A Relatively Powerful Mage

Imri was in a very good mood the following morning. He was singularly focused on becoming a powerful mage and enchanter, but having sex did wonders for reinvigorating his enthusiasm. He had received a system notification the night before and only now checked it as he prepared his morning coffee.

New Quest Progress

Runic Engineer Rank Up F to E Generate net mana using enchantments. 43/1,000,000

His Runic Engineer profession now gave him another incentive for setting up mana infrastructure. It had been on the top of his list to check in on the mana-generating panel, though he was certain that was how he had generated 43 net mana.

After making his coffee he made his way over to the panel and checked the display. It was operating at 100% output and had generated an amount equal to the number in his quest. The readout also showed that it generated 5.05 mana per hour. While the rate exceeded his own mana regeneration when he wasn’t resting or meditating, it certainly wasn’t going to solve the settlement's mana shortage. It would also take over twenty years to complete his rank-up quest if he never created another panel.

The problem was that he couldn’t mass-produce the panels, yet. The amount of ley lines on the panel meant that it required quite a bit of precious metals. Imri likely only had enough silver for one more, and that would require him to deplete the jewelry they had brought to Celestia. He made sure the prospecting team knew that precious metals were high on the list of desired finds, but so far they hadn’t found anything like that.

Imri was just finishing his breakfast and was debating what to do for the day when a young man came sprinting up to him.

“Lord Padar, I have an urgent report for you,” the young man said with an awkward bow.

Imri was about to scold the man, he had repeatedly told everyone to just call him Imri, but something in his countenance told him urgent was underselling the severity. Before the man delivered his report, Imri had someone go fetch the three councilors. It took only a couple of minutes before the three of them had arrived and the gawkers were shooed back to work.

“I’m one of the spotters from lookout post Charlie,” the man explained when he had been given the go-ahead to deliver his report. The lookout post wasn’t a permanent base, yet, but rather a ledge at the edge of the plateau that had an unobstructed view of the plains below. They had decided to keep someone posted there at all times, keeping watch on the wider plains the most powerful pair of binoculars they had.

“Go on,” Steve said when the lookout hesitated.

“We spotted a large group on the plains. It’s the Chixel, they're coming this way,” the lookout reported. All the men swore while Laura kept her composure.

“How many are there?” she asked.

“We don’t have an exact number, but the numbers are somewhere in the low thousands,” he said. This time everyone swore.

“How far away are they?” Emery asked.

“We spotted them not long after they left the forest. They’re still sixty klicks or so from the base of the mountains.”

“And you’re sure they’re heading towards us?” Steve asked.

“You don’t send an army on a scouting expedition, they’re here for a reason,” Imri answered. While they might have been marching across the plains towards some distant target, Imri found that unlikely.

It was quickly decided that this couldn’t and shouldn’t be kept a secret. They quickly filled in several more people on the scant details, then tasked them with spreading the word to everyone. Next, a larger group made their way to the lookout post, including everyone who had any military experience. Unfortunately, most of them weren’t remotely qualified to comment on a large-scale invasion, even Sylvi. They would be making the playbook up as they went.

They each took a turn staring through the binoculars. Imri’s count of them made their numbers closer to two thousand, accounting for the fact that they would never be able to see all of them; part of the army would typically be obscured by the slopes of the gently rolling terrain. Though they were too far away to pick up on most details, it was clearly an army. Most of them were armed with spears and light armor, marching with the discipline of a professional army. Large wagons of supplies rolled behind the main body of the army, providing provisions so the soldier only had to carry lighter packs.

Once everyone had viewed the army, they returned to Celestia, leaving behind several people so someone was always keeping an eye on them. The mood was somber as they hiked back, no one spoke as they digested their situation. The faint hope that the army would ignore them was quickly quashed by a system notification.

New Quest Objective Reward

Defend Celestia Defend your home from invaders seeking to claim the nexus. Defeat or disperse the invading army. Settlement Experience, Personal Experience, New Achievement, and Credits depending on contributions.

Well, at least the system would reward them if they managed to survive the ordeal. Anyone who hadn’t gotten the news now knew, as it appeared that everyone registered as a citizen of Celestia had received the quest.

Priorities quickly shifted as everyone began making preparations for the approaching invaders, though many continued what they had been doing with newfound urgency. Imri’s first order of business was speaking with Thrisk and Zathri. He somewhat felt for the pair of Chixel, they had been relegated to grunt work as no one had completely trusted them after the majority of the original camp had been abducted. They had slowly been regaining that lost trust, they had nothing to do with the abduction and had been treated almost as poorly, but now that was all gone. People regarded them with undisguised hostility and hatred. Even Imri had a hard time trusting them now, he had Emelia and Antonio listening in their own way, just in case the Chixel were lying or hiding something.

“How did they find us so quickly?” Imri asked as he began his interrogation.

“This one does not know for certain, but suspects this is the system's doing,” Zathri explained.

“The system told them?” Imri asked doubtfully. Both of them nodded.

“Unless one has a special nexus designed to be obscured, it does not consider the nexus’s location to be a secret. The last thing the system wants is a bunch of settlements coexisting peacefully, it wants conflict. The system likely gave the invaders quests to encourage those ones to capture the nexus. Otherwise, those ones would have little reason to hunt down such a small settlement, especially with the Azala so close to Trosano,” Thrisk explains.

“Why would the Azala be such a concern? I thought you said they didn’t typically venture far from their hive,” Imri asked.

“Those ones do not, but Azala infestations are nearly impossible to eradicate and are slowly expanding. Having an infestation that close to a holy city is certainly going to be very distressing,” Thrisk said.

“Imri is fortunate. Were it not for the Azala, there would be many more Chixel. Those invaders are likely those deemed least fit for battling the Azala, who is viewed as a great enemy. Humans are more of an unknown opportunity,” Zathri added.

“So, you’re saying the best soldiers will be dealing with Azala, not us?” Imri clarified.

“Probably, and several high-ranking members who exerted influence to escape the more brutal conflict with the Azala,” Zathri stressed.

“Anything else I should know?” Imri asked. The two Chixel looked at one another, their tail flitting about anxiously. Imri didn’t need Emelia to know there was something they were reluctant to say. He repeated his question, more sternly this time.

“These ones are sorry, but it cannot be said. Imri will know soon,” Zathri said, face bowed to the ground in shame.

“You know we can’t trust you if you’re hiding things from us,” Imri said. He briefly considered having Emelia or Antonio force it out of the reluctant Chixel.

Zathri hesitated but eventually spoke, “The Chixel do not have the humans' talent for magic. There is likely only one or two mages with the army, but their magic will be powered, powered with souls of the slain. Therefore, it is likely there are human captives with the army.”

“I don’t understand, why was that such a secret? I thought your group defected because you hated soul magic?” Imri asked.

“Imri is most likely to defend Celestia if he does not engage the Chixel on the plains. This one thinks you will attempt to rescue the prisoners now,” Thrisk pointed out.

“You know I think rationally. If I can save those people I will, but if I can’t I won’t throw away our lives in a vain rescue attempt.”

“Just like you didn’t when rescuing your mate from such a situation,” Thrisk pointed out. Imri flushed, uncomfortable with Emelia being referred to as his mate.

“That was different,” Imri said simply, not elaborating. While he had wanted to save the entire camp, he had to admit he likely wouldn’t have gone to such lengths if Emelia hadn’t been among those captured.

“The second reason is that Imri will try to assassinate the mage, as this one is fairly confident there is only one,” Thrisk said.

“Again, I don’t see why that is such an issue. Shouldn’t you want the mages who use soul magic stopped?” Imri pointed out.

“Typically, yes. However, this one likely knows the mage who is with this army,” Zathri said, having somewhat recovered from the ordeal.

“So, who is it?” Imri said though he was starting to get an inkling.

“Rhesk,” the two Chixel said in unison.

“I thought Rhesk was one of you, defectors who refused to use souls?” Imri asked.

“Rhesk is a very talented mage, that gave them their position as an Exalted One, but certain things are also expected of them. Rhesk’s refusal to use souls was generally tolerated since they were powerful enough without them. However, this is not the first time Rhesk has attempted to defect. The previous time they were forced to slaughter those they tried to protect, on the threat of their mate's soul,” Thrisk explained.

“Let me guess, Ettes is their mate,” Imri said.

“Rhesk is a pacifist and wouldn’t kill any being if it weren’t for cruel threats. These ones beg Imri, spare them,” Zathri said.

“I can’t make any promises. If they are the greatest threat to my people, I can’t say for certain that I won’t resort to assassination.”

Imri was in a foul mood, and he decided the best way to spend some of his pent-up aggression was by killing a Cliff Drake. While he had originally planned not to have Zhaire or Sylvi help, the situation was dire enough that some risks had to be taken. They also would have Emelia with them, just in case someone got injured. Hopefully, she would get the achievement as well simply for being able to heal one of them.

Everyone agreed with Imri’s assessment, and they set out to hunt immediately. It was later in the day than his other hunts, but fortunately, the lizard creatures were still clinging to the cliff face, soaking in the last of the sun's rays. As they neared the point where the attacks had occurred, the nearest Cliff Drake didn’t hesitate to dive down at them, further away than any of the other attacks.

Imri cursed as he realized the creatures were far more eager hunters when they weren’t giving up the best hours for sunbathing. Sylvi and Zhaire were following somewhat closely behind him, only several meters away, while Emelia was far behind them.

Sylvi was ready as dark mist coalesced around her, obscuring everything within a few meters, which included Zhaire. They were taking a risk, assuming the Cliff Drake wouldn’t have some sense that could bypass the Umbral Darkness. Sylvi had reassured him that very few things besides those with umbral affinity could see through the supernatural darkness. Imri was also fairly certain the rock-eating lizards weren’t the smartest creatures either.

Imri repeated his same preparations, though this time used his own time dilation rather than an item, not wanting to further tax the settlement’s strained mana supply. He ran Time Dilation at the same 5% he had when he first used it. Back then it had been a significant strain on his mana, now it was minor, something he could have had up for an extended period if it was his sole mana use. He used a boundless step and teleported away as the creature snapped at him, slamming into the ground with a resounding shockwave.

As they had hoped, the Cliff Drake had ignored the conspicuous cloud of dark mist. Sylvi had no issues seeing through her own spell, and shortly after the creature ran aground she shouted to let Zhaire know that he could begin his attack. Her arrow fired as she spoke, loosed from an enchanted bow made from the trees found in the plateau. The arrow, which was made from the same wood with a point made from a smaller Tiger fang that had been slightly altered to be shaped into an arrowhead, flew with the force of a high caliber round, an impossible feat for the simple mechanical force exerted upon it. Despite the incredible force, the arrow only sank a few centimeters into the Cliff Drake, stopping far short of doing any serious damage.

Zhaire charged out of the rapidly dispersing Umbral mist. He too had an improved weapon, a spear made entirely of Cliff Drake bone. The shaft was made from a portion of its tailbone, several sections having been fused into one smooth meter and half piece. The blade was a larger Cliff Drake tooth that had been shaped onto the shaft. Zhaire struck out, slamming the point into the side of the creature with a combination of strength and speed. Like Sylvi’s arrow, the spear sank into the creature, but not deep enough to inflict serious damage.

The Cliff Drake responded, snapping at Zhaire with speed and agility that belied its massive frame. Fortunately, Zhaire had been cautious, not fully committing to his attack, and he was able to step back in time to narrowly avoid the snapping maw of the Cliff Drake. If the creature had another moment, its superior straight-line speed and strength would have overwhelmed Zhaire. However, Imri wasn’t going to give it that opportunity. He had closed in while the creature had turned to face its attackers.

The spatial tear materialized and shot forward, rocketing forward in a vertical line. It cleanly sliced through the Cliff Drake along a transverse plane of dissection, separating it into two halves, one with its tail hind legs and a portion of its torso, while the other half contained its head and snout, front legs, and the remaining portion of the torso. Imri breathed out a sigh of relief, then quickly realized it had been somewhat premature. The Cliff Drake, despite being in two roughly equal pieces, was still alive, its jaws still snapping down as it tried to attack Zhaire. However, without its back half, the creature couldn’t move, instead it just continually snapped while not being an actual threat. Zhaire used the reach of the spear to stab down on the now vulnerable head of the determined monster, but his spear hit the skull and was lodged in place. Zhaire cursed as his upper body strength was insufficient to wrench free his weapon, and he didn’t dare plant his legs onto the still-snapping creature. He retreated and it was Sylvi's turn, she took her time sighting down an arrow, then released it with the same powerful force that had barely damaged the creature. However, this time the arrow punched through the orbital socket of the monster, the shaft sinking all the way to the feathers as it penetrated the brain. The Cliff Drake finally stopped thrashing about.

Imri Padar has reached level 20 in Relativity Mage (1E)

Imri Padar has reached level 20 in Primordial (1F)

Primary Stats Gained New Value

+1 Agility 94

+1 Intelligence 170

Secondary Stats Gained

+1 HP 136

+1 FP 103

+4 MP 305

+6 Mana Efficiency 309

+6 Crafting Efficiency 334

Imri’s level-up had given him more than just increased stats, it had come with an intuitive understanding of the threshold he would soon be reaching. Now that he was level 20 his heritage could rank up. Typically, it was considered a bad idea to do this, with the preference being to use rank-up elixirs like Sylvi and Zhaire had done. This generally led to improved stats and more powerful skills, depending on the monster parts used to create the elixir. It also meant gaining those bonuses sooner rather than waiting to level 20. However, Imri’s situation was unique, he wasn’t a human but a primordial. For him, the stats and skills gained from monster elixirs would be inferior to his natural primordial growth. Imri was also certain there was probably a standard elixir to force a natural rank up, but it was something that would take time to develop and produce, time they didn’t have. He would need to find another way to force his heritage to rank up. Unfortunately, his intuition was silent when it came to how to accomplish this.

Emelia rejoined the group, having been far enough away to not have been in any real danger once the Cliff Drake had landed. Fortunately, all three of them had gained the improved rank for their group hunter achievement, bumping it up to rank 19, only 1 level lower than Imri’s. While none of the others had gained in levels, the stat gains from the massive rank up to the achievement far exceeded a single level. It was a great improvement to their overall power, but it still was far from enough with an approaching army. They all needed to keep getting stronger, and quickly.