Chapter 8

The Terrors of Dark Magic

I’d like to say that I enjoyed the two months I spent with Tiff’s party, but that would be a lie. While traveling, between fights, or not on a quest, all they did was talk. Not that I was left out, I am a skilled conversationalist among other things, but the conversations themselves did not interest me. I am a fickle being, if I have no interest in something I will not pay it any mind.

When my Dark Magic Mastery reached intermediate level 5, I received a message.

Dark Summon Now Available for Use.Dark Heart Now Available for UseDark Cannon Now Available for Use

At this point I told the party that it was time for me to leave. They tried to throw me a party and add me to their friend list. I was able to refuse the party but could make no excuse for denying them the friend request. With it they would be able to talk to me wherever I was.

I left the danger of the Orc plains for a safer dungeon to practice my new spells.

At the moment my level is 141. It rises much faster when I participate in combat and damage and kill enemy monsters myself instead of relying solely on shared party experience.

Dark Summon [1] 0%

Summons dark creature that obeys simple commands.

Summons Available:

Hellhound level [20]

Mana Cost: 350

5 mana used per second to maintain summon.Dark Heart [1] 0%

Corrupts the heart of target to make more pliable.

Affects the weak minded.

Can convince affect target to become loyal to you.

Mana Cost: 500Dark Cannon [1] 0%

Fires a Powerful burst of Negative energy that deals physical and magical damage, as well as curses all that it damages.

Magic Attack: 350

Mana Cost: 1200

In preparation for the Summon spell I raised my Wisdom stats to 350 while leveling up. Wisdom is the primary source of mana regeneration. When I was boosted by Mana Channeler which was Advanced now, my Mana regenerated at 20 points per second. That means I can recover 6000 mana points in five minutes. It also means I can have three hell hounds out at all time and still regenerate mana.

The dungeon I chose was an abandoned castle filled with goblins and poisonous rats. The rats were numerous and Users hated them, so it was a very unpopular dungeon.

Just like before, I needed to raise the skill levels of the new spells. Raising Dark Summon had many useful benefits. It increased the level of the summoned monster. It decreased the mana required to keep them out. And at high levels I could summon different creatures.

I used Mana Channeler on myself and used Dark summon. A dark spot appeared on the floor and grew into a spiraling circle of shadow and darkness. From the center crawled out a beast with a face more like that of a shaved bear than a dog. It was a little larger than a wolf but had most of the same features. I looked at me with piercing red eyes, waiting for a command.

I summoned two more and we proceeded into the dungeon. A pack of six rats came upon us and the hounds charged them. They were torn to pieces. I received all of the experience for the kills.

In the future I would not only summon powerful monsters, but I would have enough mana left over afterwards to enchant them with greater power. This is the point of my story where the learning curve ends and I take charge.

Although the hell hounds were too weak to face the goblins they were able to work together to take down stronger foes. I used spells when necessary to aid them. Sometimes one would lose all its health and fade away like a shadow exposed to light, but I would just summon another one. The summoning spell took some time to cast, but the other two hounds would prevent anyone from approaching me, so at this level of dungeon my casting speed was irrelevant.

We cleared the rats and Goblins on each floor until they ran out. Dark Summon had risen to level 3 in the meanwhile raising the hellhound level to 40 and giving me the ability to summon a level 50 Imp for 500 mana. Imps are small spell casters that use the same dark magic I use though weaker in strength than my own. They could use the same set of spells I was limited to while Dark Magic Mastery was beneath intermediate level 4 . They were also more intelligent than hell hounds and required 9 mana per second to maintain. This however allowed me to summon one imp and two hell hounds and have them go off on their own. The imp would direct the hounds and follow my orders even if it lead to death. I even casted Mana Channeler on the imp so it could fight better.

The Dark Summon spell increased in proficiency when the monsters fought, so by sending off to fight on their own, I could gain experience and skill proficiency without doing anything. Not that I intended to waste the time.

While training with training with Tif’s party I acquired the spellcaster skill Meditate. When used my body was defenseless but my mana regeneration vastly increased. To this point I have used it very little but now is the time to train the skill to its highest peak.

I summoned two imps and four hell hounds and sent them off into two teams. I then sat down in a safe corner of the dungeon and used Meditate. At the base level it still doubled mana regeneration. It was the basic skill mages used between battles to recover mana. Few however would be able to use it like this until the higher levels. I was the first.

I meditated for a day straight. Dark summon had risen to level 5, and each summon now required 1 less mana point per second to maintain. With the imps to take lead the monsters could work independently of me but still needed to stay close. However the only real limit was that they had to stay on the same floor of the dungeon as I was on. After three days the dungeon was empty. It would refill about an hour after I left but for now the castle was silent.

I unsummoned the beasts and moved onto a lizardman dungeon.

The lizardmen had sturdier hides so the heavy fangs of the hellhounds would be less effective, but the magic of the imps would work well. I summoned four imps and four hellhound. This time instead of commanding the hounds and backing them up the imps would be the primary damage dealers and the hounds would defend them. Whenever a hound was lost the imp would return to me for another.

Since increasing my proficiency with Meditate, my mana regeneration has allowed for more summons. With my Summon spell at level 5 the hellhounds were at level 60 and imps were at level 80. Against the level 80 lizardmen this was a fair fight.

It took a week and a half this time but the dungeon was cleaned out as well.

In case you were wondering, this spell is not all powerful. My summoned creatures attacked designated enemies, but if they killed a user, I received a Murderer’s mark and some infamy. The murderer’s mark is a red diamond that appears on the forehead and along with it my name would be shown above my head in red letters. In this state I could be killed by a User without repercussions and I would lose more skill proficiency than usual. Of course I instructed the summons not to attack users, but if the Users stuck first, the summons would fight back. There were some incidents. Luckily the act of killing many monsters eventually cancels out a Murderer’s mark. Eventually I decided to solve the issue by changing the sprites, or image data of my summons to something else. My imps now look like ugly hobbits and my hell hounds look like wolves. Anyone who saw the group would think it a beastmaster party. This type of deception would come in handy for other uses later.

Also, the summoned monsters could not pick up dropped loot. My cheat method of acquiring money is too risky, so lately I have been gathering dropped loot and going to town to sell it. But I have to be the one to gather it. When the dungeon is cleared I must walk through each hall collecting the fallen loot.

There was one incident where a User party followed my ‘beast master’ party and collected all of the fallen loot they left behind. I was tempted to order their deaths but decided against it.

The closer the Dark Summon skill got to Intermediate, the harder it became to raise it. Eventually it reach beginner level 8 and I could summon a fiend. Fiends look a mix of a bear and a bull, with the strongest aspects of each. The level I could summon them was 100, though that would grow by 20 with every additional skill level. They required 12 mana per second to remain, but I had been putting nearly all of my status points into Wisdom so this was acceptable.

Other than mana regeneration, Wisdom increased the strength of the curses I cast, increased accuracy of magic attacks, strengthened my magic defense and resistance to mental magics and curses, and decreased casting time. So although I was losing out in the extra mana and higher magic attack I would gain by allocating the stat points to Intellect, it was a worthwhile investment.

Now, fiends themselves are very aggressive and did not take orders from imps. They would be useful on the field or in larger dungeons, but in a small dungeon I would stick with the imps and hellhounds.

When wiping out the whole dungeon did not increase Dark Summon’s proficiency by more than 10%, I decided to switch dungeons and practice another spell.

Bandit dungeons are popular because bandits tend to horde loot, therefore they had a higher than average rate of dropping good loot. Also even if the boss bandit was defeated and the boss’s loot claimed, the boss’s treasure chest would refill with the next boss to spawn. A trait many dungeons did not share. There is of course a downside. As bandits are bandits, if you die in the dungeon you would drop more items than usual which will be taken by the bandits.

In this dungeon I would strengthen the skill Dark Heart. It made the target more evil and suggestible.

In the dungeon I summoned two fiends and changed their sprites to look like bears. As long as I traveled with them I could make sure they did not kill users and tell users I encountered not to attack them.

The bandits on the first floor of the dungeon were level 150. I enchanted my fiends with Bear’s Strength, Infuse Strength, and Wind and Water enchantments to increase their strength by about 50% and their movement speed by about 100%. Fiends are already very fast and powerful, but even at level 100 with these enchantments they could kill the level 150 bandits as long as they were not ambushed.

I tested this out on a group of four Bandits and it proved true. The bandit mobs did not see bears of course but monstrous fiends that moved twice as fast as they should and had clawed forearms that could ripped through steel.

Of course level difference is not that easy to overcome. If it was just the fiends against the bandits the latter might win, but since I was with them I attacked as well with dark magic and cursed them. This tipped the balance and the bandits were no match.

I killed bandits with my fiends for a few hours but eventually the Dark summon spell reached level 9. I had to resummon the fiends to get the stronger versions, but it was worth it as now they were level 120. I cast my enchantments on them again and we continued.

For the next bandit group we encountered, I ordered the fiends to keep the last man alive. The were reluctant but obeyed and simply kept him pinned on the ground while snarling at the bandit with terrifying teeth.

I walked over to him and cast Dark Heart. A red aura enveloped him and was absorbed into him. Then leaned over to the man and said, “Your comrades are dead, you will soon die. But I offer you a chance. Swear loyalty to me and fight your comrades. Do this and I shall spare your life and make you wealthy.”

The bandit looked at me uncertainly, but I produced a handful of gold and rubies that sparkled to his eyes.

“Done,” he answered.

A bandit has given you his loyalty. You may command the bandit and he will fight at your side.

+3 Infamy

This spell had many applications for one such as myself. When I create a hero, I make him pass a trial. Like when I forced Bard Ray to fight a red ogre. In the past I have done such things many times. Sometimes to create a hero, you must first create an enemy for the hero to fight.

For example. Once there was a kingdom with a tyrant king. I disliked the man so I searched for a hero who could face the king. I found a promising youth, but his life was too peaceful. So I influenced a certain group to become bandits and eventually lead them to the youth’s village. Many died, including the youth’s elder sister. After that I guided the youth to become a man strong enough to defeat the bandits. He became powerful and lead another group into battle to wipe out the bandits. Tales of his actions spread and he became a known hero throughout the kingdom. Eventually the tyrant king grew fearful of the man so he ordered his death. The man did not care about the king before, but after this action he openly declared he would stop the king. I helped him a bit along the path that lead to the final confrontation, but I did not help in the actual battle. It ended with the man killing the king. The land became peaceful after that and remained so for a few hundred years.

You may look at what I did in whatever way you wish. I never claimed to be benevolent. I never claimed that my work is solely good. I have even admitted that a few heroes I created turned into villains that caused the deaths of many. I will do whatever works to create a hero. That being said, it is not always necessary to use such drastic means to create a hero. Sometimes I can simply walk up to the person and ask if he wants to become a hero. If the person says yes, I will give them whatever they need, be it training, tools, knowledge, or superpowers.

Now, thanks to Dark Heart I can gain servants who will do as I command. I do not gain experience for what they kill as that solely goes to them, but that also means they can naturally grow stronger. It also means that if I order them to kill a User, I do not get a murderer’s mark.

I captured five bandits and enchanted their bodies and weapons. Thanks to the enchantments they were stronger than the bandits of the same level on the same floor. And although I do not gain experience when they kill, Dark Heart increases in spell proficiency.

In this way I sent out the group of bandits to kill on their own and used my fiends to kill on my own. Sometimes a bandit was killed and I captured another or sometimes a whole group was killed by either a larger group or by users they encountered.

Dark Summon spell level has advanced to Intermediate level 1.

Summoned creatures are now 25% stronger.

Three months since gaining access to the spell it had reached intermediate. A good start.

After the level 150 bandits no longer posed a challenge I went to the next floor where the bandits were level 180 on average. Before doing so however I summoned four fiends and had them kill the bandits under my control. The enchanted bandits managed to kill one of them, but I had enchanted the fiends as well who were now level 160 so it was not a fair fight. You may think me cruel, but if you had this spell I’m sure you would do the same. It was that or actually pay them. Also, the bandits do pick up loot when they kill something, and after I killed them, all of the loot dropped before me.

I used my newly strengthened, enchanted fiends to capture level 180 bandits and made them the same proposition. Most agreed but not all. The higher the level the less likely the spell is to work until it had a higher proficiency. I still acquired a team of ten bandits, enchanted them, and told the kill all they could. Sending out bandits to kill was more than just for my Dark Heart proficiency, by killing them later I would collect of their loot so it was a good way to make a lot of money very fast and ‘semi’-legitimate.

I would not have to rely on this method to acquire money for long, I just needed the system to see that I did not rely on ‘luck’ and gambling halls to acquire money. If it thought I did, that would be a red flag I was likely cheating, even if the system did not know how.

Sometimes I came across a group of Users that trained in the bandit’s dungeon, but I would wordlessly leave and take my ‘bears’ with me. Though the Users never put down their swords when the ‘bears’ were nearby.

Slowly I advanced through the dungeon using my enchantments, dark magic, and summoned creatures that all slowly became stronger. Eventually I reached the third floor where the bandits were level 210. By now Dark Heart worked on the level 180 bandits every time, but on the level 210 bandits it only worked about half the time. (I could use Chance control to make it work 100% of the time for the bandits, but decided to not rely on that.)

Since I progressed through the dungeon along with the progression of my Dark summon skill I managed well to this point. My Dark summon was at Intermediate level 3 so my fiends were at level 180. At this point I should also mention that I am level 193.

I captured 6 bandits with Dark Heart and summoned 4 fiends [level 180], 8 hell hounds [level 140], and four imps [200]. I enchanted the lot and split them into two groups with the bandits leading them. Afterwards I found a safe spot to use meditation.

Above level 200 monster intelligence is something to be reckoned with. Even with all I had if I ended up surrounded by superior numbers I would likely be killed. I am not that much of a risk taker when I do not have to be, therefore I did the safe thing which was to make a group that would collect experience and loot for me.

Eventually the endless hours of using Meditation while my mana drained away due to my summoned creatures caused the skill advanced to a point it could increase no further.

Meditation has advanced to Master level.

Mana regeneration while meditating increased by 1000%

+100 INT and WIS

This took about five months of meditating twenty out of every twenty four hours. The last 50% of Advance level 9 took two weeks to get up. Also getting any skill to advanced or master level increased the appropriate stats.

After this I was able to send out more groups of dark creatures. When Dark Summon reached intermediate level 5, I gained access to another monster, and all my other summons required 2 less mana per second to maintain.

Something else I should mention. At this point my Wisdom had surpassed my Intellect. The reason is, aside from Wisdom’s other uses, was that controlling many summoned creatures simultaneously required high wisdom. Although my mana would eventually run dry it was entirely possible for me to summon an army of hell hounds. However without enough wisdom I would not be able to control them all.

Now, the new dark summon was an Flame skull. Which looks exactly like you’d think. A larger than average human skull coated in flames that flew around either ramming its targets dealing physical and fire damage or casting fire magic. The skulls required less mana to maintain than Fiends and were weaker, but they could fly over targets and when used right they were very effective. They also took orders from the imps and their fire magic was harmless to hell hounds so I was able to send out groups of two imps, four hell hounds and three flame skulls.

After I advanced past level 210 and My enchant skill reached Intermediate level 9 I decided to leave the dungeon as opposed to staying. My summons were attracting the wrong kind of attentions. The imps I summoned could now use illusion magic and make themselves and my monsters appear to be whatever they wanted without my help, but it was still safer to leave.

The reason was because my class allowed me to learn secret firelight enchantments from other enchantment masters. Soon I would be able to use them so learning them now would make training even faster in the future.

It had been almost a year in game since I left Tif’s party, and now I was stronger than the whole party itself. Here is my current stat table.

Status WindowExitAvatarCuriAlignmentChaotic NeutralTitleLucky ExplorerLevel210ClassFirelight EnchanterFame2189Infamy324Health2140Mana19320Strength49+20Agility151+20Wisdom703+20Intellect642+20Leadership78+20Luck201+20Vitality109+20Insight27Attack29Defense18Magic ResistancesNoneAll stats +20

Wisdom +50

Intelligence +50

Enables you to learn magic to the stage of advanced.

Enables you to learn all Enchantments to the stage of Master.

Enables you to learn secret skills based on your level in Enchantment.

Here are a few of the skills and spells I’ve strengthened.

Enchant Intermediate [9] 7%

Can learn and use enchantment spells.

Can stack up to 4 enchantments.

Enchantment effects increased by 20%Efficient Enchanter Intermediate [6] 33%

38% chance to not use a component when EnchantingIdentify [1] 0%

Mana Cost: 30[tr]Meditate Master

Focus on taking in the energy of the Universe.

Defense becomes 0 while meditating and damage taken increases by 300%

Mana regeneration increased by 1000% while meditating.Enchant Dungeon Intermediate [5] 22%

Cast Firelight Enchantment on Dungeon Area

Effects Available:

Change Monster Spawn Rate (37%)

Change Monster Drop Rate (37%)

Change Monster Strength (37%)

Change Dungeon Experience rate. (37%)

Change Monster Intellect (37%)

Change Monster Speed (37%)

Change Enchantment Strength (37%)

Duration: 1 hour

Mana Cost: 1250

Additional: Occupants of affected areas have Health and Mana regeneration reduced by 150%Red Thorn Enchantment. Advanced [2] 13%

Weapon Enchantment: Wraps target weapon in the magic of piercing thorns.

Mana Cost: 32

+55 ATK for 30 minsStatic State Enchantment. Intermediate [7] 48%

Weapon Enchantment: Charges target weapon with electricity.

Mana cost: 15

+85~105 Additional Lightning magic damage. for 30 minsWind and Water Enchantment Advanced [3] 11%

Body Enchantment: Surrounds the body with natural energy to move more freely like wind and water.

Mana Cost: 78

+130% Movement Speed for 30 minsBear’s Strength Enchantment Advanced [6] 26%

Body Enhancement: Increases target strength.

Mana Cost: 200

Component cost: Bear’s Tooth

+112 STR for 30 minsMana Channeler Enchantment Advanced [4] 86%

Body Enchantment: Opens body channels to receive mana

Mana cost: 200

Component cost: Mana Stone Shard, Fairy Hair.

Increases Mana regeneration by 136% for 30minsInfuse Strength Enchantment Intermediate [4] 40%

Body Enchantment: Fuses power into the core of a target

Mana Cost: 540

Component Cost: Giant’s Toe, Troll blood, Ruby.

+42% Strength. Permanent effect, lasts until character diesMystic Enchantment. [1] 0%

Weapon Enchantment: Firelight Enchantment that alters the weapon's existence, forcing it from the physical plane

Mana Cost: 250

Converts 5% of physical damage dealt to magic damage

Health and mana regeneration of wielder reduced by 1%Dark Magic Mastery Intermediate [8] 70%

A branch of magic mastery that specializes in Dark and force magic..

Dark magic spells 106% stronger and can be cast 46% faster.Psychokinesis Intermediate [4] 32%

The ability to move and push objects with the power of the mind.Dark bolt Intermediate [8] 69%

Cast a bolt of dark energy to damage target. May inflict curse.

Magic Attack 145.

Number of Bolts: 9

Chance to inflict Curse 5%

Mana cost: 170Soul Striker Intermediate [6] 77%

Casts a magic arrow that damages Mana.

Magic Attack 91

Number of Arrows: 5

Mana Cost: 75Dark Claw Intermediate [6] 83%

Casts a hardened claw of dark magic that may lowers target’s defense

Magic Attack: 260

Chance of lowering Defense:25%

Mana cost: 70Dark Summon Intermediate [6] 10%

Summons dark creature that obeys simple commands.

Summons Available:

Hellhound level [170]

Mana Cost: 750,

3 mana used per second to maintain summon.

Imp level [245]

Mana Cost: 1250,

6 mana used per second to maintain summon.

Fiend level [220]

Mana Cost: 2250,

9 mana used per second to maintain summon.

Flame Skull level [215]

Mana Cost: 1550,

5 mana used per second to maintain summon.Dark Heart [8] 26%

Corrupts the heart of target to make more pliable.

Affects the weak minded.

Can convince affect target to become loyal to you

Mana Cost: 400Dark Cannon [5] 14%

Fires a Powerful burst of Negative energy that deals physical and magical damage, as well as curses all that it damages.

Magic Attack: 500

Mana Cost: 1050

I didn’t use Dark Cannon much because although it was powerful it still took a long time to cast. When I join parties again and cannot rely on my summoned creatures I will be able to use it more. Also, when Meditating under the effects of Mana Channeler my mana regeneration is over 270 points per second. That seems like a lot at my level but that is only because I maxed out the Meditation skill far earlier than it was meant to be maxed out. If I was level 400 with over 100,000 mana, 270 points recovered per second would seem slow when spells of costs more than 5,000 mana points were being cast back and forth every moment.

I left the bandit cave and journeyed east. Although I was heading in the direction of the first master enchanter, I was also on the lookout for any potential heroes.

Chapter 9

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