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Today's comment person write is Tonyorobsky: with his story The Hybrid and Aenthar. Looking forward to more Hybrid myself.

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Quest ReceivedExplore the new dungeon and report its inhabitants to the guildDifficulty: Below AverageRequirementsBe at least a F ranked adventurer[/tds]Party leader: Mary Highwater[td2]Reward10 silverFailure Condition:Dungeon is not explored within two weeksRefusal of quest:No penalties

Maria marveled at the quest notification as the party made its way through the gates into the grassland. Her eyes had not left the bracelet since she had returned from the ladies room at the guild, and they shone with excitement. Steel couldn't help but feel happy for her.

"I'm happy that both you and Lady Mary were able to fulfill your dreams." He grinned at her. Maria dragged her eyes of the bracelet and clapped her hands together.

"I know, isn't it great? To think it was so easy after years of waiting for the opportunity. I still can't believe it!" She gushed happily, "It's all thanks to you, my number one student. I knew you were special the first time I lay eyes on you, yes sir I did."

Steel laughed as he shook his head. There it was again, a somehow casual arrogance that always appeared when Maria was at the peak of her happiness. She didn't even realize it when she did it, but Steel had been keeping a closer eye on her since she had joined the group at the training center.

He wasn't dense, he could see something happened every time the two girls left together. One of them would come back more animated, and the other would be calmer. However, Lady Mary was never excitable even during the change, but Maria switched, almost as of different people. If he hadn't known her so well, however, the change would have been imperceptible to him.

He put his hand out to pat Maria's back, but as if she sensed it, she turned around and pointed her finger at him. "Okay Steel, my student. It's time to teach you some magic skills."

Steel blinked, withdrawing his arm, "Aren't we a little too close to the gate for this?"

She nodded, "Yes, but I want you to drain your mana completely before we start, so use your least destructive spell constantly until we get to the spot."

Shrugging, Steel activated Earth Armor, its ethereal branches covering his body. Maria raised an eyebrow, "I see you've learned Earth Armor properly. Good job." She pointed to a small hill in the distance, "Okay, let’s go over there to practice; if that is alright my lady." That last comment was almost an afterthought though.

Mary nodded, "That's fine by me. I too am interested in seeing the scout's progress in magic." She gave him a regal smile.

'There it is again. She didn't call me by my name." Steel thought to himself as they walked, 'We clearly agreed to do that last night, so did she forget?'

His thoughts stumbled as a notification took up his vision:

System AnnouncementGuardian Assassin had been successfully approved by the system administrators. The player, Steel has gained 250 fame for his creation. Players will have to seek out the player with the class to learn how to become the class. NPC's may become that class. Only NPC masters can teach a player how to become one.

Steel punched the air in exhilaration. A message came from Nina after the notice.

"Sir, I was successful in keeping my class!"

"That's great Nina. How did you do it?"

"Sir, I've been training with the head assassin in the guard since I left you. He shot me down at first, but I was able to prove to him that it worked. Now, he’s thinking of becoming one too, and I get to teach him!"

'Well, isn't that symmetry in motion.'

"Congratulations Nina! Tell me, have you been getting the help I told you to get?"

"Yes sir! I met with a doctor lady whose been talking with me after school. I didn't like her at first, but she’s okay."

"I'm proud of you Nina. Keep getting stronger, okay? I'm returning to the dungeon tomorrow for a quest, think you can join?"

"Sorry sir, I'll be too busy with my master. Are going alone?"

"Nope, I'm leading this friend of mine from the mage tower."

It took a while for Nina's response to come.

"Sir, no funny business allowed. You could get in big trouble you know."

"What are you talking about? She's my magic teacher, I've known her since day one of the game. She won't betray me."

"Okay Sir, but remember I'm the one that understands you. Have fun!"

Steel closed the message with a slight shudder. He prayed Nina hurried up and got better soon. He turned to find the three others waiting impatiently for him.

"Geez Steel, what are you doing? Staring into empty space like that; that's quite rude making us ladies wait like that." Maria scolded him.

"Sorry Maria, I was doing traveler things." He apologized as they resumed walking.

Mary looked interested, "Really? What were you doing?"

"I was talking to a friend of mine. She managed to achieve a rare class on her own and was thanking me for the help."

Maria smiled, looking straight ahead, "Oh really? How amazing, hidden classes are very rare and powerful. Will we be seeing her during the trip?" She asked innocently.

"No, she's too busy training to join us. Shame too, she was a real help during the expedition."

"Oh, so you know her from that. What was she?"

"My slave." Steel fumbled as Maria tripped him onto the ground. He looked up into her accusing eyes.

"How many slaves do you have! What improper things are you doing to them! You teacher is ashamed at you for surrounding yourself with women who obey your every whim." She wagged her finger, "That's a great way to increase arrogance you know."

"What are you talking about? Echo is a guy." Steel pointed at Echo, who was also giving Steel a disapproving look.

"Not the point Steel." Maria glared at him, "Maybe M.M. was right to ask you about your intentions for Echo." She hugged the slave to her bosom.

Steel sighed, "You’re worrying over nothing. I got a boy slave because there were too many girls in my life. I have no intention of abusing anyone. You know that right?"

Maria frowned, and looked down, "Yes, I believe your character wouldn't abuse those you call friends. Still though, why are there so many girls around you?" She complained, mostly to herself.

Steel shrugged, "No idea, but I am separating from women until I can rely on my strength again. Come on now, let’s hurry to that hill." He got back up and strolled toward the practice point.

Maria frowned sadly at his back. "Mores the pity." She sighed to herself. A little tug brought her face down to look at Echo. He smiled sadly and patted her back.

"I know Echo, I know just how you feel too."

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Steel was breathing a bit harder than normal when they reached the hill. He had never used Earth Armor for so long before, even during combat. His mana reserves were steadily falling, even with his regen helping him. He canceled the spell and took a seat on the hill, catching his breath.

Maria shook her head, "See, this is the reason I had you cast your spell. How do you feel?"

Steel took a deep breath in before replying, "Really tired for some reason, like I just ran a mile and my stamina was exhausted."

She nodded, "Have you looked at your stamina bar?"

Steel gazed at it, and was surprised to find it had decreased a little bit. Not that much, but enough that he could clearly see a loss.

"I'm sure you are aware that if someone were to completely exhaust their mana and stamina, their health would begin draining until they die." Maria continued, "What you don't know is that using mana untrained actually requires a bit of stamina to use, to make up for the lack of understanding and focus. Before it was common knowledge, young apprentices would use their mana continuously and refresh it only to find themselves running out of stamina eventually. Once that happened, they couldn't use spells anymore and often died depending on the circumstance."

Steel frowned, "That can't be right, stamina and mana are two different things. They can't affect the other."

Maria nodded, "You’re correct of course, but that's not including spell casting. When a mage casts a spell, he is literally taking mana out of his body, which has a cost. The cost is stamina, which is another reason why warrior types tend to avoid spells that would drain their precious stamina. Training with me today will replace the stamina cost with mana, so you as a hybrid class won't have to worry about unnecessary loss."

"Now, go ahead and casts all the spells you know."

Steel only knew 5, so it didn't take too long. He showed off Earth Armor again, followed by Earth Wall to create a stone pillar. Next, he cast Dark Bind on Maria, who shrugged it off easily and nodded her approval. He cast Milna's Blessing, but as no one was hurt nothing happened.

Finally, he cast charm. The spell activated on Maria, but she hadn't been expecting this type of skill from Steel. A blush began growing on her face as her eyes drank in his form. "Steel, I must say your teacher is so pleased by your. . .performance. Allow me to teach you more things." She began to move toward him seductively, a fire burning in her gaze. Actually, she was literally starting to burn. Each step left burn marks in the ground. Steel began to make a retreat, unable to cancel the effects because Charm wasn't a continuous spell.

Thankfully, Mary stepped forward and cast a spell on Maria, who calmed down and looked very embarrassed.

"Spell forbidden from now on!" Steel did not complain, it was way too dangerous.

Maria cleared her throat awkwardly, "Well then, now it’s time for the lessons. Drink this first." She threw Steel a mana potion, "Then cast Dark Bind on me again."

Steel did so, and watched as the darkness succeeded and surrounded Maria. She nodded at him. "Dark Bind is a single target instant cast type spell. As you can see, I can't move with on me. I can however cast spells of my own still." The darkness was blown away by a ring of fire around her. "Now, cast it again on me." She stopped the ring of fire.

Just like the first time, the darkness failed to hold her and fell away. "What used to block that spell is a mana shield. Unlike other magical shields, mana shields block spells by using an equivalent amount of mana to the spell cast. In other words, it's your mana pool against my mana pool. This is a good strategy against weaker opponents and hybrid types who both have smaller mana pools, but it's a risk against another mage and useless against warriors."

"This time, try to pierce me with Earth Wall."

Steel formed a spike and stabbed it up at her. Before it hit her, Maria summoned a green barrier around herself. When the spike passed through it, it weakened and disintegrated before it could touch her. "This is an elemental shield." She explained, "It's a magical shield that reduces damage from elemental attacks. You can only have one type in use at a time, so it loses potential against multiple opponents. However, it requires only a small, constant mana use to keep it up, and the element can be switched out every few seconds. The higher your natural resistance to an element, the better your shield of that type will be."

"This time, use this dagger to injure me." She threw him a simple dagger. Steel shrugged, and rushed her with it. The dagger bounced off a gray barrier that appeared around her. "This is a weapon barrier, used to counter physical attacks. It is worthless against spells and weapons enchanted with elemental damage, and arrows can pierce it if the bow is strong enough. It also uses a small mana cost, but it also drains a little stamina with every blow against it. Most mages rarely use this barrier for long because we don't have large stamina pools to draw from."

"These are the three types of magical shields a mage can use. Each has its own strength and weakness, but in order to learn any of them one has to understand mana flow."

She sat down in a meditative pose, "Sit with me Steel, and meditate. Feel the flow of your mana and allow it to envelop you. Then, push it outwards until it covers your body." Steel closed his eyes and called on his mana. Well, as best he could anyway, since mana wasn't real and this was a game. A sphere began glowing around him soon after.

Spoiler :

Spell Learned:Mana BarrierType/AttributeSpell RankCostExperienceDefense/N/AC10 mana initially, than the same amount used in the spell blocked0%DescriptionA defensive barrier spell. While having no effect against physical attacks, it can block any spell as long as the caster's mana pool is sufficient. Reduces mana regen by 50% when in use. It takes 10 seconds after casting to switch to another barrier type.

Spell Learned:Elemental BarrierType/AttributeSpell RankCostExperienceDefense/AnyC15 mana per second0%DescriptionA defensive barrier spell. While having no effect against physical attacks, it reduces the strength of the corresponding elemental attack, including enchanted weapon by 25%. Reduces mana regen by 50% when in use. It takes 10 seconds after casting to switch to another barrier type or elemental type.

Spell Learned:Weapon BarrierType/AttributeSpell RankCostExperienceDefense/N/AC10 mana every second, drains 15 stamina per hit0%DescriptionA defensive barrier spell. While having no effect against magical attacks, it reduces all physical attacks except arrows by 25% as long as the caster's mana and stamina pool is sufficient. Reduces mana regen by 50% and stamina regen by 25% when in use. It takes 10 seconds after casting to switch to another barrier type.

Skill Name:Skill Rarity:Skill Rank:Skill Experience:Mana FlowDE0%You understand the flow of mana and how to maximize its usage.Passive Effects:Spells no longer deduct a minor stamina cost. Spells are now 2% stronger upon casting.Costs:N/ACool downN/A

"I managed to acquire the skills teacher. That really was fast." Steel informed her.

"Of course, you started this training when you first learned from me, and you continued it through your battles. I wouldn't have done this if it would have taken forever. Milady Mary can't be gone forever from the tower after all."

Mary nodded behind her, "Yes, but I must say your use of magic is quite well founded scout. Maria certainly is a wonderful teacher."

Steel frowned, he had had enough.

"Okay, I'm tired of this, what is going on?"

Mary cocked her head, "Is something wrong scout?"

He glared at her, "Yes there is something wrong. Who are you?"