The library that now presents itself to me is a far cry from the previous one I'd found myself in. It's absolutely massive. Countless books and shelves, with multiple large layers rising up and above thousands of feet in the air.
I activate Planetary Heartbeat and I can feel the corruption throughout this 'world' or I suppose it would be more of a pocket dimension. The rot runs deep and the source is high up, trying to draw energy from it might just hurt me. Then I realize the source is at least 2000 meters upwards.
"What the hell?" This place . . . I've never been in a structure this large in my entire life, I'm not sure something this big even exists on Earth. Wasn't this supposed to be for the peasants for something? Walking up to a book on the shelf I pull it off, I wonder what kind of knowledge this place has? Then the damn thing bites into my hand.
"Fuck!" I channel a burst of power into my hand and detonate it. The flux of Gaia's pulse blows the thing up in my hand with ease. My eye twitches and I go to try again with the next book with a sigh.
Why couldn't this have just been a normal library- OW FUCK.
The little blighter rips in my hand again and I make it explode on instinct. Fuck this. Get ready for mother nature to blow you all to hell!
Holding a hand above my head let loose the restraint on Gaia's power, a massive hurricane conjuring above me. I hear screeching from the books as the shelves are ripped from the ground and spiral into the massive vortex of power. Then I slam it into the ground and an explosion rings throughout the entire area.
My ears ring slightly at the sound and I take a breath.
That was awesome! Then I pause, as though books were going to start crawling out of the ground. Luckily that never happens as I take a glance at the message that just popped up.
[Clear Animated Book 50/50. Primary Objective Succeeded. You may exit at your leisure.]
Well that was easy. Is this what it's like to have a level 100 friend help you when you are grinding at the low levels? This is definitely a rush.
Looking around at the destruction I can't help but wince. I just blew up this level of the library. I wonder if I leave and come back all the damage will be undone. Then my eyes narrow as a figure approaches.
It's a mop and bucket floating together. I aim my hand at it, sorry but I'm not taking risks. Especially when this place is so obviously corrupted.
I fire off a blast of purple energy and the mop swats it out of the way. Then in a single fluid motion it wets itself in the bucket, and sends my mana flying back at me. I try to move, but my body doesn't respond. My mana however does. Mana Boost floods me and my body and brain ignite, I throw myself to the side with the burst of power.
Throwing magic at it isn't going to work. Then a thought occurs. Manifesting the Lead Jewel I palm the thing in my hand. The magic in the air instantly becomes disrupted, my boost falling apart.
If this doesn't work I'm just going to leave the dungeon. Clenching the rock tightly in my hand I approach the duo. It even seems to recoil back in fear slightly at the stone in my hand, giving me pause.
Is this thing . . . sentient? I also attacked it first. Am I the bad guy here?
"Hey, sorry for blowing everything up. The books attacked me." The duo seem to look at each other before turning back to me. Somehow I get the feeling they're mad at me.
"Sorry. I can help you clean this place up if it makes you feel better?" The bucket nods, while the mop shakes its head. They then turn back to each other before the bucket slaps the mop as though calling them a dunce.
I decide to start cleaning up before they think beating me up is a better idea. I pocket the stone in my inventory and start using a boost to pick up a shelf and start moving it back. The duo starts cleaning up the destroyed books and 'disapearing' them inside of the bucket.
The entire process takes about an hour but I wipe the sweat from my brow and take a seat on the floor. Staring down the pair all the while. Luckily they hadn't seemed to care too much about the destroyed books and were far more worried about the cleanliness of the library.
"So do you two know where the enchanted books are?"
They seem to glance at me before the mop points towards some stairs off to the side.
"Alright, thanks. Sorry again about the mess."
[Secret Objective Completed. Defeat the Janitor.]
My eyes widen at the screen before I turn to the Janitor with a casual wave. They wave back and I let out a strangled sigh.
I don't want to be a villain and just kill my enemies when it's the easier thing to do. This is a good lesson for future me. I give myself a nod. Violence isn't always the answer . . . I say that after killing tons of those book things.
Uh, I'm only acting in self defense. I give myself a more sure nod and continue up the stairs. The hike isn't that long and I make my way to the next floor. The sight is completely different from the previous one. Pedestals are set out with a single book on each one. Each glowing with a faint power draws my attention.
These must be the enchanted books then. A desk presents itself in front of me and I eye it for a moment and nearly look away until I realize what it actually is. It's a reception desk.
Upon is a single piece of paper with a pen resting softly beside it. Do I need to check out which books I'm getting? I don't want to accidently piss off the janitor again so I walk up to the little thing and come to a sad realization.
I can't fucking read this. I scratch my chin lightly and pick up the pen. Hopefully if I write what I want in English it will work . . . but what do I want? Presumably I'll have to fight whatever I'm going up against, but considering this is a library I also might just get a magic book.
I ponder it before coming to an obvious conclusion. I've had mobility issues, running away has been difficult and draining. Not only did I have mobility issues, getting hit hurt quite a lot. So what's the obvious answer? Well . . . Flight.
I write Flight on the paper and it glows before the text disappears. Then a book appears right in front of me. The moment is brief as the book immediately takes off into the air, its pages fluttering and sending blades of wind down towards me.
That's not flight at all! Boosting myself I duck under the desk. After a moment I peek over to see the book staring down at me from above, I somehow get the feeling of smugness from the bundle of paper.
I saved a little bit of Gaia's power, but it's really hard to stop it from flowing once it's already coming out!
Staring up at the book it starts flinging random objects and I suddenly get a really stupid idea. Picking up the pen again I write the name flight on the piece of paper. To my delight it actually does get teleported back down to me.
I grab the thing after boosting and hold it down, only to suddenly have the feeling of my chest being torn open by a blade of wind. I wince and summon my Lead Jewel. Slamming the thing right into its pages. I let out a howl of wind as the rock started breaking apart its pages.
I start ripping pages out of the book in a panic, both of us can't use magic all too well with the presence of the Lead, which works out far better for me. I let out an exhausted huff as the book is torn to shreds in front of me.
Fuck, didn't I want this? Now it's destroyed.
[Clear Enchanted Book 1/1. All Primary Objectives Succeeded. Exiting.]
I feel a soft pull and a smile appears on my face. I'd cleared my first dungeon! I can't claim credit for it all on my own though. I mutter a thank you to the amazing Gaia and peek at whatever rewards I had gotten.
[Status]
Name: Emile Shemmer
Class: Wizard 2 -> 3
STR: 9
DEX: 10
CON: 9
INT: 14
WIS: 12
CHR: 16
Skills:
Mana Flux I
Planetary Heartbeat II
Mana Boost I
Equipment:
Pure Jewel of Lead
[For Clearing Animated Book 50/50. Gain a Skill Point]
[For Clearing Enchanted Book 1/1. Gain a compatible skill. Gain a Skill Point. Gain associated equipment. ]
[For Completing Secret Objective (Defeat the Janitor) Gain a Skill Point. Gain associated equipment.]
[Performance Reward: B]
Combat Performance: C
Primary Objectives Completed: C+
Secret Objective Completed: A+
First Time Clear Bonus
Gain another associated equipment.
[Choose Formulization or Mana Capacity]
[Choose to upgrade Mana Flux, Mana Boost, or Planetary Heartbeat (0/2)]
[Choose two from Walking With Birds by James Aeraria, History of Mavidra Province . . . 49 other books listed]
[Choose Bucket of Washworld, or Mop of Cleaning]
That's a lot of stuff all at once. Looks like clearing it on my first time through was definitely worth it though. Alright let's think about this for a moment. I got three skill points which I can put into my personal skills. I stare at Planetary Heartbeat for a moment before letting out a small chuckle. Gaia truly deserves the best! I upgrade the thing and take a peek at it and notice that it now requires four skill points to upgrade.
Damn, she's one expensive woman. Pondering the other skill I should upgrade, I decide that I really want to know what Mana Flux does so I upgrade it and instantly my control over my magic expands quite a lot. Gaia's mana could have been used so much better and now I feel like an idiot for just using it as a massive storm attack.
With that out of the way I look at the books, and that's a lot of books. The first one catches my eye as well as one from the list of fifty after some browsing. Walking With Birds is (and I'm really fucking hoping this is true) is the flight book, and the other book I spot is a tome about Magic Theory. Its name is Magic and How Not to Accidently Kill Yourself by Jesse Marlamo. Jesse, I'm going to consult the wisdom of my ancestors here and pick your book, because not accidentally killing myself sounds like a good idea!
After that I jumped back up to look at the skills. Mana Capacity could be insanely useful for dungeons, but truth be told I was still very interested in Formulization. So I decided to snag it and instantly I felt rewarded by the information shoved into my head.
Formulization gave me the ability to cast spells. What was I doing before? I was throwing around raw mana like an idiot! Mana Flux got along quite well with this new ability of mine, while Mana Flux was control of mana, Formulization was the control of spells.
Now for the last thing to do.
To Mop or to Bucket? Honestly a Mop of Cleaning sounded pretty nice, but the 'Bucket of Washworld' sounded really good as well. However I didn't want a portal to Washworld, as potentially fun as that sounded. So I'd taken the Mop, my room was dusty as hell and I couldn't be bothered to clean it anyways.
After my choices I'd looked over my status with eyes of intrigue.
Name: Emile Shemmer
Class: Wizard 3
STR: 9
DEX: 10
CON: 9
INT: 14
WIS: 12
CHR: 16
Skills:
Mana Flux II
Planetary Heartbeat III
Mana Boost I
Formulization I
Equipment:
Pure Jewel of Lead
Walking With Birds
Magic and How Not to Accidently Kill Yourself
Mop of Cleaning
[Walking With Birds]
This Magic Rome contains many different versions of flight magics and its potential counters. More details lie within.
[Magic and How Not to Accidentally Kill Yourself]
A book of spell structure and light magical theory. This book focuses on building magic that never backfires on the user. More details lie inside]
[Mop of Cleaning]
This mop is infused with a simple spell, 'absorb filth' the enchantment is loved by janitors of all kinds as it makes there job far easier. However this Mop was born from an animated object and as of such can animate itself in pursuance of its simple goal.]
I'd felt myself pulled back to reality and I immediately felt Gaia's connection return to me. This time however I heard her motherly voice whispering in my ear. I couldn't make out the words she was saying as an image of the woman entered my mind, but I could definitely feel the power flowing through me as she filled me with powerful energy.
I'd had her pull it away however as I was still walking home and instead took out one of my books. I think a good place to start is the one that helps me not kill myself. So I turned to the first page and immediately I liked the author.
"Dying sucks ass, dying sucks even more ass when you can use magic. After all if you have something so fucking cool and then you accidently blow yourself up with it you're the lamest guy at wizard school. Now if you're reading this you probably didn't go to an academy. Now don't worry this Old Man is going to teach you how to not kill yourself with your newfound powers!"
Once I'd gotten home I'd read the book with fervor. It explained common mistakes newbie wizards made, such as running dry on mana and passing out mid spell creation causing an injury that killed them while they were unconscious. Other mistakes included not testing your spells before using them, and trying to modify previous spells without tons of research.
In the book was a single spell circle. The equivalent of magic code. If you set up glyphs within a magic circle you could cast a spell that ordered the mana into certain shapes, functions, and phenomena. The spell circle provided was so basic you basically couldn't hurt yourself with it unless you were trying too.
The spell in the circle was 'Faint Light'; it just created light without heat or anything else. I'd gone to test it and it did exactly what it said on the tin. It made a tiny globe of light in my hand that didn't even hurt my eyes when I'd looked straight at it. It was just a little guy that glowed faintly.
Then I did the next obvious task. I shoved a fuck ton of mana into it! Just to see what would happen. The spell creator seemed to plan for that though as the circle used expanded at me while I was plugging it with mana. Additionally during the odd growth, the circle bent and- Is that a middle finger?
Damn, this author really prepared for someone to try this didn't they? I let out a small snort as I bent the circle back into its original shape. This circle was rigged specifically to adapt to incoming mana and change its shape rather than increasing its effect. A very interesting prospect to be sure. I'd then tried filling it with more mana and the circle fell apart and a small burst of light flashes in the room, completely empty of force.
Huh. Maybe I shouldn't have done this inside, but somehow I had a feeling that nothing bad would happen. I set the book down and start to read the next one, its content making my heart accelerate in excitement!
"I've written this book as to teach anyone the basics of flight magic, however my little pet project has spiraled into becoming my life's work. For the uninitiated flight magic may involve wind magic, however that is very close minded thinking. To fly is to reposition yourself in a space without leverage, while wind magic can be used it is not the only method I shall be covering in this book.
Each of the first three sections of this book details different uses of magic for flight. If you truly wish to Walk With Birds then I recommend learning them all.
Wind Magic, Gravity Magic, and Creation Magic. The following three sections of this book detail how to counteract users of the previously used methods.
To kill a bird all you must do is rip off its wings. Do not allow that to happen yourself. Know your enemy, or be the one casting birds from the sky yourself.
Either way I hope you find the following spells interesting, at the end of this book is a spell that requires a complete grasp of all the knowledge within in order to utilize.
However if you can master it then you shall walk far beyond the birds could ever fly!"
This book was all spells! So many damn spells! I'd skimmed through the entire thing at first and a lot of the anti flight methods were so interesting as well! The Wind section was about steady propulsion, gravity focused more on literally 'walking on air' and creation was about making spectral wings or flinging yourself with an object as a mount. The last spell in the book was a quadruple layered circle, something I hadn't seen up to this point simply labeled 'Beyond Sky Aeriara' . I couldn't grasp it at all and it put a massive smile on my face.
Magic was both math and art, and I was so damn passionate about it. I'd spent nearly the entire night studying the main spell of the Wind Magic section. I'd learned that different types of spells required different types of mana, and while the mana I had within myself seemed to by of Null Type (which could be any type of mana but required way more energy for anything), Gaia's natural Wind Mana gave me more than enough to work with for the Wind Magic section!
All I had to do was test it out.
I went down to the store and bought a biker helmet. I didn't have a motorcycle or anything, but I needed some sort of identity protection. This was a superhero world after all! I'd also gone ahead and bought some art supplies and ended up getting home around 9.
The art supplies could help me theorycraft my spells and take notes! I'd made sure no one watched me as I rexited my apartment and got ready to use the one spell I'd learned. Gaia was nervous, and so was I. But the excitement at the thought of flying was just too much to bare!
A spell circle hovered next to me. The way the spell worked was actually insanely interesting. It wasn't one spell, but three mixed into one. The amount of mana shoved in the spell would change the speed, and where you put the mana in the circle would change the direction. The book also spoke of something called a 'Spell Sphere' that would make this way easier and let me have way more control but I couldn't figure it out.
Anyways, I'd slowly pulled myself up. Being very careful with the mana pushed into the circle and I'd felt myself slowly rise. The blue and white spell circle having its glyphs move slightly as it softly floated next to me.
Spell circles had a physical form, and could be destroyed. In wizard battles it was very important to hide and protect your circles because if they were interfered with they could fall apart or even harm their creator!
Now luckily they were very resilient to non magic attacks, and while I still wasn't sure how popular magic was I had a feeling that the Lizard League or whatever other usual villains couldn't start slinging spells at me.
Then I pulled myself up and up until I was looking down at the city of Chicago. The air had gotten thin, and that's where the next spell came in. I'd pulled upon Gaia's power again, and I'd noticed something odd. It was slightly harder to pull upon her than normal. Probably because of my elevation . . . that could be bad.
The next spell was called 'Atmosphere' it was a small barrier that surrounded the caster and made very small changes to pressure as well as could help filter in or out air for the caster. A very useful utility spell for dust, poison, or in my current state: being really high up!
I couldn't help but smile. I learned three spells today. 'Faint Light', 'Wind Walk', and 'Atmosphere'.
I'd come back down to the planet and Gaia shared in my joy, but insisted I get some rest . . . I did have school tomorrow after all. With a small sigh I'd decided to follow her advice, she'd never left me astray anyways.
For a moment I felt her spiritual arms around me as I fell asleep in the arms of my dear companion.
You can check my Patreon out here: https://www.patreon.com/c/BobOfTheHedgeField for reading advanced chapters, voting on which stories are updated next, special discord benefits, and suggesting prompts for the special prompt poll!
Every little bit helps me continue writing, thank you to all my Patrons for their support!