Legend of the Spellthief

Day 127.

Logan closed up the book he had finished reading, throwing it into the air of his inn room it disappeared in static and green cuboids. During the aftermath of Lightbeam's return, the city had been in quite the disarray. It was common talk of magi and royals going to Lightbeam’s guild house to talk with the members, especially Cassius.

Eventually, the Raid Master became a much more powerful title to hold. It didn’t just mean someone who had completed so many dungeons, but someone who could remove dungeons from the world. As expected, he was scouted by all other guilds of comparable and higher strength than Lightbeam. He was even offered to become a Sirn, this world’s version of getting knighted.

Information about Cassius became hard to obtain, the man going dark after the mobile dungeon incident. The trauma of such a victory most likely weighed heavily on the man, it was no shock he needed time to decompress.

To take Logan’s own mind off of the event, he checked his most recent windows and improvements.

Logan’s Reading skill had improved incredibly, but it was a slow process, thankfully it was a byproduct of his ever-increasing spell repertoire and mastery.

Micks: Boom Voice, Clean, Force, Intermitt, Light Ally, Light's Grace, Magic Sigil, Minor Morph, Read Sigil, Spellforce Detection, Temper-rate. Spellforce Den.

1st: Aqua*¹⁰, Flame*¹⁰, Frost*¹⁰, Gaia*¹⁰, Infuse*¹⁰, Lightning*¹⁰, Necromantic*¹⁰, Wind*¹⁰.

2nd: Dimensional Jaunt*¹⁰, Earthen Eruption*6, Flame Cloak*5, Haste*8, Lightning Cascade*¹⁰, Skin of Ice*8, Sleep*4, Summon _ Elemental*¹⁰, Zombify.

3rd: Air Blast*¹⁰, Aqua 2, Flame 2, Frost 2*², Gaia 2, Invisibility*², Lightning 2, Necromantic 2*¹⁰, Wind 2.

4th: Teleport*⁴

From the new micks he had picked up, Light’s Grace was more of a vampiric mick as it protected against sunlight for a few minutes, Read Sigil helped to read written text, Spellforce Detection let Logan see magical auras, and Spellforce Den helped to hide his own.

Focusing a bit more on Necromantic Second, Logan had a better avenue for healing himself during combat, while Lightning Cascade let him clear rooms more easily.

As a bonus, it seemed maxed spells were now showing their damage ranges, either that or it was some form of Logan’s Intelligence and knowledge that let this get clearly written. Either way, both spells were close to their max efficiency as Intelligence would no longer increase Lightning Cascade and both only had a few more class levels to affect them. Necromantic Second had around 40 damage till it maxed out, and Casade only 9.

With his foes slowly getting immunity to first-level spells, getting better seconds and higher was no doubt the right move outside of improving physical means. The next question was going to be “What to do with these skill points.”

So close to level 20, Logan was hesitant to spend any, in case new skills became available that he’d want to get as soon as possible. He opted to spend two of his points to max out Multi-Backstab to grant him five total uses of Backstab, and Advanced Micks to tier 4 to let Force do a bit more.

Heading downstairs to an afternoon meal, Logan did think about the upcoming deadline for his “judgment”. The last day for the Ice King to revive was tomorrow, with a bit of leeway already. He was confident nothing was going to happen, but it gave him a bit of anxiety despite everything.

Thankfully something was awaiting in the inn to take his mind off things, one of the homeless he had hired.

“Sir Logan”, the man waved as he walked over.

Unfamiliarly, the man looked different than usual. Instead of a hunched-over and slightly gaunt body, the man had gained posture and muscle.

“I have great news!” he continued, “My spellforce has expanded, I think I ranked up!”

“Identify”, Logan commanded in his head.

“Burton: Classless 1, 8/8 HP, 0 MP.”

“Congratulations are in order, you’re right!” Logan beamed.

Burton jumped a bit as his smile opened wide, “Yes! It’s all thanks to you, sir!”

“You put in the work”, Logan deflected as he crossed his arms.

“That might be so, but you’ve afforded me the opportunities!”

“Alright, alright. What do you plan on doing next?”

“Next? Keep working for you, sir.”

“Oh? Thought you might’ve put in a request to become an adventurer”, Logan laughed.

“It is tempting, but as a Classless I am bound to find more worries than triumph in the court of powers.”

“Very well. Better safe than sorry. Not everyone can be the Low-Rank Advocate.”

“I’d not tarry on thoughts of being as reckless as that. Safety in numbers, and safety in the bosom of your elementals”, Burton revealed.

“Well, I am at least glad you’ve got a sturdy head on your shoulders. To continue from that”, Logan began as he pulled out a dagger from his coat, though it was from his inventory, “Try and wield this.”

Burton took the level 1 dagger that Logan typically carried around for mundane tasks. Where a level 0 would normally have issues holding the blade, Burton held it as if it were part of his hand. Twirling it around cautiously, Burton became accustomed to it and smiled.

“Never would I think I would wield a spellforce weapon.”

“A final test, strike me with it.”

“What?” Burton asked with a frightened look on his face.

“We need to make sure your rank is fully appreciated, we don’t want a weapon to backfire on you.”

“Are… are you sure?”

“I doubt you’ll hurt me”, Logan smiled.

Burton took a few moments to collect himself, he looked like a dog who was worried about hurting his master. But at his master’s command, Burton dove the blade into Logan’s chest. The tip of metal was halted by Logan’s armour, failing to even pierce the fabric

Logan looked over Burton’s arm, “You’re good, you handled the spellforce fine”, he concluded as he stood back.

Burton spoke through a held breath, “Didn’t handle the concern though”, before offering the dagger back.

“Keep it for now, we’ll look into getting you a set of proper gear.”

Burton jumped again, “Really?”

“Yeah. The teams can do with a sub-leader beside my summons.”

“What about Roston? He’s a classed.”

Roston was a level 1 Fighter, probably close to 2 at this point, but never had the luck or fortune to be an adventurer for long.

“We’ll need someone with the other teams, of course”, Logan insisted, “Or, we can look into getting you a class?”

Burton shook his head, “You’ve done so much already, I can’t ask for that amount of payment.”

It wasn’t common for classless to gain a class all on their own, they mostly obtained them from long study and academic training. Sort of like a preschool before proper colleges brought you on for training before reaching 15. Almost anyone could gain a class, but it was an expensive and long process.

“Very well. Maybe when you can afford it yourself then”, Logan smiled back.

The pair spoke for a while longer before separating for the day. Logan paid a visit to the Gerro Guardhouse to check over the hunts he could accept, and later the G-Hall for adventuring quests. The last spot was the back room of the G-Hall, where the dungeon board was held.

It seemed in his absence there had been a surge of illegal activity, alongside the lack of the guilds also leading to a few more higher-ranked missions up for grabs. Not surprisingly, the dungeon board had been locked until the Ice King’s revival had been seen through. If he were to appear, it would be dangerous to have people out for too long or far away. Gauntlet intended for many higher-ranked adventurers to protect the city too.

Logan pondered Cassius’s position, if he was still going to aid in the fight if there was one or if the Raid Master was going to stay cooped up in his room. Not wanting to test fate, Logan warped to the top of the capital’s walls. He couldn’t teleport through the barrier, but within it he was fine with his usual hunter’s allowances.

“Below! Do you have to do that?!” a guard shouted at Logan with a hint of friendship.

“Sorry, this is just faster than crossing the roads and climbing all those stairs”, Logan smirked.

The guard tutted, “Fine. Just don’t blame me for wayward bolts and spears. You know we’re on alert, right?”

Logan looked across the battlements, easily three times the normal number of stationed guards were present, as well as ballistae at the ready.

“After tomorrow you’ll be at ease, I take it?”

The guard walked closer to Logan and leaned his lower back on the wall in a nonchalant pose, “Too right. At least we are getting some higher pay for the longer hours and extra days.”

“I suppose you should be thanking me for the work then, ay?” Logan teased.

“Hey, I ain’t complaining about the money. But the others might be for their vacation time being eaten into.”

“Some of you would have still been put up here, the only difference is we aren’t sending teams into the cavern without the seers’ say so.”

“What I wouldn’t give to see things ahead of time”, the guard said under his breath, “Anyway, you good to be going about so brazenly?”

“Because I might’ve caused a mess?”

The guard nodded.

“Should be fine. I’ve been a good boy since.”

“Pah. If good deeds outweighed bad ones I’d still be married.”

Logan looked over the walls into the forests and the mountains in the distance, “No motions then?”

“All good here. Saw a few flurries of birds, probably adventurers killing monsters since they were sporadic.”

“No issues with the barrier?”

“None since the tests.”

When the barrier had first been activated, the officials of Gauntlet had several types of monsters barge into and attack the barrier to test its effectiveness. Hand in hand with tests to see that all the civilised species could enter, including vampire variants, it seemed the barrier would cause little issue.

“Good to hear. Keep up the good work”, Logan ended.

“Same to you.”

Logan jumped off the side of the wall before teleporting into the city proper, keeping the volume a bit lower than his arrival.

As the days got colder and colder, Logan was sure they were now in the season of chill, this world’s version of winter and nearing the month of December. Faint snow could be seen here and there, but it would be much worse at the side of the Ice King. Tales spoke of how his footsteps freeze any surface, and his breath causes fog to envelop his path.

Part of a set, the Ice King was the winter’s beast, there were some for the other seasons but with their higher degree of power, they were more quickly sealed away and combatted. The Ice King was the last to find a way of proper sealing and expulsion from this world, his constant revival a common thing for the seasonal beasts.

If they all appeared at once, even the mightiest guilds would have problems dealing with the quartet of disaster. The Spellthief prayed no more quests would pop up surrounding these monsters, he didn’t even have to fight the Ice King, just his underlings.

Thinking on that fact, Logan’s popularity might skyrocket if it turned out his actions did put a stop to the final seasonal beast’s return. A decade-long anxiety-inducing menace put to bed was sure to give the man a new title.

Looking around, Logan could see people getting cold with the climate, however, his Ice King’s traits made him comfortable all the way to 0°C. That was an interesting thought, what other traits could he have obtained from the other seasonal beasts?

Retiring for the rest of the day, Logan awoke to a still outside. No sound and little movement could be heard as the city was put on higher alert. “Keep Inside, Keep Safe.” If the Ice King was going to make an apparent appearance, then it’d be the guards and adventurers who would face him.

As a would-be instigator, Logan was on house arrest for the day as noted by two guards at the entrance to the inn. He didn’t mind it too much, but he was sure it was just cautious nature.

The rest of the day passed in utmost silence and reading.

The day thereafter, Logan awoke earlier than usual from his lazy day beforehand, moving to the front room of the inn he was greeted by Xican.

“Morning, Logan”, Xican started, the middle-aged mage smiling wide at the sight of his Oracle.

Logan sat at the table as he replied, “So, you here to report my status?”

“Ever the keen eye. Yes. I am here to congratulate you on being the second to eradicate a dungeon.”

Logan’s eyes went a bit wide, his vaskt ones almost opening to boot, “The Frost Monarch’s Cavern?”

“Yes. We sent magi and other adventurers inside to make sure there were no signs of the Ice King. What we ‘didn’t’ find was even better than that.”

“What didn’t you find?”

“Monsters.”

Logan stared at Xican for a while before the mage continued.

“Dungeons typically repopulate at the same rate as they previously do, if they do so in a month it is almost always a month. However, it has been almost 72 days since your team cleared the place out and there isn’t a single sign of any monster.”

“I knew at least that much, the naegren den repopulates every year, but are you sure that the cavern is eradicated in such a short time?” Logan asked, a bit wary.

“It has a decade repopulation time but holds within it close to two hundred monsters at mass. On average, that’s close to 0.0561 monster spawns per day. After 72 days, there should at least be four monsters.”

“And you’re saying there is zero? What of the hidden walls and exterior?”

“Local monster numbers seem to be the same, while there were no guards outside of migrating foes. Most of the walls inside have also melted somewhat, making many ‘hidden’ places visible.”

Logan contemplated for a second, he was sure he had stopped the Ice King, not the whole dungeon. Was this the power of an Oracle and their quests? But then what of Cassius and his removal of the mobile dungeon?

“The seers were quite shocked at the lack of any revival powers common to the Ice King, and we confirmed it. Now, it will take another decade to confirm the next revival, but we’re more than half sure he is gone for good”, Xican continued smiling just as wide, failing to contain his excitement.

“So, I guess this means I am free.”

“More than that, you’ll be praised. But, not wanting to gift a man sitting on a fence with swords aimed at both sides, you will just be left as neutral.”

It was understandable. Logan’s action could have wreaked havoc if the cavern had erupted and spilt its monsters across the land. On the chance he made the right choice and got a good outcome, he wouldn’t be reprimanded, but rewarding such rash actions that could either be amazing or catastrophic would set a bad precedent.

The general populace would take it more at face value though, especially after Cassius had already proven it was possible to eradicate a dungeon.

“Wait, shouldn’t I be first?”

“Hmm? Oh, the Cassius business. Technically, his was confirmed eradicated on the spot as it disappeared, whereas yours had a countdown until its emergence. I would say you were first, while some would call it a tie.”

“I guess it doesn’t matter much. Cassius doing it first is probably good for me in the long run”, Logan shrugged, “How are we going to proceed with further dungeons?”

“You are asked to not attempt such things in the future without contacting the Magi’s Tower association first. However”, Xican started as he winked at Logan, “you’ve already told me.”

“What about other people?”

“The methods used are only known to yourself, and I suppose your team who saw it and Cassius. Otherwise, an announcement will be made that while these two occurrences were positive, it is still against the law to destroy a dungeon at the risk of them erupting.”

“I suppose that’s good.”

“I will note, that Cassius has hired a representative of the MT. It seems the Raid Master is looking into his previous eradication further, with other dungeons.”

“He must be active again then.”

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