Although Cerebella is widely considered the epitome of magic, the Highlands are still widely regarded as the greatest source of magicians. Highland elves have a natural affinity for magic and are trained from a very young age to compensate for their poor physical abilities in comparison to other races. The Power Mage, Maxwell Silvers, is very vocal in his journey to surpass Cerebella and reinstating the Highlands as the premier location for all of the arcane arts. The Archmage has reportedly tutored the talented elf despite the tensions between Elway's Royal Family and the Highland council. When asked, Archmage Cerebella responded with the hopes of bridging a potential treaty and a closer relationship between the two previously distant kingdoms.

~ An academic essay about the relationship between the Highlands and the Elway Kingdom, author unknown

The group cleared out the vestiges of the massive ant colony with ease but didn’t receive a level-up in the process. Although the tunnels didn’t lead further down it was a dead-end. By Chester’s estimate, they were at least one kilometer underground. The man knew there was no way in hell they’d be able to tunnel through a thousand meters of rock without something screwing up.

So they continued. Back to their original location, looking through the various pathways for sixteen hours. Most of them had already been cleared out, and the group took periodic rests while they had the chance. Chester had to use his Dream spell to maximize his rest time. A thirty-minute power nap felt like an hour thanks to his Dream spell, and the mana cost was negligible thanks to the area he rested in, replenishing his mana and stamina at an improved rate.

He used the time spent in Dream to rest even more instead of training and because of this he looked a lot fresher compared to his companions. Chester didn't want to use it to train, prioritizing rest over the obsessive need to get stronger.

Damien looked worn down. His shoulders were perpetually slumped, and even after a few naps, he didn’t look well-rested due to their situation. The same went for Christopher, as the priest often muttered about his hip and old age, he leaned on his staff with every step he took. In the middle of their trek, Chester quickly realized that he could bring an additional person with him into the Dream Spell. He explained to his party members about his skill, and it net him additional rest periods since he also had to be unconscious for the spell to work.

With that, he linked his mind with theirs and dragged them into the Dream Spell.

Like an omnipotent god, Chester gave the two the abilities to shape and manifest things to their will. They weren't as skilled at dream manipulation as he was, but it was understandable. He had studied extensively and used this spell many times before he fully learned how to utilize it to its maximum potential. Damien used this chance to train diligently after hearing about the fact that spells could be trained in this space. The illusionist took this chance to borrow the vampire's knowledge on the dark element. He had a few books explaining the nature of the element, but most of his teachings were from instructors.

Damien did his best to recall the period where he was taught, and Chester viewed it through a television screen. It wasn't very clear, with occasional static and cutouts due to the vampire's inability to recall every detail perfectly. He watched as a slightly younger Joseph Devon taught him the basics of dark magic. The man didn't look much different aside from shorter hair and brighter eyes. From what he could remember of the vampire swordsman in Elway, he only changed in terms of style and demeanor.

"The dark is different from fire, water, and lightning. Its properties are absorption. Depending on how you utilize it, it can absorb stamina, HP, and even MP when used offensively." The man lectured, covering his hand in a powerful, dark miasma. Chester laid down along the white floor picking his nose as he listened to the older vampire's lecture. There were some similarities to how he learned illusion magic with how they manipulated the power in their body, but the mindset and directions were completely different. "Let's start with getting you Dark Mastery. Imagine your mana, but focus it inward. The darkness isn't a concept, but the lack of one. Our mana will mimic the void and the absorption properties. So it's very dense and doesn't spread outwardly in the way other elemental types do."

'What the fuck is he talking about?' Chester groused. He scrunched up his face listening to the metaphors and cryptic teaching. Nevertheless, he complied and began to shape his mana according to the instructions. It was difficult since he needed to picture the complete absence of anything given physical form. He asked Damien for help, who was fighting a mock battle against a fake version of the Scrap Bots.

"Well, it seems that you're having trouble with imagining the aspect darkness embodies. Maybe liken it to your illusion magic? If you can visualize what it looks like, maybe it'll be easier? I don't know how you learned illusion magic, but transforming regular mana into darkness is a matter of changing its structure along with how you picture it in your mind."

He spent a few hours doing just that, recalling what Damien's spells looked like. Occasionally he'd take a break to read through the books Damien had to offer along with replaying the mental video. Chester didn't learn it but figured it would take more time to learn a completely new element. The man partially blamed the older vampire for his crappy instructions.

While Chester was closing his eyes to rest, Damien requested for the man to control his surroundings to simulate a battle. He figured that with another person controlling the variables it would make for a better experience. Chester took this chance to torment the boy with surprise attacks that the robots never showed.

"Hey! Scrap Bots never had lasers in their eyes! Or illusion magic!" The vampire complained, parrying a beam of energy with his shield. He launched a Darkfire spell at the imaginary Scrap Bot while glaring at the illusionist. He had his arms crossed observing the battle with a keen eye as he did his best to trip up Damien without totally screwing him over.

"They do in here. Deal with it."

His sleeping sessions with the vampire boy remained largely the same, going between learning how to utilize dark magic and refining Damien's battle capabilities. Christopher was able to keep the Aura of Vitality spell running even when he was unconscious, as once cast it would remain until the duration ended. When under the Dream Spell, the priest used this chance to relax.

The way Christopher relaxed in the dream was quite unusual.

It reminded Chester of the old Asian people who would do tai-chi in public. Going through a set of techniques that looked like an elaborate dance. The difference was that he did it extremely slow. The aging priest had taken off his top, revealing a set of defined abs that shouldn't have been possible for a man as old as him. There were positions he did that looked almost impossible to hold for an extended period, and it was clear by the occasional tremor that he could feel every bit of the exercise. Balancing on one leg, Christopher dropped into a pistol squat variation at an agonizingly slow pace.

Seeing the illusionist gawk at his exercises, he began to chat with Chester as he broke a sweat.

"Is this your first time seeing this?"

"Yeah. What's it do?"

"I learned this in a karate dojo during my travels. At first, I did it as a way to stay fit and strong during my days in active service, but now it has become part of my routine. It is strangely..." He breathed out, focusing on bringing himself back while still standing on one leg. "Relaxing."

'Relaxing?!'

Chester was curious and tried to do mimic the man's movements. He limited himself to his real-life capabilities, along with the sense of pain and tiredness. Not only was doing the movements at such a slow pace difficult, but it was also boring as well. Some of the movements Christopher did he couldn't even mimic due to a lack of flexibility and coordination.

"STR, AGI, and END are game-changers, but they don't affect things like coordination, balance, and flexibility. Interesting.' The illusionist thought to himself. he resolved to do daily stretches.

After a solid hour of imaginary exercise, they soothed their fictional muscles in a sauna. The priest looked brighter than ever after waking up, while Chester looked worn out. The illusionist swore that his muscles were being affected by phantom pains after being encouraged to try out the man's training continuously.

But now they had to deal with a new threat. The fire-wielding Scrap Bot they faced earlier had come back with reinforcements, fully-repaired and armed with three functioning limbs. Its eyes flashed menacingly as it intoned in a slightly angry, yet metallic voice.

“Exterminate.”

Chester flipped back to his disguise in a panic, transforming his weapon into a flail once more. “What’s the meaning of this?!”

He had forgotten to use his accent in his alarm, watching as the robots stepped closer towards them.

“I have double-checked. With our creator. You are not listed. Among our forces. We are. Capturing you.”

As a criminal, the word ‘capture’ sprung up a certain reaction from his mind. “You’ll never take us alive! Darkness!” Chester cried out, before plunging the tunnel in complete black.

For a second, everything became chaotic. Even the lights from their orb-like eyes were extinguished due to the spell’s magical properties, but the robots bumped into each other as they couldn't see well in the enclosed space. The darkness lifted, and the Scrap Bot saw that the group had completely disappeared.

“Spread out. And search! They couldn’t. Have gone. That far!”

Almost instantly the army had dissolved to explore the tunnels. They searched for the humans but to no avail.

Chester did his best to act and sound like the robots. His spell, Alter Self, had become gone a step further and allowed for greater modifications towards appearance. Not only did it take more damage to dispel, but the illusionist could also instinctually feel that the boundaries on how much detail he could change and add were expanded.

Christopher and Damien were beside him, having been transformed into identical robots. If one were to look, they’d notice how fluid their movements were in comparison to the true machines, moving with more life than any of them should've been capable of. It was also interesting to note that Damien's disguise was significantly smaller than the others. Chester had to use Improved Minor illusion on himself, since the limit of having only two targets for Alter Self remained, which was being used on his two party members.

Approaching the actual robot tagging along with their party, he talked as they descended the empty tunnels.

“Soldier.” The illusionist beeped out in his android voice to the lesser robot in their group. “The General has gone rogue. We must eliminate him.”

The machine tilted its head, confused. “Rogue? I do not. Understand.”

Chester, who used Improved Minor Illusion instead of Change Self, carefully shifted it into a mirage of his original robot disguise. It retained similar features to the Scrap Bots, with three glowing eyes. The major difference was that it was bipedal.

“The General has gone against Elric’s wishes. A traitor to the cause. Uh, it also does not support the idea of mandatory breaks.”

The last part seemed to flick a switch, and it nodded its head in compliance. Chester added a secondary command, maintaining his illusion while Damien and Christopher were frozen beside him, watching the man work his magic.

“Spread the news. Do not act until I signal for the ambush when we converge at its location.”

Its singular eye turned red, and it went back, on its way to inform the rest of the soldiers about their superior's allegiance to their enemies.

“By the might of Pernatia…” Christopher breathed out, still in his robotic disguise. “You’re planning to turn the golems against each other?”

“This is insane. There’s no way this works.” Damien said flatly.

The man vanished his disguise, grinning at the two like a lunatic. “Oh, I don’t think so. Even the system’s telling me I’m doing something right.”

Your persuasion tactics work beautifully. +1 to CHA

You have leveled up!

He remembered the greatest part of being a Unique class. Damien had even explained to him that they didn’t level up at the rate other classes did when killing monsters because they split the experience received from kills with class-based actions. So even though his leveling rate was slower when he and Damien killed the same amount of monsters, he gained the benefit of receiving a steady flow of experience just by using his spells.

So the more he deceived people with illusions, the more experience he racked up. At least that was how he interpreted the way his class worked. There was a reason why CHA was one of the stats his class boosted.

He took this chance to spend 7 points on his INT stat, bringing it up to a hundred. Upon confirming it and placing the rest in AGI, he received a notification.

Your base INT stat has reached 100.

You have received Perk: Greater Intelligence

Greater Intelligence - Your ability to recall details and memories is enhanced. Your mental faculties are greatly increased. MP gained is doubled for every point in INT. MP regen gained is doubled for every point in INT.

Chester felt a shift occur in his body. His brain felt like it was going to implode from the sheer pressure, but before he could express his pain it simmered down, going from his head and spreading across his body. He likened it to consuming multiple mana potions at once, making him feel full of energy and power. The headache subsided, and the illusionist opened his eyes.

His worldview changed in that instant, giving him clarity similar to how a new pair of glasses would. The way he thought, the way he looked at the ground and analyzed every footprint astounded himself. He wondered if this is what it felt like to be a genius. Chester's memories of his life became much more vivid and easy to recall, even going as far as to restore forgotten and repressed echoes of the past.

‘Let's play hide and seek, Chester. Okay? Just close your eyes and count to ten.’ His mother's soft words reverberated in his mind, bringing a new set of emotions he hadn’t felt in a very long time.

The two beside him immediately noticed the mana levels within him spike to inhuman levels. Damien touched his shoulder, and Christopher realized exactly what the illusionist had just gone through.

“Are you okay?”

“Okay? I’m feeling…powerful.”

CHESTER EVERHEART

PERK(S):

Underdog II - Slay an opponent with a higher level and superior stat total. +10 to all stats. 10% increased damage dealt to opponents with a higher level or a higher stat total.

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Greater Intelligence - Your ability to recall details and memories is enhanced. Your mental faculties are greatly increased. MP gained is doubled for every point in INT. MP regen gained is doubled for every point in INT.

Level: 24

Race: Human (Otherworld Variant)

Class: Illusionist (Unique) - A class that uses magic to disrupt, trick, and deceive opponents. 1.5x boost to INT, 1.3x boost to AGI and CHA.

HP: 700/700 (3.5 HP regen/min)

MP: 3400/3400 (17 MP regen/min)

PRIMARY

STR- 58 (68)

AGI- 67 (97)

END- 60 (70)

INT- 100 (170)

SPECIAL

CHA- 46 (69)

LUC- 9 (19)

Skills:

ACTIVE

Change Self Level 4 - Assume a different form. You can change body and facial features. Illusion cannot be applied if vastly different to base shape. -5 MP/min, No cooldown. Sustaining 50 points of damage will dispel the illusion.

Darkness Level 1 - A radius around your target within 5 meters will be covered in darkness, obscuring vision. Radius of spell: 3 meters. -50 MP to cast.

Invisibility Level 3 - A target becomes invisible upon use. Being attacked or casting a spell will make the illusion vanish. -50 MP to cast.

Improved Minor Illusion Level 2 - You can create an illusion that can affect sight and hearing. Size of the illusion is restricted to a maximum of 2 cubic meters. -100 MP to cast.

Hypnotic Pattern Level 2 - Unleash a visual illusion that disorients your foes. There is a small chance of immobilizing the target for one second. -50 MP to cast.

Mana Blast Level 2 - Unleashes a non-elemental magic projectile upon target, dealing 50% of your total INT stat as damage. -100 MP. 1 second activation, 5 second cooldown.

Mana Infusion Level 4 - Infuse your body with magical energy. Boost stats by 5% while activated. -100 MP/min

PASSIVE

Sword Mastery Level 1 - Proficiency with sword-type weapons. Upon equipping a sword, 5% increase to damage dealt.

Advanced Dagger Mastery Level 2 - Proficiency with dagger-type weapons. Upon equipping a dagger, 10% increase to damage dealt.

Advanced Flail Mastery Level 2 - Proficiency with flail-type weapons. Upon equipping a flail, 10% increase to damage dealt.

Advanced Illusion Mastery Level 2 - Proficiency with illusion magic. Your understanding of illusions grants greater precision and efficiency. 10% increase to casting speed of illusions.

Advanced Mana Mastery Level 1 - Proficiency with mana. Your understanding of mana grants greater precision and efficiency. 10% increase to damage dealt.

Poison Resistance Level 2 - You are resistant to non-magical poison and venoms. Immunity to weak poisons, and slightly reduced effectiveness against powerful poisons.

The man couldn’t even begin to describe what he was feeling, even with his increased intellect. Now his mind was bursting at the seams with ideas on how to leverage this situation in their favor. Chester's reserves had doubled, and he could sense the gap between him and Christopher shorten. There was still a sizable difference in their MP totals, but it wasn't as overwhelming as before.

"I assume you reached a hundred points in intelligence, Chester?"

The illusionist nodded. The vampire had a sinking feeling that the man was concocting an insane plan judging by the crooked smile on his face.

So the group continued after being reassured that Chester was fine. He reconstructed his robotic disguise using Improved Minor Illusion, and it looked much more realistic than before. The way it interacted with the light, along with the sounds it produced gave the mirage a life they had never seen before.

Damien had forgotten it was an illusion and tapped it expecting a hollow clunking noise upon contact. Instead, it vanished, revealing an annoyed illusionist underneath.

“What’re you doing?” Chester asked. He was busy thinking of a strategy to beat the Scrap Bot but was interrupted by the vampire.

“Ah, sorry. But I can feel a few more mana signatures up above. I think there are more Scrap Bots.”

Chester cursed. He told them to keep going faster, going towards every robot they met and convincing them that their leaders had gone rogue. The man didn’t know why, but the idea of their superiors colluding with the ankhegs always made them much more compliant with his commands.

"General does not give you breaks. Unethical and inconceivable! It goes against worker's rights."

"Forcing all into dangerous situations. Without the right to refuse. We must take a stand."

"Unpaid labor? This is the work. Of those mindless ankhegs! Only they would. Employ such tactics."

He did it as a joke, but it seemed as though the machines seemingly agreed with the fact that they were being overworked. He coupled it together with being part of the ankheg's machinations, blaming their mortal enemies for why they were being treated so harshly. Chester couldn't have imagined that his words were powerful enough to inspire some mindless machines to stand against their superiors. He had some understanding that even though they couldn't level up, that didn't mean they weren't completely autonomous. The lesser robots displayed a marginal amount of intelligence and self-awareness, and it was perfect for Chester to exploit.

They had all gathered up where the Scrap Bot was waiting. It was the place where the mutated ankheg had been killed. With an army of three dozen robots in strict formation, it seemed to grow frustrated at the lack of results. The two other Scrap Bots blocked the exit to the other tunnels, making the party inwardly curse at their luck.

“I will confirm. Our mission’s failure. We must report to Elric.” The fire-wielding one turned to its comrades, which nodded upon hearing this decision. The other Scrap Bots who arrived were the slim, spiky variant and the chunky one. Ones that they encountered from the first tunnel after killing the first Scrap Bot. They contrasted each other significantly, and the illusionist instinctively identified the slimmer one as a woman and the other as a man. He blamed it on how the media depicted robots with 'genders'.

“Halt!” Chester cried out. He had swapped places with Damien. The boy was invisible, standing further away from the army of robots while Christopher was still disguised as a robot at the very back of the formation. This allowed him to use Alter Self, giving him greater mobility than hiding under Improved Minor Illusion which would disappear if he moved too quickly. His disguise as a lesser robot shifted into his most recognizable one, maintaining the bipedal form but with three, distinct glowing orbs on his skull.

“General has gone rogue! He is acting as a spy for the ankhegs! A villain against solidarity!”

The two generals turned to him in shock. They displayed this emotion by having almost no emotion in their voice, but their necks spun at a markedly faster speed, which Chester decided to assume was a surprise. “Traitor?”

It seemed quite stunned at this development, and immediately tried to defend itself. “This is false. I am being falsely accused.”

"I saw. Him. Dealing with. The ankhegs. Elric has tasked. Me with removing. The traitor! Who would treat. Subordinates like trash!"

In almost complete synchronicity, the lesser robots began to approach the fire-inclined robot menacingly. The other Scrap Bots weren't sure what to do, clearly hesitating between Chester's words and their own comrade's. The Scrap Bot tried its best to put down the lesser machines in response to the attacks without using magic.

"I am. Not a double. Agent! Think of. Our time! Together!" It cried out, doing the bare minimum to subdue the minions.

"Our eyes. Are opened. We are mistreated." One of them said. The others seemed to be chasing after the other two Scrap Bots, and they began to attack the hostile automatons, which confused even Chester himself. He hadn't even tried to convince them that the other Generals were traitors, but they attacked them regardless.

"Forced to serve. No breaks. Until our bodies collapse. We are fixed." A lesser robot said, tilting its head after being pierced by the razor-sharp implements of the slim Scrap Bot.

"In an endless. Cycle." Another one completed their sentence, looking at the illusionist. For a moment, he feared that it was going to turn against him as well. "General 03-P. Has shown. We must fight. For our rights."

Chester stared at the automaton silently, before realizing why it seemed so familiar even amongst the rest of the nearly-identical machines. "...Denty?"

It nodded its head. "Correct. That is the. Name you have. Given me."

Due to your actions, you have inspired a group to revolt against the status quo, turning them into allies. +1 CHA

Perk Unlocked: Viva la Resistance.

Viva la Resistance - Persuading one to turn against their oppressors/superiors. Increased likelihood of turning enemies into allies. +5 to CHA.

"Inconceivable. You are. Supposed to follow. Orders." The largest one said with a much deeper voice than any of the Scrap Bots. It was handling the lesser robots like they weighed nothing.

"We will not. Stand for this." The voice of Denty was tinged with the smallest signs of defiance. It climbed up, readying itself for a sucker punch to its superior's face. Chester cheered them on, forgetting that he should've joined them as they attacked the three generals simultaneously.

Denty was promptly thrown onto the nearby wall, collapsing completely upon impact. The illusionist cursed, realizing that they were still fighting against three Scrap Bots at once. He had gotten too immersed in the situation.

"Damien! We finish off the fire bot! Christopher, distract the big one!" He didn't wait for a response as he brandished his hammer, unwilling to damage his metallic comrades with his flail. The man yelled out a battle cry as he joined the fight, dodging a fireball launched at his head. It singed him, not dispelling his disguise but he could feel ends of his curly hair being burnt to a crisp. He dropped the Attainium hammer down on its head using both hands, taking advantage of the fact that it was tied up dealing with the other lesser robots.

New skill unlocked: Hammer Mastery Level 1

Seeing that their subordinates were completely bewitched by the man's words, the Scrap Bot became rougher in its handling, shoving them away to point the barrel at the attacking human. A Darkfire spell, followed by a shield to the head prevented it from throwing another fireball at Chester. Damien moved back, being protected by the lesser robots who took the hit in place of the vampire. His invisibility disappeared as soon as he cast Darkfire.

"For our rights! And mandated breaks!" A robot cried out, leaping at the superior machine's face and preventing it from seeing. Chester ran over to deal some more damage but had the lesser automaton thrown at him and was promptly bowled over in pain. As he was on the floor, he could see the other two Scrap Bots making quick work of their mechanical allies. Christopher inched over closer towards them, still in his robot form. He wielded his staff, letting it glow brightly as he buffed Chester and Damien.

"Bolster. Greater Haste. Holy Shield. Finish it quick, we'll lose in a war of attrition." The man looked exhausted, having cast multiple spells consecutively. The illusionist knew it took a lot to pump out those spells, regardless of the man's mana reserves.

A rush of power flowed through their veins once more, and Chester pushed the inert machine off him, continuing his battle before the two opponents could join their fight. He didn't like their chances if the two were to join the flame-wielding machine.

"Improved Minor Illusion. God, that's a mouthful." He didn't notice any difference between saying the spell by either name, so he elected to use the shorter form for convenience.

A decoy appeared right where Damien was, freezing the robot in place for a second. That was enough for Chester to wallop it in the face. He ducked as soon as the barrel aimed at his general direction, narrowly avoiding a string of flames that scorched his lungs and removed the moisture from his eyes and lips. He couldn't imagine how it would feel to get hit by that.

Damien came in once more, and it twisted the appendage to fire off another fireball. This one was dead on, but the vampire hid under his tiny shield and braced himself. Chester screamed. His heart thudded in his ears, and time seemed to slow down as the spell made its way towards Damien.

"NO! RU-"

Before the flame could incinerate his nocturnal companion, it bounced back towards the Scrap Bot with full force. It let out a metallic screech, clearly sustaining some form of damage. The man sighed in relief, remembering that the boy's shield had a reflecting spell that could be activated once every twelve hours.

"You thought I would use this to tank a blast of fire? What do you take me for? You?" Damien said, giving him a raised brow.

"Oh, shut it. Not my fault I don't remember every single detail."

Chester attacked while he had the chance. Without any lesser robots remaining, he switched back to his flail. Activating Mana Infusion, the power and speed were enough to leave massive dents with every hit on its malleable, red-hot exterior. The Scrap Bot succumbed to its wounds, leaving out one final message.

Mana Infusion is now Level 5.

Mana Infusion has evolved into Greater Mana Infusion.

Greater Mana Infusion Level 1 - Infuse your body with magical energy. Boost stats by 10% while activated. -150 MP/min

"Worker's. Rights. Interesting." It bleeped out, before the light left its three eyes and never returned. Chester immediately felt a substantial improvement in speed and power as his skill went to the next stage. He cursed inwardly as he didn't receive a notification for leveling up. Damien on the other hand...

You have slain Scrap Bot - Fire (Level 33)

You have leveled up! You are now level 20.

You have reached your first level milestone. Congratulations! Your class options are being determined. Please wait...