Ahead was the village, wrapped in a blanket of wooden walls, which were soon to be invaded by a horde of skeletons, rattling as they moved.

The group bolted forward towards the mass of skeletons, which rattled like a thunderstorm in the early evening. The villagers had taken precautions, as they always had, but due to how quickly the skeletons had arrived, they hadn’t managed to complete their preparations.

Adam skidded to a halt, throwing out his hand, and as he did, he willed his ring into the shape of an axe.

Mana: 18 -> 15

Spell: Fireball

8D6 = 26 (1, 1, 2, 2, 4, 5, 5, 6)

The Half Elf could feel his Mana flow through his veins, rushing from his heart towards his finger tips, clashing against the cool metal in hand, before he willed the words of magic through his voice.

Adam threw up his free hand towards the sky, beginning to form the magic of the Third Gate. “I will clear a path!”

In the darkened sky there was a star which seemed to be falling. It was no star, however, just a small bead of light, which fell towards the writhing mass of Undead. The bead disappeared in front of a skeleton, and before one could even blink, a raging explosion of fire engulfed the skeletons, the roar of magic echoing against the clattering of bones. At least two dozen skeletons had been blown apart by the great magic.

The rest of his companions sallied forth, with Kitool, Lucy, and Jurot leading the pack since they were swift of foot. Adam followed the rest of them through, though he remained many steps behind due to the fact he needed to cast his spells.

Mana: 15 -> 12

Spell: Fireball

8D6 = 21 (1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 4, 5, 5)

Mana: 12 -> 9

Spell: Fireball

8D6 = 21 (1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 4, 5, 5)

‘I forgot how ridiculous Adam was,’ Dunes thought, shield and blade in hand.

Vonda felt the same. The two Priests had thought they understood how to use magic, as both Priests and Wizards held the same level of power, though their use of magic was very different.

Adam revealed himself to be slightly greater than an Expert with his ability to use Fireball thrice, but the pair couldn’t help but feel Adam could keep casting the spell, which was nearly impossible, unless he had gained the ability to cast Fourth Gate spells.

‘No,’ Dunes thought. ‘There’s no way he’s that ridiculous.’

‘Is there a need to think about this?’ Vonda thought. ‘No. Adam is Adam.’

The three Fireballs had dealt with the vast majority of the skeletons which had swarmed the gate, and the villagers stared at the pile of burnt bones, taken aback for a moment, before they continued to fend off the remains of the Undead.

The rest of the group had managed to make short work of the Undead, which were dwindling after Adam’s spells.

Fireball was perhaps the greatest of all Third Gate spells, save for Revivify, which allowed one to bring another back from death if they had only recently fallen. The skeletons had no chance against such a mighty ability, even if they had managed to resist against the spell.

“Adam,” Jurot called.

“Sorry,” Adam replied, feeling a little awkward that he had taken the fun away from everyone.

“You did well.” Jurot pat his brother’s shoulder. “You have brought great honour to your name!” Jurot hadn’t forgotten Adam was ridiculous, for he had known Adam the longest, and he knew Adam’s true tale.

“Sometimes I forget how stupid you are,” Lucy said.

“What?”

“I meant your entire existence,” Lucy clarified. She, like the others, knew just how ridiculous it was that Adam could not only match an Expert in spellcasting, but also an Expert with the axe. “You cheater!”

Adam’s lips twitched into a smug smile towards Lucy, all the while the villagers quickly swarmed towards them.

Victory!

Skeletons

XP Gained: +150

XP: 7775 -> 7925

Adam had spent as much XP as he could on creating the weapons for the Ban family, so he was technically down a few hundred, but the victory against the skeletons had shored the deficiency.

“Amazing!” the villagers called, quickly approaching the Iyrmen and Priests, shaking their forearms and thanking them eagerly.

“I was wondering who had summoned so many Fireballs from the heavens,” called a familiar voice.

Adam’s head snapped towards the Iyrman. He was tall and broad, with long black hair which fell to his shoulders. He was in his late thirties or so, and carried a greatsword which was almost as big as he. The weapon’s grip was about as long as Adam’s wrist to his elbow, and the entire blade was as wide as the crossbar. The entire hilt was wrapped in bandaged, which hid how the grip met the crossbar.

“It’s been a while,” Adam said, shaking Argon’s forearm. “I should have expected you would have been here.”

“I made a promise,” Argon said, nodding his head.

Behind Argon was an Iyrman with ginger hair and freckles. She was adorned in plate mail, rather than the furs of the Iyrmen, and carried with her a shield and blade.

“Tazwyn,” Adam greeted the woman, and then greeted Eshva, who carried a pair of warhammers, and Kandal, who carried a large greataxe. “Looks like the gang's all together.”

“My brother remains at home, however,” Argon said. “It was our glory this time.”

“Oh yeah?” Adam replied. “Why so?”

“Our cousin recently…” Argon stopped when he felt Tazwyn jab at his side, recalling that he couldn’t just let out such secrets.

“Did she die?”

Argon furrowed his brows. “No.” He wondered how Adam… Oh. Right.

“Are we talking about that cousin who used that sword?” Adam asked, raising his brows.

“Yes.”

“So she did well?”

“Yes.”

Adam smiled. “Nice.”

The villagers weren’t sure what Adam and Argon were talking about. Adam had enchanted a weapon for Dargon’s cousin, which she had used wherever the Iyrmen went during the Twilight Month. The villagers were surprised to see him speaking so casually to the Iyrman, but they quickly realised who Adam was, as he had moved through the village in his puthral plate mail a few times last year.

The Chief, Merl, pushed her way through the villagers, panting. She, like some of the other villagers, wore thick furs and leathers of the beasts they had slain during the Twilight Month.

“It’s our good fortune to have so many assist us,” she said, before looking up at the group. She was taken back to see Lucy and Jaygak, but quickly calmed when she realised they were both Iyrmen, only to straighten again when she noted the lack of tattoos on Lucy’s forehead. “Oh! So many familiar faces!” Her eyes snapped between the entire group.

“Hello, Chief,” Adam called.

“Aren’t you the young man who promised to help during the Twilight Month?” Merl asked, reaching for his forearm.

“Yes,” Adam replied. “Did the Iyrmen send anyone?”

“Yes,” she replied. “At least they remembered.”

“Well, I spoke with them and they sent someone in my stead due to some matters,” Adam replied, awkwardly. “At least I came on time this time.”

Merl smiled up at the Half Elf. She was no older than fifty, and barely reached Adam’s chest with the top of her head. “You do appear when we need you most.”

Adam smiled, nodding his head. “I’ve also brought Nobby here.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to marry my Merl?”

“I’m afraid that I am allergic to pretty women,” Adam replied, chuckling. “I do thank you for the offer.”

“Are you an Expert then, boy?” Merl asked, reaching up to wrap an arm around Nobby’s elbow.

“No,” Nobby replied.

“I can’t wait too long! I want at least five, no, six grandchildren.”

“Okay,” Nobby replied.

Merl, the other Merl, who was the Chief’s daughter, narrowed her eyes and sighed, watching as her grandmother took away the big, strong, strapping lad.

“We did not expect the Undead to rise so quickly,” Argon admitted as the group trekked towards the centre of the village. “We had dug the ditch further, but we did not have time to make the stakes.”

“Don’t need stakes when you’ve got Fireballs,” Adam said, tapping his forehead as though he had something intelligent.

“You have already cast three,” Argon said. “Can you cast more?”

“Yeah,” Adam said. “About three more.”

Argon furrowed his brows. There was something off about what Adam had said. ‘Six Fireballs?’ He looked to Tazwyn, whose face was also contorted into utter confusion.

‘Six Fireballs?’ she thought. “You can cast six in each day?”

“I could probably cast seven if I nap,” Adam replied.

Tazwyn knew a little of how magic worked, and she was fairly certain that it was impossible to cast only six Fireballs a day without a rest. Five? Yes. Seven? Yes. Six? She was certain that was impossible. “Are you a Master?”

“No,” Adam replied. “I’m an Expert.”

“How close are you to the height of a Master?”

“Not very,” Adam admitted, far too easily, to the Iyrmen. “I’m pretty much an Expert. Same as three months ago.” He shrugged his shoulders.

Tazwyn was even more confused at his response. ‘What?’ However, she caught the look of the other members of Adam’s party, all of which told her to not think too deeply about it.

Adam was Adam.