Blazing light flashed in Jude’s eyes making him temporarily blind. His stomach turned as if he just experienced the worst bit of motion sickness he had ever felt. He could hear Ellie not far away releasing her last meal, and Jude struggled to keep the bile down in his own throat.

Panic then hit him as he realized that he was still holding the cloudy crystal. He had an urge to throw it away, but he remembered how it had controlled Ellie, so he focused on doing the opposite of what his desires were telling him. Then again he could just be overthinking things but to be on the safe side he dropped the crystal only.

His eye sight was slowly coming back into view. Now he could see a vast swath of green in one direction and a myriad of other colors in another. Since his vision was taking so long to clear up, he activated . The surroundings instantly cleared, though it looked like the flows of mana rather than normal vision.

He saw Ellie bending over by a tree as she was just finishing emptying her stomach. Seeing the action made the bile rise once again in his belly. It threatened to come out, but Jude resisted the urge. He never liked throwing up.

His effort was rewarded as he got a notification stating that he got . Instantly he started to feel better. He turned off to find that his vision had cleared up as well.

They were now in an area that was very different from the desert. It was the edge of a wood and some farm land. Green life and moisture were evident everywhere.

Jude let out a relieved sigh. His biggest worry was that they would be stuck in the Beast Lands or somewhere dangerous like that. His priority right now was to get to Geonar and retrieve the stone. Jude wasn’t sure what it was, but it was almost a sense of destiny calling him to it. He wanted to know what it would be like when he restored it. Would it be some legendary item or just another quest item that disappears upon completion. Or maybe it was something that would change the fate of the whole world.

But just because he was safe now, didn’t mean that he was anywhere near Geonar. Jude of all people knew just how big this world was. After all, he had studied it for many years during his time in the Digital Plane.

“I can’t believe you did it,” a weak but gruff voice shattered Jude’s thoughts.

He looked down to see the dark crystal talking to him and said, “What’s wrong with you? Use up all your energy to teleport us?”

The crystal did not respond. It was either angry or pouting, and Jude didn’t care which.

“Don’t worry little one,” Jude said as an odd idea crossed his mind. “I will put you to good use.”

“What do you mean?” it asked, but now Jude didn’t explain.

He picked up the weakened crystal and noticed another crystal floating off the ground not far away. When he saw it, the crystal flew to him and landed in his hand. It was the very crystal he found at first. Apparently, when you used it to teleport the crystal would come along with you. And as soon as it touched his hand Jude realized why. He could use it to return to the teleportation circle! Of course, if he did he would be stuck yet again.

But he couldn’t dwell on that right now. He had to deal with the dark crystal before it regained its strength.

The light crystal didn’t seem weakened in the slightest and was suppressing the dark crystal even more. This made Jude confident in what he planned to do. What he had to do. This crystal was too dangerous to leave it on its own.

Jude opened up and began to view what it was made of so that he could change it. This crystal was obviously man made, and all its properties were laid bare to Jude. He found the most interesting one that allowed the crystal to effect emotions. Somehow the spirit itself had changed the makeup of the crystal, changing the very inputs and outputs into a spiritual connection that affected any person who touched it. This was also how it was able to attack and defend against Jude’s magics because there wasn’t a genuine attack or even an actual ghostly body. It was all a projection. That projection would receive a minuscule amount of feedback whenever it was damaged. This meant the ghost could keep fighting much longer than anything else could at its level but was also considerably weak if one attacked the crystal itself.

Jude then came up with an idea on how to seal this area; this would protect him and anyone else from the mental attacks. Using he added into the to destabilize the inputs and outputs. Then he linked in and drew a shielding script that would contain the disruption making it semi-permanent.

When he was done, he opened his eyes in time to see the sun was near setting. He was startled, not because of the time of day, but at what he had done. He had never thought to try and use or any other magic on an items property before. He was surprised that it even worked.

Ellie was nearby, and when she saw Jude open his eyes she said, “You’re done? Were you able to kill that bastard?”

She knew Jude well enough not to worry about him, but this crystal was dangerous, and she wasn’t able to control her emotions regardless of how much trust she had in Jude. She had still worried.

“I haven’t gone so far as to kill it yet, but I have sealed it inside the crystal,” Jude said in a somewhat disappointed voice.

He just now realized that the way he sealed it would mean that he wouldn’t be able to interrogate the crystal any further. There were more questions he wanted to ask it but was waiting until he was free of the danger of being brought under its control. Now he couldn't talk to the ghost unless he undid his seal, making the idea of interrogating it entirely pointless.

Ellie misunderstood Jude’s disappointment, “It’s okay, I’m sure you will destroy it eventually.”

Jude smirked, “Actually, it might have some uses.”

Ellie knew this look and quickly knew what it meant, “What do you mean? It’s dangerous. I don’t want either of us to fall under its control.”

“I understand your feelings, Ellie. But isn’t a sword dangerous? Isn’t the fire you forge with dangerous? How about the magic that I wield? Yes, this item is dangerous, and I will use all caution to avoid being trapped by it. But in the end this…” Jude held up the crystal, “is an item. Just think what I could do to it if I write circuitry inside it? Or find out what it was originally for?”

“What do you mean ‘originally for?’” Ellie asked.

“Mind control wasn’t this crystals original purpose. It was just hijacked by the spirit and bore resentment towards the one who killed it.” Jude explained. “I just haven’t had time to explore all of it yet.”

Ellie seemed to be coming around. She was a tough girl, and this was the first time in a while Jude had seen something get to her.

“But for now, let’s find out where we are,” Jude suggested.

Giving Ellie some time would help win her over to Jude’s idea. Ellie also knew that it was important to find out where they ended up.

“From our study of the Teleportation Circle, we should have appeared at a Town Stone or something similar,” Ellie estimated. “Even with the unconventional activation, we shouldn’t be too far from one.”

She was right, Jude hadn’t thought about it, but they should be somewhere near a as the teleportation system used them as a point of focus. Ellie, as usual, was quick witted in this situation.

“Let’s find the nearest town then,” Jude said, and they were off.

Along the way, Ellie mentioned the others, “I hope everyone else is doing fine back in Arkess.”

“I told Anthea to pick them up and take them back to the Aquifers. For the time being, they can focus on leveling up their new jobs,” Jude said.

“I bet Wen will be ecstatic. She wanted to stay anyway, though I feel sad for Krinn. If he continues to level it will be harder for him in the future.” Ellie replied.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about Krinn. I think he’ll enjoy having some free time.”

Jude remembered how it wasn’t Krinn’s passion to be an adventurer, but was merely doing it to protect his sister. Already his sister was on a path to become much stronger than him. Only time would tell if he could continue along with her.

“Eventually we will have to figure out a way to get them out,” Ellie said with confidence. She didn’t even question the fact that one day they would free their friends.

Jude told her about the white crystals ability to teleport them back and then said, “When we figure out a way to remove that storm we can teleport back and help our friends.”

After passing through some fields, they eventually came to a road. Following the road, they bumped into a few farmers and other travelers where they found out that they had been teleported near a . It was a remote farming town, but it was only a week away from Geonar.

There was a month left until the Elitist Competition. This extra time would give Jude what he needed to make some preparations before the competition. With his current abilities he didn’t fear another Wizard, but that didn’t mean he was going to be foolish about it. He would be prepared just in case he encountered someone outside his expectations or if the other advanced classes proved to be stronger than he first realized.

The region of the kingdom they were traveling in now was directly under the crown. Grassy hills waved along without end, and small copse of trees could be seen here and there. The area they traveled through was full of agriculture and everything seemed green and full of life.

The conditions here seemed much better than they were back in Longdale. The fields greener, the trees lusher, the rivers bluer. Even the peasants who choose to be NPC’s were all at a higher level. Then it occurred to Jude that it was because the area level was higher. A higher area level meant that there would be higher leveled monsters and NPC’s. But what Jude didn’t expect was that the rest of the life that existed here would also be at a higher standard.

Plants, trees and even grass was all nicer. That made him wonder if the ore from here would be better as well. He talked to Ellie about it and it confirmed his theory. The higher the level of the area, the higher the resources would be.

Each duchy had their own newbie area, and Longdale was the poorest out of them all. Jude had spent most of his time in Longdale since coming here. It was only now that he was experiencing the rest of the world. Even the City of Arkess and the Arkess Aquifers hadn’t felt this vibrant, but they also had been in a state of decay.

Perhaps this was why the Traitorous Hero settled his capital here instead of Arkess. Here, all your servants would be at a higher level without even trying. And that wasn’t even mentioning the better resources.

Since it was late already, they didn’t make it to town until it was already dark. The town itself was very small when compared to Longdale. There were no walls or even a castle. Only a few main roads were paved with cobblestones. At the center was the square and in the middle was the .

A few vagrants and well-worn travelers took to sleeping here, but Jude and Ellie were looking for an Inn. It didn’t take long to find a place as each inn they found were bustling with people making loud merriment. It didn’t take long to figure out why there were so many people in the town square sleeping for the night, most of the inns were full, and those who did have a room were shared by more than one group.

Finally, Jude found a place that had at least one small room for the two of them. Ideally, he would prefer to sleep in separate rooms. It wasn’t that he was not attracted to Ellie, he just thought it more proper to not sleep in the same room.

The inn, like most buildings in this town, was built with wood but the first floor was made out of layered stone. Thatch roofs were common in the country side and even Longdale, but here they all had curved tiled shingles made from clay. Inside the walls were plastered, then whitewashed. Some walls had murals of battles or couples in love or fantastical beasts.

The inn keeper was a thin man with slightly dirty clothes, but a pristine white apron. The contrast was as almost startling as his bald head to his bushy beard.

After securing the room, Jude asked him, “Is there an event going on? Why are there so many people here in this town?”

“Have you been in a hole these past few months?” the inn keeper asked in a grisly voice.

Jude shook his head, and the inn keeper continued, “Everyone is making their way to the tournament a month from now. I expect in a couple more weeks we will have so many travelers coming through these parts that even the town square won’t hold them all. And do you know why?”

“No,” Jude answered. He already stated that.

“It is because the reward is something almost never heard of and rarely seen!” the inn keeper was now getting excited, “The grand prize is a ! A ! Can you believe it? It’s so famous that it has gotten every expert and adventurer coming to this year’s event. Even the surrounding nations are coming in to join the fun. This year’s Elitist Competition will be the grandest there has ever been!”

When Ellie heard the word , she sucked in a breath full of shock. Jude, however, didn’t know what it was. He had done a lot of research in Longdale, but there was plenty he still didn’t know. He thanked the inn keeper after ordering some food. He decided to ask about the from Ellie since she seemed to know about it.

They found a table not far away from where a bard was playing some gentle tunes.

“What is a ?” Ellie repeated Jude’s question back to him.

“Yes, what is it?”

“I keep forgetting that you know amazing things, but common sense you totally don’t get. I’ve heard that a can do multiple things, but the most important thing it can do is to-“

BAM!

A big burly man practically busted the door off its hinges as he came into the inn’s eating area. He wore a helmet that sprouted horns, and his clothes were made out of pelts. Krinn would be jealous of the great axe strapped to the man’s back.

Behind him was a woman with a strange and deadly air. She was tall and thin to the point of looking sickly and was dressed in wicker made of leather. But it only covered part of her torso and waist, leaving most of her arms and legs bare.

“Inn keep,” the burly man said loud enough to silence the room, “give me a room.”

“The last room was just taken,” the innkeeper said gruffly, but it was far weaker than when he talked to Jude.

“This is the second inn I’ve been to, and I’m not going to a third. Who is it that just booked my room? I will kill you if you do not run off now.”

Jude cleared his throat and stood up boldly, “That would be me.”

This Barbarian was just the kind of practice Jude needed before the tournament.