It was a day after I woke up when Headmaster Zaemon gave an explanation of what happened.

“The simulation crashed because of overheat,” he explained, “the coolant was stolen. Don’t worry, we will find the culprit.”

“But sir, what about the finals?” a random voice in the crowd shouted.

“They will not happen,” Headmaster Zaemon said simply. “The rankings will decide whether you graduate. Five Stars are the minimum. And now, the Rankings.”

Below Six Stars

28 people(Expand?)

Six Stars

14 people(Expand?)

Five Stars

8 people(Expand?)

Four Stars

Chad Riding +3 people(Expand?)

Three Stars

2 people(Expand?)

Two Stars

0 people

One Star

0 people

Moon

0 people

Sun

0 people

Verizon

Everlon Quiazine(You)

Whispers began sounding throughout the crowd. The Headmaster waved his hand, and they fell silent.

“Now, for rewards. Chad Riding, Veneen Ameni, Glaedon Haipe, and Quam Dikok, come forwards for your choice of Tier-1 Spell and Uncommon equipment.”

The Headmaster continued: “Cia Mandeel and Endo Vornger, come forwards for your three Tier-1 spells and Uncommon set.”

“And lastly,” the Headmaster said, with a pained expression, “Everlon Quiazine for your reward.”

“Sir, that’s a third of our school’s savings! You can’t be seriously-“

“Silence, Professor. Don’t forget the vow we made to Inchagyl when the school was founded.”

The Professor shuddered. How could she forget? Legend said, when the school was just about a year old, the legendary Immortal Spirit of the Dawn Inchagyl came down to this very school, where the Spirit and the Headmaster of the time made a Vow. What that Vow said specifically was never mentioned; however, the school began flourishing around that time.

“Now, if you will, I’ll have to go observe Inchagyl’s resurrection.”

I looked at what I could select. They just all looked so powerful! Ultimately, I decided on these spells:

Persistent Flame

Spell

Tier 2

Attunement: Fire

Rarity: Epic

Requirement: 60 Mana/sec

Attack Type: Area of Effect

Radius: 1 foot

Cast Time: Long

Fire Damage: 100/sec

Inflicts Burn III

Thunderbolt

Spell

Tier 2

Attunement: Thunder

Rarity: Uncommon

Requirement: 1200 Mana

Attack Type: Single Target

Cast Time: Very Long

Thunder Damage: 3600

Inflicts Burn

Cyclone

Spell

Tier 2

Attunement: Air

Rarity: Rare

Requirement: 200 Mana

Attack Type: Area of Effect

Radius: 100 feet

Cast Time: Medium

Air Damage: 0-200

Inflicts Disorientate III

Earth Surge

Spell

Tier 2

Attunement: Earth

Rarity: Epic

Requirement: 1000 Mana

Attack Type: Area of Effect

Radius: 200 feet

Cast Time: Very Long

Earth Damage: 3000

Inflicts Suffocation II

Healing Wave

Spell

Tier 2

Attunement: Water/Life

Rarity: Legendary

Requirement: Variable

Type: Area of Effect

Radius: 10 feet

Cast Time: Long

Health Healed: 4 per Mana

Inflicts Regeneration II

Void Flame

Spell

Tier 3 (Tier 1)

Attunement: Space

Rarity: Legendary

Requirement: Variable

Attack Type: Single Target

Cast Time: Short

Void Damage: 3 per Mana

True Damage: 0.5 per Mana

I got an extra three system notifications, informing me I had learnt the skills Spacial Magic and Life Magic respectively. The last one was a tutorial.

Congratulations for unlocking your first Specialized Attunement!

Reward: Knowledge

Type: Tutorial

Sub-Type: Magic

Topic: Specialized Attunements

Specialized Attunements are combinations of two or more Attunements in order to form an entirely new Attunement. For example, Fire and Earth forms the Lava Attunement, and Earth, Water, and Fire forms the Stone Attunement. We can then combine even further, combining Lava and Stone to form Volcano, and so on. Note that some elements cannot combine without a third element in the middle; Water and Fire cannot combine without Earth.

Attunements have certain Tiers to them. The higher Tier the Attunement, the higher Tier the basic Spell for that Attunement will be. For example, the base Spell for Fire is Fireball, which is a Tier 1 spell. Lava’s base Spell is Lavaball, which is a Tier 3 spell, and Volcano’s base Spell is Eruption, which is a Tier 5 spell.

Afterwards, I could choose my set of epic gear. This was what I chose.

Wyvern Helmet(Epic)

Quality: Masterwork

Set Piece(1/4)

Requires: Strength G-Tier, Agility F-Tier

+150 Defense

+20 Strength

+30 Agility

Set Bonus: +300 Defense, +20 Strength, +30 Agility, access to skill “Wyvern Flight”

Wyvern Chestplate(Epic)

Quality: Masterwork

Set Piece(1/4)

Requires: Strength G-Tier, Agility F-Tier

+200 Defense

+20 Strength

+30 Constitution

Set Bonus: +300 Defense, +20 Strength, +30 Agility, access to skill “Wyvern Flight”

Wyvern Leggings(Epic)

Quality: Masterwork

Set Piece(1/4)

Requires: Strength G-Tier, Agility F-Tier

+150 Defense

+20 Strength

+30 Wisdom

Set Bonus: +300 Defense, +20 Strength, +30 Agility, access to skill “Wyvern Flight”

Wyvern Gloves(Epic)

Quality: Masterwork

Set Piece(1/4)

Requires: Strength G-Tier, Agility F-Tier

+100 Defense

+50 Strength

Set Bonus: +300 Defense, +20 Strength, +30 Agility, access to skill “Wyvern Flight”

Wyvern Flight

Skill

Rarity: Epic

Requirement: 100 Mana, 300 Stamina per second

Effect: Allows you to fly

Minimum Length: 5 seconds

Maximum Altitude: 20 feet above ground

And finally, for the Legendary piece… well, it wasn’t like I had a lot of choice. Only a single Legendary item stood, in the center of the giant vault that held all these wonders:

Inchagyl’s Legacy(Legendary)

Quality: Relic

Class Required: Verizon

Satisfy the requirement to see more

Thankfully, my Quest only told me to graduate from the Academy, not to pass the Finals. With little fanfare, I left the Academy with Chad and a hundred more levels. I had gained another Talent Point, which I decided to put in Strength. However, now, while I was sitting on my bed in an inn just outside the Academy, I was going to distribute my Attribute Points.

Status:

HP: 580/580 (5.8/min)

SP: 10600/10600 (106/sec)

DEF: 902

MP: 4250/4250 (45.5/sec)

Rank: Bronze

Advancement 0 Stage 0 Tier 0 Level 424

Attributes (Unspent Points: 0)

Strength (Talent: Above Average)(Birth: Average)

Rank: Basic D-30 (Actual: Basic D-00)

Dexterity (Talent: Excellent)

Rank: Basic C-30 (Actual: Basic C-00)

Agility (Talent: Excellent)

Rank: Basic C-63 (Actual: Basic C-03)

Constitution (Talent: Average)(Birth: Poor)

Rank: Basic H-88 (Actual: Basic H-58)

Intelligence (Talent: Above Average)

Rank: Basic F-25

Wisdom (Talent: Above Average)

Rank: Basic F-55 (Actual: Basic F-25)

Psych (LOCKED) (Talent: Excellent)

LOCKED: Proceed to Tier 8 to unlock

Meta (LOCKED) (Talent: Above Average)

LOCKED: Proceed to Tier 4 to unlock

With that, I mentally checked off three attributes out of the five required for my class.

Skills:

Space Magic

Rare II

Level 1

Dual Wielding

Uncommon II

Level 15

Basic Rapiers

Common IV

Level 20

Inspect

Common IV

Level 5

Analyze

Common III

Level 5

Fire Magic

Common II

Level 30

Thunder Magic

Common II

Level 30

Air Magic

Common II

Level 30

Earth Magic

Common II

Level 30

Water Magic

Common II

Level 30

Mana Manipulation

Common I

Level 30

Mana Imbuement

Common I

Level 25

Mining

Unranked

Level 10

Quests:

The Legacy Of The Eviolodons(Locked)

(Locked)

Unlock Quest: “The Legacy of the Eviolodons”

Advance to Tier 11 (Level 424/1000)

Become a Verified Magus

Go to the Magus Council in Asora D’ameya, Chorkorlyth Forest, Q’xam, A’dreya

Location:

Macro: Subspace - Aggressive Realities - Tier 12 - Instance #434

Micro: A’dreya - Dlamalar - Sayamn Plains - Vartur

A waypoint can be set anywhere within the current Macro Location (Waypoints Active: 1/5)

Inventory:

Show?

Affinities Unlocked:

Fire, Thunder, Air, Water, Earth

Potential Affinities Dormant:

Life, Death, Light, Dark, Wood, Metal, Nature, Spirit

Affinities with No Potential:

None

Spells:

Void Flame

Tier 3

Legendary

Healing Wave

Tier 2

Legendary

Earth Surge

Tier 2

Epic

Persistent Flame

Tier 2

Epic

Cyclone

Tier 2

Rare

Thunderbolt

Tier 2

Uncommon

Aerial Blades

Tier 2

Common

Show Tier 1 Spells?(4)

3 more tabs locked - Gain something that modifies those tabs to view them

12 more tabs locked - Advance System to a higher Level to view them

For the next stage of the quest, it looks like I have to get out of Dlamalar for the first time. I looked at the Waypoints menu.

Waypoint 1 Route:

Sub-Waypoint 1: Guskaid, Sayamn Plains, Dlamalar

Sub-Waypoint 2: Quazo, Sayamn Plains, Dlamalar

Sub-Waypoint 3: Tait, Suk’Orobamn Desert, Dlamalar

Sub-Waypoint 4: Frew, Suk’Orobamn Desert, Dlamalar

Sub-Waypoint 5: Zamas, Suk’Orobamn Desert, Dlamalar

Sub-Waypoint 6: Soqo, Suk’Orobamn Desert, Dlamalar

Hidden(+43 More)

That was a lot of traveling. Suddenly, I heard a knock on my door. I opened it. It was Chad.

“Come in,” I told him. He closed the door behind him and said, “Everlon, I’ll get straight to the point. What are you planning to do?”

“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “Do you know where this Asora D’ameya is?”

“That’s the Dirt-rank Magus Capital,” Chad said, “it’s where the tests to become a Dirt-rank Verified Magus is. Are you planning to go there? It’s a long way.”

Now that I thought about it, that was the best idea. So, I asked Chad: ”How do we get there? By foot?”

Chad snorted and said, “No, of course not. We can travel by horse or carriage.”

The next day, I looked for a place to rent a carriage and I found one. There was a sign on top of the shop that read: “Earnest Ernest’s Sternest Carriages”. I shrugged, then walked in. Inside was a counter with who I presumed to be Ernest behind it.

“Hello, and welcome to my fine establishment!”

I was seriously considering moving to another shop. Anybody who had said that in earnest was insane.

“Look at our wide selection of stunning carriages!” Ernest exclaimed, sweeping a hand at… a single carriage with a broken wheel.

“Uh, I, um, forgot my wallet. Um, I’ll be right back!” I dashed out, looking for any excuse to get away from the obviously deluded man.

Five hours later, I walked back into Ernest’s shop, disgruntled. Nobody would accept my Ruby Mark because they either didn’t know what it was or simply didn’t have enough change or didn’t want to trade away all of their life savings for a single coin, no matter how much that single coin was supposedly worth. After that, I had gone to every carriage and horse shop in the whole town, and, with my measly 500 Silver Marks, was able to get a pair of old, brown horses for 150 Marks apiece. However, the cheapest carriage I could find was a whole Gold Mark, and I couldn’t afford that.

Ernest was busy wiping and sorting air, wiping an imaginary carriage clean with an imaginary cloth, kept wet by nonexistent water in an imaginary bucket.

“How much is that carriage?” I asked him.

“Hmm? Oh, that’s not a carriage, that’s a shield! Fifty Silver Marks for the legendary knight Ernest’s shield!” He made a swinging motion, bumping into his counter and falling over as he did so.

I paid up, relieved to get away once more.

After spending an additional 50 Silver Marks on repairing the carriage, we were off. Suddenly, instead of an estimate of forty-nine days until the destination, only seven were needed.

Three hours into the journey, we were already in the Desert. Referencing the map that I had bought for what little of my money remained, I saw that we were still a long distance away from our destination. I settled in for a long journey.

Headmaster Zaemon frowned. He was currently in the lush greenery of Tier 4, a relief compared to the deserted wastelands that were Tiers 5 and 6.

“Are you sure you have nobody with a high Psych? Even Basic B-Rank will do.”

“Sorry, sir,” the fae girl behind the counter said, “our strongest is a D-Rank Average Talent boy.”

“Well, let him try. Maybe it’ll work.”

His frown deepened at the sight of a thin boy, hardly more than eight years of age, walk up to the divination pedestal.

“Is he really the best you’ve got?”

“Well, Tier-12 is such a low Tier I doubt anybody would have Psych Protection or even a Reflection Filament there.”

“True, but where are the others? I recall a Bronze F-Rank the last time I was here.”

“Ah, sir, well- look! He’s finished!” she quickly said, changing the subject.

He peered into the pedestal. Inside was a portly man, about seventy years of age, casually chugging a bottle of coolant.

“Hmm. Thanks, count that favor of mine repaid.” Now, he just had to think about where he saw that man. He looked awfully familiar.

Duke Chew was casually chewing on a random chicken bone he had found in the huge bucket of food that was to his right. Even though some of them tasted funny, he hadn’t gotten sick a single time from them. Or had he? Maybe some of those times he had puked in the bucket was related to them. He shook his head. It couldn’t be! It was perfectly sanitary! In fact, he had watched his servants take it out and come back with it clean. Duke Chew dropped the chicken bone on the floor, then a servant picked it up and threw it in the bucket.

Oh right! Cuke Dew suddenly remembered that his son was killed and he had vowed re… ra… Ravange? No. It was something similar, though for the life of him he couldn’t remember. In fact, his son’s name he couldn’t remember as well. It was something like Hopkins… No. Hory? No, although he was getting closer. Yes, he finally remembered! It was Hopkins. He didn’t know how for the life of him he could forget that his own son’s name was Horace. Horatio was his only son! He had to drill into his head that his son’s name was Hank Ew. Honk View. Hans Yew. Somehow, his son’s name never sounded the same. He shrugged. He’ll just call him Hen Sew, and it’ll be fine!

High General Conbi of L’Vamberg and Second Volab of Zeyedos never thought they would meet. However, they did exactly that, and were now discussing a common goal. Taking over the entire A’Dreya Continent, starting from Dlamalar, then pushing west around the lake. This would be their ticket to fame, past the continent of Dum’kta and even past Tier 12!

Second Colonel Kusabi Vontonere was shocked. With his true identity as one of the Third-Level Eyes of Qyean, he had to report back to the officials of Qyean and get them to amass the forces of the entirety of A’Dreya to push back the invaders!

Deep in the Core of the Vormont Active Volcano Zone, a giant construct of obsidian and basalt stood up slowly.

Draedic Obsidian Construct(Mythic)

Silver Rank Advancement 729 Stage 394 Tier 565 Level 203

Level 729 (due to Tier restrictions)

Calculating…

Calculations finished

Strength: Basic S-22 Silver C-22

Dexterity: Basic G-12 Bronze F-12

Agility: Basic G-12 Bronze F-12

Constitution: Bronze H-56 Silver S-56

Wisdom: Basic H-12(unchanged)

Intelligence: Basic H-12(unchanged)

Psych:

Attack Power: None Basic B-13

Defensive Shield: None Bronze H-14

Skills:

Strong Smash Heavy Blow Level 50 Level 293

Charge Level 120

Spin Strike Level 250

Indestructible Body Body of Stone Level 57 Level 278

Recall Level 203 Level 620

It smiled evilly before using Recall. Instantly, two hundred and three Level 203 Lesser Draedic Obsidian Constructs appeared. Suddenly, all two hundred and three of those Lesser Draedic Obsidian Constructs used Recall as well, creating twenty Level 20 Tiny Draedic Obsidian Constructs each, which in turn created two Level 2 Minuscule Draedic Obdisian Constructs for a total of thirteen thousand Constructs, give or take a few hundred.

Now, all he had to do was awaken his brothers. Then, he could take over this Tier.