When Ivory woke, he was surprised to not see a blue and gold ceiling. Just a second ago he had passed out, the next moment he was somewhere else—he remembered it almost too vividly, as if he had shut his eyes for just a second. He was in a bed and felt really quite good actually. He didn’t have that dreadful feeling of being out of mana, nor was the exhaustion that he had just a few moments ago present. How odd. Where was he? It definitely wasn't the inn.

“Good. You’re up,” a voice spoke.

Ivory focussed his eyes and saw a woman looking down at him.

“You’re back in Calanfer, lad. Before I debrief you, there are some visitors that have been waiting to see you.”

“Huhwhat?”

“Yes, he’s awake, come in,” the voice spoke to these ‘visitors’ outside.

Ivory sat up against the headboard and saw two men enter. One of which was the absolute embodiment of every expectation that he had about this city. He was in a fantastical set of golden armour decorated with symbols Ivory did not recognise—the city’s insignia, he supposed.

The other man was dressed more… appropriately, but still extravagant. He wore a gilded black suit, with one of the insignias that [Knight] had on his armour.

“Do excuse the intrusion, dear Reeva! Might we have the room to ourselves?” the [Knight] said.

“Naturally. The patient is awake and, physically, fine.” Reeva exited the room.

“Umm, hi?”

“Well met, young man! I am Ambroise, [Thronebearer] to Calanfer. With me is Phillipe, [Steward] to our glorious [King] Reclis. We do hope our presence isn’t too unwanted, but it is all too necessary. I daresay that you have uncovered a great mystery of that dungeon.”

“Yes. We’d like to talk to you about yesterday.”

Yesterday?

“Uh, yeah, sure. Ask away.”

“Good. Tell us what happened, and spare no detail.”

Ivory gave a brief backstory; they definitely knew everything he’d said so far, but they entertained him. It was cathartic for him to recount it. When he got to the climax of the story, he had sufficiently woken up.

“So, I thought that there might be some kind of treasure hunt that the team put on, so I went into one of the downstairs rooms and looked around. I saw some scratches on the wall, which I thought was odd, because the rest of the place didn’t have so much as a burn mark, so I thought this might be part of the game. They looked too organised to be random scratches, so I poured some magic into them. The scratches eventually rearranged themselves into a half formed sentence, that said “Wish the favour of Marquin to acceBANISH”. No idea what that was meant to mean, but I put my hands back on the wall and said “I wish the favour of Marquin”, then that Air Elemental thing appeared. Then you know what happened.”

The two men looked troubled. It was a miracle, after all, that no one died—if any of the other would-be adventurers were in that centre area, there would surely have been some fatalities.

“We want to stress that no blame is being put onto you, Ivory. That is your name, correct?”

“It is, yeah.”

“Nor are The Ruby Nobles at fault, either. That structure has been extensively studied and checked for any traps, secret compartments and what have you—including in the previous week—yet somehow you managed to uncover something. What is your class?”

“I’m a [Sorcerer]. I actually levelled… six times I think. I’m level 11 now, after yesterday.” Ivory had yet to digest that fact.

“Dead gods, young sir! Justly rewarded, I say,” the [Thronebearer]—not a [Knight]—chimed in.

“Yes. We’ll be combing through the manor with your discoveries in mind to ensure nothing like that happens again. The wording is interesting, though. When you uttered the incantation, did anything else happen?

Ivory’s heart skipped a beat. Why did he feel nervous?

“There… An acorn appeared out of nowhere.”

He reached into his pocket to get it out—good, he hadn’t lost that gold piece—and presented it to the two men.

“Please hand it over, so that I may check it for any maliciousness.”

Ivory had never related more to Sid from Ice Age. He handed it to Phillipe.

“I doubt strongly that it is any old acorn. [Detect Sedition]. [Determine Intent: Artefact].” Ivory’s eyes bulged.

“If this is actually some magic Deku Tree nut-acorn or some shit and I don’t get to keep it, I’m gonna be pissed,” he thought.

“This is in fact an artefact. There are no malicious enchantments, hexes or curses present, nor was the artefact created to cause harm to Calanfer.” He could see the look on Ivory’s face.

“As far as the crown is concerned—and, indeed, adventurer’s code states as such—this is yours to keep. Here you go—” he handed the acorn back to Ivory, “—that being said, it’s up to you to figure out what it is. Good luck to you.”

Thank god. But it wasn’t over quite yet.

“Ah, but dear Phillipe, you have glossed over an important detail for Ivory!” he turned to Ivory, “Amelia, the one whom you strived to aid, is fine and well. She was spirited swiftly away back to her home, in the care of their [Healer]. Spare nary a concerned thought for the girl; the valour you displayed demands nothing less than shining pride for your actions!”

Ivory stared at the man and blinked quickly in succession. That… was a speech. It was intended to perk him up, but all it did was make him think he was in Victorian England with the way he spoke.

“T-thanks! Glad to hear she’s okay, and thank you for the acorn-artefact back.”

“You’re welcome. A good day to you.”

“Farewell!”

And they were off, leaving Ivory on his lonesome. Time for some magical introspection.

He’d gotten six levels and eight Skills and spells. There was a lot to unpack, but the first thing he needed to do was cast [Detect Magic] on this acorn. The only actual spells he had cast were [Light] and [Lightshow], and those were based on something he actually knew how to do: he knew what light looked like, and he knew a few colours. He had absolutely no idea how to identify if something was magical—the damn thing was an acorn.

He recalled what Mannus had said about casting a spell without ‘knowing’ it, vs. casting it when you had the spell. The fact that he had [Detect Magic] meant that, on some level, he had the capability to cast it.

Ivory held the acorn in the palm of his hand and touched the acorn with his other hand.

“Magical Jesus take the wheel. [Detect Magic].”

Ivory felt a little tug at his core as he cast the spell. Far less intensive than casting [Lightshow], even after he had learned it.

The acorn developed a faint, pale green glow. Instinctively, he knew that meant that this acorn had a bit of magic in it. He also had the feeling that something would happen if he put a little bit of magic into the acorn.

What’s the worst that could happen? If it exploded, Ivory was in the best possible place—like having a heart attack in a hospital.

He channelled a small amount of mana through his fingertips into the acorn. It started to glow a slightly more vivid shade of green, when suddenly—

“Christ!”

It transformed itself into a wand. About a 20 centimetres long, brown as you like, “standard” looking wand. It had no magnificent carving, no detailed base… it almost looked deliberately inconspicuous.

He picked up the wand from his lap and cast [Light]. A bright ball of light appeared at the tip of the wand and forward, coming to a bobbing-stop in front of him. Nothing out of the ordinary.

He put the wand back in his lap and cast [Detect Magic] again. This time, the wand shone a blue glow. The wand was definitely magical, and he had the impression that he needed to do something with it—like if you picked up some strange object that you knew how to use, but had no idea what it did.

Deciding that he had nothing to lose, and that since it was a wand, maybe he should channel some more mana into it?

Ivory picked up the wand with both hands and started to channel some magic through the wand. After a few seconds, his vision started to blur: in a panic, he let go of the wand, but as he did so, his head fell back onto the headboard, and he heard that familiar tone.

[Pact: The Charm of Zont obtained!]

[Skill: Zont’s Beginner’s Wand obtained]

“Ow.”

Ivory rubbed the back of his head, wondering who the hell Zont was. Well, whoever he has, he now has his wand. Actually, it wasn’t necessarily his wand, was it? The Skill was [Pact: The Charm of Zont]—the charm must be the acorn.

He picked up the wand and activated the skill. Over two seconds, the wand shrunk back into the inconspicuous acorn. Huh. Ease of access, he supposed. Now that he now had a ‘pact’ with it, maybe he could figure out what the wand did. He activated the skill again, picked up the wand and cast the spell.

“[Detect Magic]!”

The wand glowed the same green, but this time Ivory experienced something far different from before. Last time he had had a hunch on what he needed to do. This time, he knew what it did.

“It collects mana from the environment that I can use, and remembers all the spells I cast. So it has an inbuilt high scores feature. Okay. Let’s test it.”

Mana collected: 0%

[Detect Magic]: 1

“Huh. It really is. Wait, all my other Skills! That’s right!”

Like flicking through a rolodex, he listed off his new Skills out loud.

“[Magical Inspiration]. So, when I actually see or encounter magic, I can get a basic understanding of how to cast it. Neat. Oh god, [Conceptualise Magic (Lesser): I can more easily ‘translate’ my own understanding of… easy? Simple? Low Tier? Magic into actual spells to cast and learn. That combo’s fucking OP, holy Jesus.”

Next.

“Wait, [Efficient Spellcasting] as well—spells cost a little bit less mana and… wasted mana is redirected back into the spell. Whatever that means. But more mana means more spells!” He had yet another realisation as he was rabbiting on.

“Actually, I definitely have more mana than before… [Mana Stream]? Okay, it’s increasing my mana pool by a bit, and I can… move mana more easily? Okay. [Dangersense], that’ll probably come in handy as well.”

While he did have an intrinsic sense of what each of his Skills did, he’d literally only just got them: the specifics evaded him. As he reflected on the final Skill and spell he had received, he felt a bit odd.

“[Blood Manipulation (Lesser)]. [Purify Blood]. ‘Cause I helped Amelia. How the hell do I use those? Blood magic is usually, like, evil. That’s—”

“That’s a [Healer]’s skill. A rare one, too,” The [Healer], Reeva, announced as she came into the room.

“[Purify Blood] can remove disease, venom and in some cases poison from the body. Quite useful, since healing potions don’t usually work on those ailments, and actually make them worse.”

Reeva paused.

“Your other skill, [Blood Manipulation (Lesser)]. To take a leaf from the [Thronebearer]’s book—don’t feel bad about attaining such a Skill, as it was gained from a courageous, selfless act to save someone. That being said—I wouldn’t go announcing it, either. [Healers] are pragmatic, and I know the context that determined the acquisition of such Skills: others are not, and won’t care to know. Would that you were a [Healer], you would have received any other number of similar skills, such as [Detect Disease], [Hemostatic Pause], [Invigorate Blood Circulation] or [Purify Blood]—which you received. Any interest in a career change?”

Ivory felt many emotions in this moment, and that final question lightened him up.

“No….”

“That’s what I thought. Unfortunate. Another thing—the other Skills you received? They are well deserved. You better not squander the opportunity you’ve been given.”

“Thank you. I won’t, I promise.”

Ivory looked sheepish.

“I feel silly asking, but can you not tell anyone I have blood Skills?”

Reeva exhaled out of her nose.

“Despite me eavesdropping on your monologue to yourself, I’m no tattle-tale. As I said, [Healers] are pragmatic. If every clinic had a [Blood Mage], Terandria would be better off. Not to mention that a [Necromancer] can fulfil many important functions of multiple specialised [Healer] classes, yet they are also equally as shunned as [Blood Mages].”

Ivory imagined a necromancy-based chiropractic clinic. That’d be a hoot.

“Again, just don’t announce it. In any case—you are discharged. We’re just next door to the Adventurer’s Guild; The Woolen Pillow is a moderate walk away.”

Her knowing where he was staying didn’t surprise him; she no doubt had some kind of “can the patient get home safely” Skill.

“One thing—what happened to all the other people at the event? Are they okay?”

“They were shocked, but unharmed. None required referrals here; no doubt it put many off adventuring. I suspect you’ll likely hear about the investigation into Scholar’s Folly in the coming days; it’ll be the talk of the city.”

“That’s my next question answered. Okay, well, thanks a lot for everything. Do I owe any money…?”

To this, she laughed.

“No, you do not. If you did, it would have been paid by our [King]. If you have no other questions, I’ll see you out.”

“I don’t. Thanks.”

Reeva led Ivory out of the clinic and bid him goodbye. As she had said, the Adventurer’s Guild was just next door.

It seemed to be midday, but since he had no phone with him, he couldn’t be sure. Either way, it was time to head back home.

Nearing The Woolen Pillow, Ivory decided to check if the wand had picked up any mana. He activated the Skill:

Mana collected: 4%

“Wowee,” he thought. This confirmed two things: one, that this city was magical as all hell and two, that he did not need to have the wand equipped—it could just be in acorn form in his pocket.

Ivory entered the inn to see that an early breakfast crowd was eating and chatting away. He almost expected Rex or Jeth to come up to him asking where he’d been, but nope. As far as they knew, he skipped his meals yesterday and popped out early this morning. He was glad that there wasn’t a fuss made.

“Why do I think I’m so important?” he thought. “Guess I kind of am, but they don’t know what. To them, I’m just some guy from the country visiting the big city who has a benefactor in Mannus.”

Better to be under the radar, anyway. He arrived at his room and went to unlock it.

…

Aww, shit. He’d lost the damn key! What an utter idiot. He even checked his pockets before!

“At least I can afford to get another…” This was definitely the wrong attitude to take. Money was precious, but at least he didn’t lose the gold as well. Unless the cost of replacing a key was more than that…

Ivory headed downstairs and went to the main desk and was greeted by a [Receptionist]. Funny—he’d totally skipped all of these steps when he first got here.

“Good morning.”

“Hey. Um, I’ve lost my room key. I don’t know what room I was in, but the key was big and green. Can I get a replacement…?” Unhelpful, really, but that’s all he knew to say.

“One moment.”

The [Receptionist got up and picked a big, green key off of a hook.

“It is fortunate that the key was not moved far from where you lost it; else [Recall: Guest’s Key] would not have worked. If you lose your key again, the fee will be two silver; five if the key cannot be recovered by the Skill. Here you are,” she handed him the key.

“Oh! Thanks a lot! Sorry, I have no idea how I lost it, but I guess most people would say that.” Chuckling, she replied.

“That’s right. Do you need anything else?”

“No, it was just that. Thanks again.”

“Have a good day!”

Phew. What luck. There would have been a horde of people converging on that dungeon, especially in the room he was in: he probably didn’t lose the key there, even if it was the most sensical place he could have. A place where it wouldn’t have moved far from… the library? It was probably wedged in between the cushions.

Unfortunately, said luck wouldn’t last. As he neared the stairs, he was approached by Rex.

“Big night, eh, Ivory? Lost your key.”

Guilt.

“Ah… yeah you could say that. Big afternoon, really.”

“What’d you get up to?”

“There was this seminar on adventuring run by The Ruby Nobles—”

Rex’s eyes widened.

“Dead gods, were you there?!”

“You heard what happened? Um, well, I caused that to happen.”

Rex’s widened eyes narrowed.

“Truly?”

“I swear to god.”

“The gods are dead—but you are not! Would you tell me what happened?”

Ivory recounted the important parts of the story that he wouldn’t know—namely, his involvement, and the aftermath.

“Six levels? Level 5 to 11? That is extraordinary. We’ll throw a party tonight!”

Ivory was confused, excited and embarrassed all in one. Yes, levelling six times was huge, but a party? A party! Oh god, what if he had to give a speech?

Another thing that gave Ivory pause for thought was what Rex had said: ‘the gods are dead’. Yes, Ivory—and most Western people back on earth—frequently said some variation of ‘oh my god’ as an exclamation. ‘Dead gods’ he has heard a lot, but seemingly explicit confirmation that gods are dead means that they were once real. Definitely something to investigate later.

“I’m flattered, but is that necessary?”

“Ah, but this is your first capstone level! Of course it’s necessary!” Another term he didn’t know.

“A what?”

“Every ten levels, you will receive an exceptional skill; the higher capstone level you reach, the better the skill, obviously. Did you get a good Skill?”

Ivory didn’t really know what counted as an ‘exceptional’ skill. But [Detect Magic] seemed like a very useful spell.

“[Detect Magic], which is pretty useful!”

“Wow! At level 11? That’s a Tier 2, maybe even Tier 3 spell! Congratulations! That was well earned.”

Jesus Christ. Ivory laughed as he replied.

“Thanks. Sorry again about the key.” Rex waved a hand.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Have you spoken to Mannus? I’m sure he’d be pleased to hear about the adventure you went on.”

Oh. The thought never occurred to him!

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’, by the look on your face. Go freshen up and see if he’s free. The water’s been changed in your room.”

“Will do!”

Key in hand, Ivory headed back to his room. He undressed, and helped himself to a lovely bath. It was bloody well needed, it was. He resisted the temptation to close his eyes for too long—he wanted to have a full and proper night’s sleep tonight, and nothing ruined that prospect more than napping.

Feeling refreshed, he dried himself off and changed his clothes. He’d have to find out if there was a dry cleaners and laundromat nearby. Maybe that was a spell he could try and learn?

Thinking about a magical clothes washing operation, he walked downstairs and gave Jeth a wave as he passed him. Crossing the road, he entered the reception area of The Esoterica. He approached the woman sitting at the desk and she looked up and greeted him. Last time she didn’t give him the time of day—true, he just said hello to her, but still.

“Good afternoon, sir.”

“Hey there. Just wondering—is Mannus currently free?”

“His next appointment isn’t for a few hours yet. Would you like me to schedule you in for now?

“Yes, please, if you would.”

Guess he can’t just waltz in willy nilly and just speak to him on a whim. Nor should he be able to!

The [Mage Receptionist] put a finger to her head and Ivory saw her eyes glow for a brief moment.

“He’ll be out in a few minutes. Please take a seat.”

“Thanks a lot. Is it alright if I have a browse of the shop while I wait?”

She looked annoyed at that.

“I will let him know that you will be inside, and not waiting here.”

Ivory didn’t know why she gave him that look. For all she knew, he could want to buy an artefact or scroll! He didn’t, but that was besides the point.

Ivory was a different student of magic since he last came here. He was more than triple his previous level, and everything that had happened to him since he was last here gave him not only a better understanding of magic, but a better idea of what to actually look for, artefact-wise.

He went straight to the lower-grade jewellery section and began browsing. He probably couldn’t afford anything, but he could sus out the different spells enchanted into the jewellery to give his [Magical Inspiration] and [Conceptualise Magic (Lesser)] some fuel.

“Hmm... Hmmmmm…” he muttered. He hadn’t a care for the actual artefact itself, but the spell enchanted therein.

“[Detect Life], [Detect Death]... Definitely cool, and could be useful as well. [Light]; classic. Ooh, [Flash Sweat]—dunno how that would be useful, but interesting. [Frosty Touch], [Hot Hands]. Definitely useful.”

He browsed on and eventually he arrived in the adjacent section that contained wands. Most of these were combat spells—[Light Arrow], [Electric Jolt], [Fireball]—which Ivory wasn’t too interested in, preferring instead utility spells. He soon found those.

“Holy crap, [Repair]. I need that spell. Hmmm…”

Ivory had a good chunk of spells in his Skill’s ‘bank’. When he got home, he’d go through them and see how his Skills worked.

“Ah! Ivory! Good to see you again,” a voice said from across the room. Mannus made his way across the store towards Ivory.

“Your timing is shocking—if you’re around in an hour, come back and we’ll have a chat. I’ve just got an appointment.”

Ivory laughed.

“That’s with me!”

“Oh! Excellent, excellent. Let’s head into my office.”

The two walked across the store to his office and sat down.

“So—how are things? It’s been two days, I expect you to be at least level 5,” Mannus said with a smirk. Ivory played along.

“That’d be pretty incredible, right?”

“Honestly? Yes. But I have the feeling that you’ve been working hard. In all seriousness—how’s your progress?”

Ivory smiled. Mannus was in for a treat.

“Well, as it happens…”

Ivory started from his level ups from the library. Then, for the third time today, Ivory gave an account of the adventuring seminar gone bad.