Spell 16 : The Phase

'Next stop : Kingley's Hall! Please alight from the train if you have arrived at your destination.' A cool female voice said through the P.A. system in the train.

I got up, dusted off the breadcrumbs from my pants and got out of the train. Kingley's Hall was one of the most furbished underground stations I have ever seen. Even the railway tracks themselves shone like new metal. It had to be; afterall, it was named after one of the grandest concert halls ever built in the continent. And the place I had to be tonight.

I couldn't believe it myself; here I was actually going for a concert that I practically had no interest in when I could be at home playing RoyalRoad or something. But I didn't really had a choice. It was either watching the school band performing in Kingley's Hall or listening to Benedict's ranting for a whole month on how friends should support each other in times of need. Oh, did I mention he's in the school band, and that he actually had to sell 20 tickets or else he would be off the band's committee? Well, now you understand.

The escalator led directly into the concert hall itself. It was quite similar to the Grand Enchantium in design, but instead of golden pillars and staircases, everything was marble instead. The reception was just right next to the doors leading to one of the performing halls where the band would be performing tonight. Keith and Jay were already there waiting impatiently. They gave a sigh of relief when I walked up to them.

'What took you so long? You're fashionably late when you're the most punctual one of us all.' Keith remarked.

'Sorry, I was trying to find a shirt that fit. For some reason nowadays it's getting harder for me to wear some of my smaller clothes. You know I usually don't wear these kinds of shirts out.' I held out my arms and shook it. The sleeves were so constricting that I could barely straighten my arm.

'You really have no idea why? And they call you a genius in the school. Man, it's all the gymming that you have been doing, fool. It's 'cos you've been gaining pounds at the gym that's why your shirts are getting tighter. Are you just conceited or really that daft?' Jay sniggered and showed his ticket to the reception counter. He went straight into the performing hall. Keith flicked his finger at my chest and headed in too. I stood there dumbfounded until Keith came back out a second later and called me in.

Rows and rows of seats just filled the performing hall. There were also booths above that stood out from the walls where vision would be unobstructed, but those were reserved for the V.I.P.s. Most of the seats were already filled with excited parents and friends of those performing later. We found some seats near to the middle and sat down. The seats were extremely comfortable and pretty much put me to sleep. I woke up moments later from a jab by Jay and realised that the concert was starting.

It was pretty boring at the start, with the band playing classical music that no one knew about. There was one that sounded vaguely like something I heard while watching Tom and Jerry as a kid called die Fledermaus by Strauss. I noticed many around me were fighting losing battles to keep their eyes open. I rolled my eyes around and tried to keep myself awake. Rather by accident, I let my eyes glance past the V.I.P. booth and saw, with a pang in my heart, Vanessa. She was not alone, however.

Dennis was next to her. Tall and handsome, the Student Council chairman stood motionless, appreciating the pieces played by the band like a fine, young gentleman. In his gloved hands, he held a wine glass that contained champagne from the looks of it. He was wearing a tuxedo for crying out loud. He whispered something into Vanessa's ears and she giggled. I looked away at once, barely able to look on further.

After intermission, the band started to play pieces that were more recognisable, including hits from Disney as well as various pop songs. The crowd began to cheer more lively after each song. I recognised one Madeline Tan, who stood up for the entire of her boyfriend's saxophone solo and was the one who clapped the loudest when it ended. All in all, it was admittedly a splendid performance but for the likes of Jay, Keith and I, who hardly appreciate these sort of things, we were so glad when the encore piece ended.

The audience began to rush forward to give their little gifts of roses or chocolates. We mingled in, and found our clown happily beating the timpani drums like a little monkey.

'Hey guys! Did you hear my solo? Man, I finally played it correctly! My heart was right in my mouth then!' He almost shouted gleefully. We talked for a few minutes, and then there was a call for the audience to leave the performing hall. We filed out slowly; the crowd thronged at the doors.

People were slowly leaving Kingley's Hall, and we wasted no time following them out.

'Julius! You were here?! How was the concert?' A voice that I could never not recognise got me to look back. I regretted immediately after that.

Vanessa was a sight to behold. She had donned on a blue toga dress that revealed her entire right shoulder. I had no idea what she did with her hair; it was curled up all nicely. She wasn't alone however; her arm was slid over Dennis'. This I took a whole second to look at before I glanced up at her face with a smile. Whether she noticed the staring or not, I had no idea.

'Fancy seeing you here, Vanessa. And you too, Dennis! Yeah, the concert was great. Where were you guys seated?' I asked, trying my very best to remain positive.

'Well, we were in the booths. T'was squeezy as hell. I would have prefered sitting below.' Dennis said, in his usual pompous manner.

'Well, that puts things into perspectives. Anyway, we gotta be going. According to my calculations, it's gonna be full moon in about an hour's time in RoyalRoad. There's something I have to do in the game. Well, nice seeing you two, Vanessa and Dennis.' I waved goodbye to the two of them and left without another glance back. Keith and Jay hurried after me. The departure was too abrupt for my liking but, I couldn't stay for a moment longer in the their company. Keith and Jay seemed to understood. We parted ways at the station and I took the train back home alone.

Thoughts raced through my mind as the underground walls flashed past through the train windows.

No wonder he called her 'Vanny' that day during the celebrations. It was his pet name for her...

The moment I got home I immediately logged into the game. My character was right where I left it : in Yggdrassil. For the past 5 days, we've been fighting hard in dungeons and helping each other level up along with the assistance of some of the school players. We took on mini expeditions to save villages under attack as well.

'Open Stats!'

Status WindowNameCrowClassInvokerHealth5300Mana8900Level85Health Regen/Sec2.0Mana Regen/Sec12.5Strength62Agility53 (39 + 14)Wisdom337 (216 + 121)Intelligence357 (225 + 132)Stamina101Vitality85Concentration192 (111 + 81)

With the recent overhaul changes to the game's mechanics, stats were scaled down in order to reduce figures calculated in the system. Previously, because of the game's multiplier, damage figures were astronomically high, and would not be viable at all in the long run when players start to hit level 200 and above. Imagine a level 50 sniper getting a critical hit of 10,000 with the old system. What would his critical damage be once he hits level 200? Easily more than a million I suppose. The user's screen would just be filled with numbers. Of course, monsters' HP were also scaled down together with damage figures so playing experience would still be the same. With the new system in place, my spells easily hit about close to 3-4k damage. An average level 80 monster now has about 10k HP so it takes me about 3-4 spells to kill off a monster. Of course, in a group battle, I usually just use one spell while the rest of the group just handles the rest.

So here I was. Back to the land of gigantic trees. I missed the lush greenery here. Elvish folk frolicked all over the place carrying on with their activities with the forest sprites. I marched right up into the tree entrance and proceeded straight to the Council room. The moon wasn't fully up yet, so I was actually the earliest. The Council members were arriving one by one though and I was actually among the few that had actually walked in. Most of them just materialised out of the air. The most dramatic entrance belonged to Aeyssrya, who actually leaped in from one of the small windows along with a great squawk from outside.

I looked round the table and did not recognise a single one of their faces, except Aeyssrya's. Most of them were actually Night Elves, but I saw some High Elves mixed in. A total of 11 people were present, including me. And they were all staring at me, clearly waiting for something. I cleared my throat, and stood up.

'My humblest greetings to all who are present. My name is Crow. I am a mage by calling, and I represent Archmage Ghanda by wearing his Mark. I have been appointed to be his stand-in for the time being, and upon bearing the summon for me to return to this month's Meet, I have spared no costs in making my return here. Whatever that I shall hear or come to learn in this Meet, I will pass it on to my master.' I sat down once I finished speaking, and all at once there noises of approval. I felt relieved; these were all powerful beings. One wrong word, and I could be lying in a heap of bones at the bottom of the tree. Aeyssrya smiled and stood up.

'Magi Crow, it is good to have you back. To those who have forgotten, Magi Crow was the one who led the party of Moondori as well as a few other young travellers to exterminate the party of troll warlocks who have been terrorising the forests with their demonic acts and magic. It has been thus agreed upon by all of us to give him a position here to sit in with us in this Meet. Magi Crow, whatever that you shall take away from this Meet, it is yours to keep. Archmage Ghanda has indicated that you have no requirement to bring news to him. He will be... Well-informed by his own means, or so I hear. In any case, he has sent his greatest regards to you, though at the moment, his whereabouts are unknown. Recognise this though, you are still not officially part of the Council yet. There are still some requirements that you still have yet to met. ' She looked at me when she was speaking and I returned the glance. I knew she hinted many other minor things, but I just took whatever she said with a pinch of salt. Aeyssrya looked down and began shuffling her papers. It seemed like she was the one chairing this meeting.

'Now, on to business. Our first matter regarding the use of the arcane portals. I understand that we have agreed that the toll imposed would serve to help us with financial flows. However, it has been raised by many of the citizens that the toll should not be imposed on Elves in general; it should just be imposed on just the outsiders of this forest instead. What say all of you on this matter?' She sat down and looked around the table. Most of the Council began discussing amongst themselves while some just kept quiet. Among one of them, a burly looking Night Elf, stood up.

'If I may, Lieutenant-Ranger Aeyssrya, I believe the toll should still be placed on the citizens. It is not so much on the issue with gold, but for the safety of our own people. If you wish to travel outside, you must be able to garner the means to do so. If travelling was free, everyone would want to leave this forest and see the world outside. But are they truly ready for it? That is a question I fear has no answer, Milady.'

Most of Council began talking amongst themselves, though from the looks of it, they agreed with whatever the Night Elf has said. Aeyssrya motioned them to keep quiet as she began to spoke.

'Has anyone have anything to say to challenge what Marshal Vult has just said? Magi Crow, what about you? Since this is your first Meet, we gladly welcome your input.' She beckoned to me, clearly giving me a chance to express myself and make an impression.

'Marshal Vult has raised a most valid point. However, I feel that imposing a toll may not be barely enough to ensure the safety of our own citizens. May I suggest instead, since the issue is not really with the gold, a minimum level requirement? Say, a warrior wishes to travel to... Skywraith, Land of the Hawks. Check his gear. Check his abilities and skills. Can he really survive there? Put a level 150 requirement for passage to Skywraith. Let's say on another hand a warrior wishes to travel to Serabourg instead. It is a safe city, so a level requirement of 20-30 may not be too much to ask for.'

'What about the craftsmen? They may be part of hunting groups capable of surviving in dangerous places like the one you mentioned, but are we going to stop the entire group just because their Blacksmith is 50 levels too low? Also, do not forget, other capitals do not have level requirements.' Asked an elder High Elf in his wheezy voice. I thought for a moment before answering.

'True, craftsmen would be unable to travel. But like I said, a dangerous area also means that a low level person is really unable to survive there even if he has the help of higher leveled peers to watch his back. A low level painter will still die from a hit by a Great Hawk, no matter how much his allies can help to boost his survivability. That is why I still think a level requirement would still work better. Also, we cannot care any more about rogue citizens who wish to put their lives at risk if they travel to another capital that willingly grants them passage into dangerous areas. We are their Council; not their parents. That is the limit we should care about our people.' I finished with blood rushing to my head. Speaking in front of so many important people gave me a kind of exhilaration I never felt before. Most of the Council were nodding in agreement with what I said, and voices of approval rose. Aeyssrya smiled before she continued speaking.

'All in favour of level requirements in place of toll fee for all Elvish citizens?'

'Aye!' Everyone agreed.

And so the meeting continued with other issues. From time to time, I would be asked for my opinion, which I gave, but mostly I just kept quiet. Spoken when only spoken to. Finally, we moved on to the last issue of the today's agenda. This last one caught me by surprise.

'Now, for the last note on today's agenda, I have received some reports about some of our people receiving quests from unknown strangers all around the forest. Most of them denied the quests and have reported the sightings of these strangers around the forest, though strangely, only they themselves are able to see these strangers. At first, I thought this was a hoax, until recently one of us has actually met the stranger, who was covered in sand. The stranger spoke of a land ravaged by war, and has requested heroes to head over to the land to stop the bloodshed. That same one of us accepted the quest and has agreed to head over to that land.'

'Who accepted it?' The elder High Elf looked around, as though daring the person to own up. I was just about to stand up when someone beat me to it.

Well, I did say it was Aeyssrya who was chairing this Meet.

'I did.' She said.