? It tried to self-destruct. I think it would have blown up the entire hill. I disabled that but there were two other failsafes. One was a [message] of some kind, the other was a self-disintegration spell. I prioritized interrupting the [message], since I didn’t want it to wake up some kind of giant mecha or something.”

Stella rocked her head back from side to side, letting out a pained moan at Nathan’s words. “This is artificial prismatic diamond! It’s not as good as natural, but there is so much of it. With what’s here we could buy my parent’s house!” She traced the socket where the crystal had stood, outlining it’s approximate shape. “A piece that big would be literally without price. The Guild would have let us pick our reward from anything we could name! You could make whole swords out of it.”

I don’t have the heart to tell her it was a few feet taller than she thinks it was.

Khachi stepped forward, calmly placing a hand on Stella’s shoulder. “Those crystals have never been captured. We are very lucky Nathan was able to save as much as he did. Take the gift we are given, Stella, and do not be greedy for more. That way lay sloppy risks and unfortunate death.”

Stella pouted, but took a deep breath. Then she nodded regretfully. “Yeah. You’re right. I just…I need higher-quality mana storage. And this is perfect, but I wish there were more.”

Aarl looked around with raised eyebrows. “Glad Stella got something. Any swords around? I only saw the sword-golems, and those have a bit much attitude for my hands.”

The Heirs chuckled. Nathan shrugged. “I didn’t explore the other side. Looked nice. I’d vote to stay here for a little while.”

Sarah gestured. “Lead the way. I’d prefer that our magic-immune party member triggers any leftover traps.”

Nathan led the way through the other door into the living area buried beneath the dungeon.

He had only given this room a quick glance earlier when looking for the magical control room, but it had reminded him of a luxury penthouse, with a wide-open floor plan that featured several couches, a wide kitchen and a pool in a recessed area of the floor.

Now he walked into the room, expecting to find the whole place dusty and in disrepair. He could buy that enchantments had kept the fortress operational and the control room intact, but could it keep a couch in good shape?

Nathan flopped onto one of the couches, half expecting it to collapse under his weight. Instead he settled into a wonderfully comfortable seat with just the right amount of give. He luxuriated for a moment before realizing that the cushions were enchanted and he was about to break that enchantment.

Oh come on! A goddamn enchanted couch?

Nathan got up before he really did disintegrate the comfortable seating, though where he’d sat was probably not as springy anymore. Grumpy, he prowled around the space for a moment while the Heirs nervously watched from the door to see if he was about to blow up. Nathan checked the kitchen - empty cupboards. The pool was dry as a bone.

There were two doors leading out of the space. One was tucked away in a corner near the doors that led out into the hallway with the Heirs, while the other led deeper underground. Nathan walked over to the door near the Heirs, noting that it was locked with an obvious and heavy-duty enchantment. He carefully placed a finger on the very edge of the enchantment, slowly draining it dry to avoid a violent breakage that might trigger a self-destruct.

These ancient dungeons are really a little too heavily seeded with traps and things that go boom.

The Heirs scooted over to see what he was doing, taking a few steps into the room. Nathan waved them in. “I think that most of the traps depended on the crystal for power. Besides, would you want hair-trigger traps in your living room?”

The Heirs were still careful, and Stella put up a few panes of force to protect them from any surprise traps.

I should remember that not everybody can just take a fireball to the face and laugh it off. Oh man, my new class choices are exciting. All of them seem pretty great.

When the security enchantment was drained, Nathan gently pushed open the door, and stepped into a small armory.

It was obviously only supposed to equip one or two people, with a pair of armor stands taking up the middle of the room. Only one of them was occupied, bearing a tight-fitting robe made entirely of woven metal. It was covered with symbols made by patterns of metal strands, and oozed ‘legendary armor’ vibes.

However, the racks of weapons and assorted items on the walls were just as impressive, even if there were a number of empty places where things were missing.

Skill comparison:

Utility skill: [Mid-Tier Identify]

This skill will help you interpret complex cues to understand strange objects and effects, as well as give you clues on how to manipulate them. Will not reveal curses without obvious clues, and will not help you identify types of mana or spellcraft.

Utility skill: [High-Tier Identify]

This skill will help you interpret complex cues to understand strange objects, curses and effects, as well as give you clues on how to manipulate them. Will not help you identify types of mana or spellcraft.

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Magic Absorption 9

Permanent Talent 2: Perfected Body 3

Talent 3: High-tier Slow Fall 7

Class: Spellbreaker Juggernaut level 81

Stamina: 833/910

Juggernaut's Wrath

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Juggernaut's Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Utility skills:

Battle Meditation 3

High-tier Earnestness 7

Mid-tier Sprinting 10

High-tier Spellsense 8

High-tier Notice 2

High-tier Identify 1

High-tier Dodging Footwork 1

High-tier Enhanced Memory 7

Mid-tier Lecturing 7

Mid-tier Tumbling 7