Ends of Magic

Chapter 67: Warped Developments

Nathan studied the spectacle that was the top of the Ascendent Academy. From this vantage point it was a shifting wonderland of color that lit the stone towers in beautiful hues.

The magic wasnt enough to keep him totally hidden if he tried to run between the towers, so he scanned the rooftops and windows below for those who might see him. Between all of the towers and windows there were enormous number of places for a watcher to be hiding. He was less worried about people, because the late hour, the magical display and his stealth skills would hide him. But the golems of the Academy were at least immune to [Noticeability], though Nathan thought [Disguise] and [Mage Infiltration] still had some effect on them.

After a few minutes, he caught sight of statues set in disguised and magically hidden alcoves on the central tower. They looked to be about the same size as the golems that patrolled the Academy, with a more feminine body shape. Each was armed with a giant metallic bow. They looked a bit like some statues of Artemis that Nathan had seen on Earth.

Alertness 8 achieved!

I wonder if they shoot magical or physical arrows? Doesnt really matter, since the real danger is an alarm of some kind. I dont think I can fly to the center tower without being spotted.

He frowned, gauging the sight lines. He thought there were enough beams of magical light around that hed be able to cross from one tower to another so long as he was careful. It was a risk, but so was traveling through the Academy. Flying would be a lot faster too.

Once he thought he had the path figured out Nathan took off, zipping through the air with stealth and movement skills active. He followed the path hed mapped out, though he had to make a last-second adjustment when one of the intervening streamers of magical light shifted its position. He made it to the top of the next tower without any obvious reaction from the golem archers, and crouched among the tiles while deciding how to enter. He positioned himself where the bedroom should be if this tower was rotationally symmetric with the others, then bored straight down.

Unfortunately, there was another protection spell woven into the stone. This one seemed to be made of fire and earth mana that maintained a layer of searing hot magma in the walls. There was a subtler detection network behind it paired with a cooling enchantment to prevent the defenses from turning the suite into an oven. Nathan sighed as he examined the protections with his magical senses. These archmages were paranoid. But he couldnt blame them. He was trying to murder them all.

The detection spell would not only detect anybody trying to teleport or otherwise bypass the molten stone, but it would also set off an alarm if the heat was interrupted in any way. Nathan modeled a few different ways of getting through the barriers before he figured out a way to short-circuit the heat-sensing portion of the enchantment to always report the correct temperature.

Wizards Meditation 4 achieved!

He hotwired the detection spell and used his aura to rapidly cool a portion of the magma, sucking the magical heat out of the spell to replenish the Stamina hed spent running between the towers. Then he bored a peephole through the wall to look into the suite beyond. Like hed hoped, hed breached into the master bedroom. But it was empty, which was a surprise at this late hour. The room wasn't luxurious, with a cleanly made bed and a stern dresses on individual racks. A few sheaves of notes were scattered on almost every flat surface, interspersed with books open to specific pages.

Nathan dropped into the room and landed gently on the carpet. He needed to stay here for a couple of minutes to stabilize his entry point until the Academy sealed the hole, or else hed risk molten rock dripping down into the room. It was a balancing act to use his antimagic to hold back the molten stone without inhibiting the wizardry that repaired the ceiling, but he managed it. Once the ceiling was repaired, he started prowling through the suite, checking for inhabitants. The library was absolutely overstuffed with old tomes. He tiptoed through the narrow corridors between stacked books, but saw nobody in the cramped space. But there was a large mana pool through the next wall.

He poked a peephole in the wall next to the door, seeing that the dining room had converted into a study. Schematics of human anatomy had been affixed to the wall haphazardly, and multiple workbenches were covered in stone arms and legs. In the center of a room was an armature, supporting a partially-constructed human-sized golem. It was missing one leg and both arms. Unlike most Giantsrest golems, this one was threaded with wizardry in addition to mana.

A somewhat older woman in a plain dress sat at a desk off to the side, surrounded by notes as she pored over a detached arm. Her hair was brown with streaks of gray and cascaded messely around her shoulders. The apparent Archmage sighed and leaned back to run her fingers through her hair before grabbing a steaming mug and downing the contents.

The empty mug made a thunk as it hit the desk, and an older man Nathan hadnt seen stepped in from the corner of the room to refill it with a carafe. He was dressed in a fancy outfit that looked something like a tuxedo, though with billowing sleeves and a stylish metal collar imbued with mind magic instead of a tie.

Nathan made the hole slightly larger, watching the enslaved butler as he stood in the corner of the room. The man was a problem, since hed be a witness if Nathan attacked the archmage while she worked.

Well, I could free him, or kill him. It looks like hes got a privileged position. He might be loyal to Giantsrest even without the magic. I could try and distract him, then hide her body on the roof again. Its riskier with a manservant that hell notice shes nowhere to be found. Maybe Ill sabotage her enchantment, cause it to blow up in her face? No, thats not much less suspicious, and risks the archmage surviving. She's got tough mage-armor.

He decided to wait at least a few minutes to see if anything would give him an opening. If more than a half-hour went by hed act, probably by freeing the man and then potentially locking him in the kitchen if he seemed ready to sound an alarm, or killing him if absolutely necessary. Nathan didn't want to have to kill a slave, but like the slave soldiers he'd do it if he had to.

The woman toiled on, hunched over her golem arm and occasionally swearing as she worked. Her mug was refilled twice, but the carafe didnt seem close to running dry. Eventually she yawned, right as Nathan was about to bust into the room.

The man spoke up. Mistress Shua, the Founder has scheduled a meeting of the Ascendent Council early tomorrow morning.

The woman waved her hand dismissively. Baduds plans won't accomplish anything. Even if it is a strange new Talent from Gemore, its wasted mana. The golems of the Academy will protect us as they always have.

As you say, Mistress. The man said, his tone overly patient.

The archmage signed heavily at his voice and pushed herself to her feet, rubbing at her temples. Fine, Ill go to bed. The magic in this golem wont flow clean tonight. She turned towards the door into the library, knuckling her back before shuffling over to the door.

Nathan withdrew as the woman approached, hiding behind a bookshelf.

He heard her pause, and speak in a confused voice. Milt, why is there a hole in the wall?

I do not know, mistress. The enslaved man said, as confused as she. You work with the Giants own tools, perhaps a reaction to your magic?

Nathan was tense and ready to act if she cast a [Message] or did anything else to suggest that she suspected an intruder.

But the spell the archmage cast wasnt a communication spell. It was the same spell Badud had used to try to catch Nathan inside the amphitheater, imbued with only faint tendrils of wizardry. The magic wasnt as coherent as when the Questor had cast the spell, but Nathans proximity and the potency of his Talent presented a separate challenge. He had his work cut out for him in guiding a clear space in the spell in the half-second before the magic engulfed him without tripping any of the detection threads. But his new skills let him thread the gap cleanly.

She pushed the door open to examine the other side of the hole. Perhaps. Its healing itself. Something to study tomorrow. Go check for more and then go to bed. Wake me in time for the meeting tomorrow.

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Yes, mistress.

Goodnight, Milt.

Nathan was faintly exasperated at himself for waiting so long and letting her notice the holes. He was on a time limit, he shouldnt be wasting time trying for perfect stealth. Hed been proud of his last two kills, and wanted the third one to go just as cleanly. But his pride had involved, and had intended to go after every single archmage before he angled for Badud, and try to kill them all without any alarm being raised.

This is dumb. The Questor is more important. There isnt an achievement for perfect stealth kills on all of the archmages, and Ive wasted time and taken risks here by wanting to leave no trace. I need to get the [Magekiller] Development, then go after Badud. If he goes down quietly then I can resume targeting the archmages. But sooner or later Im going to get unlucky or waste enough time that the alarm gets raised. Then Badud gets to prepare for me.

Nathan moved quietly from his hiding place, walking on the air above the haphazard stacks of books as the archmage moved into the bedroom. The hole hed made to enter the library had completely healed over while hed been waiting, but he opened it up again to find the woman flopped on the bed facedown, still fully clothed and already starting to snore.

He walked up and drove his elbow into her back, putting his whole body behind the motion. The blow snapped her spine and drove bits of bone into her heart and lungs. It was a lethal blow, and no healing enchantments activated. Nathan quickly turned his attention to the ceiling, stepping into the air and peeling back the lava again, not waiting for the stone to fully cool before he bored into the stone above . Droplets of molten rock fell into the bedroom, scorching the carpet.

Whoops. I hope the slave doesnt notice the smoke.

Magekiller has leveled to 243! You have assassinated Archmage Cani dha Shua. Please choose a developed class from the following list to continue leveling, as you have unlocked a higher level than 243.

Shrouded Infiltrator: Your Path is to infiltrate enemy organizations and then attack them from within. This class will enhance your shape-changing abilities and make you immune to magical sensors. It will also make you more convincing, especially in explaining inconsistencies in your disguises. This class may further develop into making you able to integrate yourself into any group, or towards manipulation of your targets. This class will let you become whoever you need to be to infiltrate the tightest security. Spellslayer: Your Path is to make magic betray the ones who cast it. This class will enhance your resistance to powerful wizardry and inhibit magical communication and coordination in a broad radius around you. It will also give you more control over how your antimagic affects spells, including sabotaging them to fail catastrophically. This class may further develop into classes aimed at detonating external magic on command or seizing it for your own use. This class will help you kill the most powerful magic-users on Davrar. Killer of Mystics: Your Path is to kill those who use arcane energies. This class will improve your ability to go unseen and allow you to dramatically increase your speed by spending Focus. It will also reduce the effectiveness of enchanted weapons used against you. This class may further develop into ones focused on weapons or using incredible speed to kill your targets in the open. This class will allow you to fight directly against mages and their lackeys.

Nathan emerged onto the roof, facing away from the center of the Academy. He couldnt see the central tower from here, and the golems guarding it couldnt see him. He was on the east side of the Academy and couldn't see the mountains. Instead he had an incredible view over the fields of Giantsrest and the immense forest farther to the east. It was a stunning sight, even in the darkness. The world above lit the carpet of trees as it stretched off into the distance. Here and there were hints of ruins and other magical phenomena, from trees made of ice to towers surrounded by darting will-o-wisps. A few groves of trees stood hundreds of feet above the rest, a few of the ones in the far distance even rivaling the height of the academy.

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Badud mentioned the woodland cults to the East. It looks like they have dungeons and cities of their own. Davrar has so much to explore.

Nathan sat down on the edge of the roof, heedless of the mile-long drop underneath his feet. He was on a timer, but he could spare a few minutes to think through his new class choices. There were three options, which wasnt bad for a level 243 Development. They were fairly distinct in theme. The first focused on blending in and social manipulation, the second focused on antimagic, and the third was about physical combat with a side of stealth.

While hed seen how powerful infiltration was during his time here in Giantsrest, he wasnt intending to take [Shrouded Infiltrator]. That class would let him borrow more tools from Falines toolkit with shapechanging, stealth and manipulation skills. If he had to start over with sneaking into Giantsrest, then it would be a good class to take. But there were two problems with it. First, the class wouldn't help a lot with what was next. The mages already thought he could change shape, and he was already good at bypassing magical sensors. He was about to fight Badud, and while the choice gave him a somewhat better chance at sneaking up to the Questor, it wouldnt help much in the fight that followed.

If I absolutely needed to kill Badud from stealth I might take it, but I would prefer to be able to face him in direct combat if I need to.

More importantly, the class would give Nathan more social manipulation skills. As useful as such an ability might be, he didnt want them. He could see how skills like that would make him treat people like objects to be manipulated, pieces to move around a gameboard.

Like the way Faline operates. It would distance me from the Heirs.

That brought Nathan to his next class, which he was feeling the most positive about. So far his class choices had primarily focused on his antimagic, and he didnt have a lot of complaints with that strategy. The line about being able to resist powerful works of wizardry was very appealing, because it would let him counter stuff like that [Reverse Time] spell that Badud used as an ace-in-the-hole. Passively inhibiting magical communication and coordination sounded generally fine, and would be especially useful tonight. That would let him engage groups of mages without worrying about somebody getting a [Message] off.

The real gem was the third promised skill. Being able to better control how magic failed sounded very useful. [Spell Redirection] had quickly become one of his most powerful class skills, and this extended that ability. It would let him kill people from a distance with their own spells, which would mean he could do more on a battlefield since he wouldnt have to be in melee with every target.

However, there was one reason that [Spellslayer] wasnt a snap-pick. It didnt do anything to enhance his speed. Hed seen the fight between Badud and Brox. Theyd moved at incredible speeds, and [Killer of Mystics] would let him spend Focus to move faster. The other skills were good but not exceptional. One of his primary weaknesses was enchanted weapons that could cut through his enhanced body for a blow or two before they lost their magic, and a flat improvement to stealth was always useful.

Ive got a lot of things to spend Focus on already, and while it regenerates quickly, in a fight against mages my Staminas effectively bottomless while my Focus isnt.

Nathan furrowed his brow, gazing across the lands below the heights of the Academy. He had [Acceleration] already, and a bunch of other mobility skills that would let him move quickly, but they wouldnt get him up to the level of the Questors battle. At their current ranks, at least.

I only need to tag him with my aura once. Then he cant fly with magic anymore. If he tries the same barrier that stopped me last time hes in for a nasty surprise.

Both of the latter classes would help with the upcoming battle. [Killer of Mystics] would let him fight more like Brox, and prevent Badud from dancing circles around him. But that would come at the cost of Focus. The Questor almost certainly had cards up his sleeve that could kill Nathan, and he needed to keep his Focus high to use [Immortal Body].

Though if the spells he's designed to kill me are as effective as the spell built to find me, maybe I shouldnt be concerned.

[Spellslayer] would enhance his toughness and let him resist the biggest guns Badud had. It would also give him an unexpected weapon against every magic-user. Finally, inhibiting magical communication made him more confident about reaching Badud by surprise, even if he decided to look for the control center for the Academy. Blocking magical communication could be a double-edged sword in the future, but it was managable.

He chewed on the decision, looking out over the city and the forest spreading to the limits of vision. The last factor of this decision was what class would be better after he killed the Questor. He hadnt spent too much time thinking about what was next. All he had was a name and a direction, given by Brox minutes before hed been killed by Badud.

'Go to Keihona and seek out Sarya Pamaris. She will direct you to more slave-empires that should be destroyed. Maybe I really should be planning to do all of this again.

Hed told the antimage students that the purpose of antimagic was to level the playing field, to let normal people stand up against archmages and ancient horrors reanimated. The ultimate expression of that was the Endings.

Thats my next goal. If I go to Sarya, its mainly to find another Questor, somebody else who has firsthand knowledge of the Endings. She can point me in the right direction to stop them, or at least tell me what they are.

Notably, [Spellslayer] didnt just say he would be able to sabotage spells. It said it would give you more control over how your antimagic affects spells. That was a broader definition, and the only thing he knew about the future is that he would run into new and strange magic. Being able to control how it failed sounded great. Nodding, he stepped forward into empty space, skydiving off the tower as he accepted his new class.

Congratulations, you are now aSpellslayer. Two of your existing class skills have developed, and you have unlocked three new class skills! These skills are tied to your parent class, and their power will increase with your level in that class. Davrar applauds your choice, and hopes you will continue to survive and prosper.

Class skill Regenerative Focus: Your Focus will rapidly regenerate when you are not very distracted. It can be spent to enhance your attention and improve your control, or on other skills or Talents that utilize Focus. Class skill Catastrophic Blows: You will be better able to identify the weak points of your foes, and your strikes against those areas are more likely to inflict lethal damage. Injuries inflicted with your bare hands will resist healing magic. Class skill Battle Stealth: Your movements will be harder to notice, especially in the confusion of combat. This effect can be enhanced by spending Focus. Class skill Mage Infiltration: You will be able to blend into hostile environments easily, and will not seem out of place even in imperfect disguises. This skill will mimic signs of being a mage when you are disguised as one, including a fake mana pool.

Class skill Forgettable: Foes will forget details about you after you leave their attention. This is a mental effect that can be resisted by someone with the appropriate skill or sufficient willpower.

Class skill: Unsuspecting Strike -> Sneaky Blow: Attacks against unaware targets are quieter and harder to notice. They will also more easily bypass armor and other protections. Class skill Antimagic Stealth: Your antimagic hides you from magical sensors and detection, and even spells tuned to detect an absence will not detect you.

Class skill Spell Redirection -> Magical Manipulation: Your antimagic can manipulate mana and wizardry in both spells and enchantments. Will not enhance your ability to otherwise modify spells.

Class skill Lethal Index: You will be able to assess if injuries you cause are lethal, and how long your foes will survive them. New Class skill Wizard Resistance: Your inherent antimagic will protect you from Wizardry. The more powerful the spell in question, the more effective the resistance. New Class skill Magic Jammer: Communication, coordination and information-gathering spells will fail around you, even without direct contact with your antimagic. New Class skill Controlled Failure: You can control the effect of your antimagic on spells, ranging from only disabling a portion of a spell to causing the entire structure to fail catastrophically.

Spellslayer has leveled to 260 from your previous actions.

As he fell Nathan glanced over the new skills, satisfied by their effects. They were about what hed expected, though the additional skill Developments were always a wild card. Now his sneak attacks were stealthier, and his magical manipulation explicitly worked on enchantments. It had kind of already done that, but the new skill would almost certainly enhance what he could do when screwing around with enchantments.

Oh right, I can spend Focus on [Battle Stealth]. Id frankly forgotten about that. Probably won't do it too often.

He stopped himself at the place where the tower merged with the body of the Academy. He was standing on thin air right next to the shell of high-pressure wizardry that wrapped around the entire tower. His new skill would probably protect him from the crushing gravity of the barrier, but the high-pressure air was still dangerous. Nathan glanced through a window, seeing an empty room with rows of tables that looked like lab benches. He melted his way through the wizardry-conjured glass, making his way inside the Academy once again.

Class skill: Unsuspecting Strike: Your strikes against unaware targets will more easily bypass armor and other protections.

Class skill:Sneaky Blow: Attacks against unaware targets are quieter and harder to notice. They will also more easily bypass armor and other protections.

New Class skill Spell Redirection: You can use your antimagic to redirect spells. Will not enhance your ability to otherwise modify spells. Class skill Magical Manipulation: Your antimagic can manipulate mana and wizardry in both spells and enchantments. Will not enhance your ability to otherwise modify spells.

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Arcane Nullfield 2

Permanent Talent 2: Immortal Body 1

Permanent Talent 3: Airwalking 5

Class: Void of Magic level338

Deepened Stamina: 10050/10440

Void of Feeling

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Implacable Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Magic Anathema

Airborne Agility

Hand-to-hand Expertise

Voluminous Aura

Denial of Wizardry

Mana Severance

Class: Spellslayer level 260

Regenerative Focus: 2523/2700

Catastrophic Blows

Battle Stealth

Mage Infiltration

Forgettable

Unsuspecting Strike

Antimagic Stealth

Spell Redirection

Lethal Index

Utility skills:

Wizards Meditation 4

Inspiration 3

Acceleration 4

Wizard Senses 10

Alertness 8

Wizards Intuition 10

Effortless Dodge 3

Mental Fortress 10

Tutoring 3

Parkour 2

High-tier Noticeability 8

High-tier Disguise 1

Mid-tier Battle Cry 7

Mid-tier Aura Manipulation 10