Deacon slowed to a walk as the corridor opened into a great sunlit garden.
Lush leaves stretched in every direction, neatly manicured hedges lined flat stone walkways and school walls, and giant trees waved above, their leaves brushing against flecks of light that danced on the ground. Flowers painted in tidy beds, their kaleidoscope-like colors brightened in comparison to pale green leaves.
At the center of it all stood the Waystone, towering and solemn, ringed by large campfires. Around the fires, recent graduates stood in small groups or alone, each tossing parchment into the flames and watching as they were returned, glowing softly with magic.
He assumed it to be a peaceful, quiet spot to relax, a place where the only sound that might be heard was the crunch of leaves and the soft crackle of the fire. But the peacefulness that it was meant to have was not to be had. Instead, the garden buzzed with laughter, shouting, and bursts of excitement as graduating cadets filled the garden.
The photos of the Waystones don't do it any justice, Deacon remarked as he stared at the massive Waystone.
"Deke!"
Being pulled once more from his reverie by a shout from a familiar voice, Deacon turned away from the Waystone and in the direction of the one who'd called him.
There, by one of the many bonfires that encircled the clearing, Esmerelda was waving at him like her arm was trying to fly away, her wide smile on her face simple to discern even at a distance. Beside her, lounging lazily on a conjured stone bench, was Jass, and to either side of her were Bonehead, his bony fingers drumming impatiently on his shin, and Sam, who gave Deacon a subtle wave from atop a slightly larger stone bench.
Deacon smirked and picked up his pace, weaving between scattered groups of cadets and ducking around a tall elf girl who was busy arguing with her manaphone.
"Took you long enough," Jass drawled, glancing up from her manaphone as Deacon joined their circle around the campfire. "You get lost staring at rocks again?"
"Yeah," Deacon replied with a shrug. "It was a really big rock, hard to miss."
Esmerelda rolled her eyes, grinning. "Forget the rock. Did you check your status yet?"
Deacon blinked, then shook his head. "Not yet."
"Well, what are you waiting on?" Bonehead asked, tossing a twig into the smoldering campfire between the five of them. "You got kindling? You won't be able to use the campfires around the Waystone."
"Yeah, I…" Deacon replied as he patted his sides, only to find his pouch, that should have held his kindling, was missing. "… For fuck's sake," he muttered.
Jass, Esmerelda, Bonehead, and Sam all rolled their eyes and grinned at Deacon's expression, with Sam commenting, "Classic Deke."
Reaching into his own pouch strapped to his hip, Bonehead tossed Deacon a small bundle of dried kindling. "Here. Go make your fire."
"You're a lifesaver, man," Deacon thanked his undead friend before stepping a few paces away from them. Once he found a relatively dry and empty space, he knelt and pressed his hand to the soil and cast the only earth spell he knew.
Gouge Ground.
The earth trembled beneath his hand and then shifted inward, sinking softly to form a shallow circular pit.
Deacon carefully unfurled the string of kindling and dropped it inside the pit. He snapped his fingers over the wood and cast another spell.
Ignis.
A ball of flame blossomed into existence before darting toward the kindling. Within moments, the kindling caught fire and rapidly bloomed into a dense fire, its warm light flickering across his features.
Reaching into the pouch on his right, Deacon pulled out a clump of parchment and pulled one sheet out before replacing the clump of parchment into its pouch.
Deacon held the parchment in one hand, letting his mana seep into it. After it turned a pale orange, he flung the parchment onto the campfire. It shot out immediately and landed back in his outstretched palm.
Deacon Surtr Hayes
Race: Jötunn Lv 0
Class: Warrior Lv 0
Health: 90/90
Mana: 47/50
Stamina: 70/70
Stats:
Vitality: 9
Strength: 8
Endurance: 7
Agility: 6
Intelligence: 5
Wisdom: 5
Willpower: 6
Perception: 5
Free Points: 0
Racial Traits:
General Skills: Identify (Initiate), Meditation (Initiate)
Class Skills: Basic One-Handed Weapon Mastery (Initiate), Light Shield Mastery (Initiate)
Spell Masteries: Fire [Spark (Initiate), Ignis (Common), Flame Armament (Initiate)], Water [Water Ball (Initiate)], Earth [Gouge Ground (Initiate)]
Affinity: Fire (High) – Innate skill: Undying Flame
Achievements:
…What the hell is a Jötunn? Deacon asked himself, brows furrowing in confusion. Is this what Dad meant by our kind?... Why did that man call Dad Jötunn scum?... Why did Dad not want me to tell anyone what I am? I mean, it's not like I can hide it from anyone who decides to use Identify on me.
Deacon was pulled out of his thoughts by a prick of mana that touched his soul – Identify. Snapping his head to his side, he saw Sam give him a wave.
Stuffing his Status Page into an empty pouch, Deacon quickly cast Water Ball and let it drop onto the fire. The flames hissed out with a sharp sizzle.
He turned away from the dying embers that remained beneath the now-wet wood and headed back toward the bonfire where his friends were gathered.
"What's with the Identify?" he asked Sam as he held out his left hand, holding out Bonehead's string for him to take, leaning slightly toward him.
The boy gave a casual shrug, his staff slung across his shoulder. "I was bored, and everyone's been waiting on you to stop brooding and come over."
Bonehead reached out and plucked the kindling string from Deacon's hand. "Thanks," he muttered before stuffing it back into his pouch.
Jass eyed Deacon over the rim of her gauntlet as she finished fastening it. "What got you so lost in thought, anyway?"
Deacon scratched the back of his head, his brows furrowed. "All of my skills, except Ignis, are listed as Initiate-tier."
Sam let out a short, knowing laugh. "Yeah, no duh. You picked them up before you even got your Class, just like the rest of us. And from what I've seen, you've only ever used Ignis and Gouge Ground, and regarding your Gouge Ground, honestly? Your control over earth magic is pretty shite."
Deacon blinked, suddenly remembering the preparatory lecture they had had a few days back, which he had been half awake in. "Fair enough."
"This was all explained to us on Monday," Sam said, waving his hand like it was obvious. "Once you cast them a few more times now that you're officially a Classer, they'll tier up to what they're supposed to be. Happened to me too. Everything was 'Initiate' at first, except for Ignis and Gouge Ground. After casting a couple of my spells and checking my Status Page, their tiers now look right."
"Guess that makes sense," Deacon muttered. "...I still don't understand why Ms. Heatherfall couldn't have said it like you did?"
"True!" Jass chuckled. "I swear, she makes a twenty-minute lecture turn into a five-hour one."
"Anyways, what did you see when Identifying me?" Deacon asked Sam, who in return shrugged.
"Human, Level 0 – like eighty percent of everyone else here," he said with a yawn. "Except for Bonehead. His says, 'Skeleton, Level 0.'"
What?... But my race says Jötunn, not Human, Deacon thought to himself, keeping his internal shock hidden behind a mask of indifference. Why is it… I don't have any skills or items that would mask my race.
Deacon slightly tilted his back, with his arms folded behind his head, eyes tracing the vines and tree branches over their heads. …I am so confused right now.
In the distance, the Academy bell tolled once, a slow, resonant chime that marked the end of the day.
"So," Jass said, kicking at the loose rock with her boot, "who's going where after this?"
Bonehead raised his bony hand without looking up from the potion flask he was fiddling with. "I'm staying back for a bit. Picked Alchemist as my Class. Gonna spend a few weeks grinding out potion recipes and selling them to get moolah."
"And after that?" Sam asked.
Bonehead tapped the flask's stopper thoughtfully. "In a month or so from now, once I've got a few levels under my belt, I'll be heading up with the other Undead cadets from my family. We've got a small climbing party planned for Floor One."
"Huh." Sam nodded slowly. "Think I could tag along?"
Bonehead looked up, hollow sockets gleaming in the firelight. "Sure. As long as you don't mind that half the group's allergic to sunlight and are definitely going to ask you for your blood."
Sam smirked. "Kinky."
"What about you?" Deacon asked, glancing at Sam. "I figured your folks would've pushed you to start climbing immediately."
"Nah." Sam rested his staff across his lap. "Gonna stick around for a few weeks. Get all my skills up to my standard, maybe even learn a couple more before I climb. Besides, my Dad wants to make sure I am in perfect tip-top shape before I even think about climbing."
"Sounds like Uncle Ferros," Jass snorted.
"I take it you are going right away?" Sam asked, eyebrow raised.
Jass cracked her knuckles and grinned. "Damn right I am. Me and Deacon both."
Deacon nodded once. "No point waiting around. We've waited sixteen years for this. Might as well dive headfirst."
"Bold of you to assume it'll be a nice floor," Bonehead said dryly. "You could both roll a trash spawn. A Labyrinth Floor. Or worse, an Ocean one."
"That is true," Deacon admitted. "But, you never know what type of Floor you're gonna get. Each Floor is randomized per entrance cycle. Could be a solo, group-based, puzzle, combat, or even survival types."
"Even the Solo Quest Floors aren't really 'solo,'" Sam added. "Sometimes you'd still end up on a Floor with other people in it. Everyone just gets their own quests tailored to their Class and Records, and they're all tied to the overall setting of the Floor. You might have a hundred people in the same space, but you're all chasing different quests, and sometimes their quest could be one that ruins your quest."
"Unless your Floor requires you and everyone else on the Floor to be in a party in order to begin the quest," Bonehead chimed in. "Then you're stuck working with whoever's available to clear it. And from what I've heard, if you don't already know someone on the same Floor, it's a coin toss whether you get someone useful, or just dead weight."
"I'm not worried," Jass said, cracking her neck with a sharp pop. "Whatever the Tower throws at us - we'll handle it."
Deacon chuckled as he leaned his head against his crossed arms, his eyes flicking toward the now darkening sky.
There was a pause before a quiet voice floated back into the conversation.
"I'm going too."
Everyone turned as Esmerelda blinked up at them from her usual slow spin, arms behind her back like she'd never stopped listening.
"You're entering Floor One?" Deacon asked, a little surprised. "I thought you said last week that you still had to take lessons from your Mom regarding the spirits?"
She nodded slowly. "The spirits say it's time for me to climb. Besides…" Her gaze drifted upward, a wistful smile blooming across her face. "They told me there's something waiting for me up there. I don't know what it is yet, but they said it'll be worth it."
A pause.
"…I hope it's an apple pie," she added dreamily, glancing back at them. "With whipped cream on it."
That earned a few chuckles.
Then came silence.
The five of them sat in silence with their eyes closed, including Deacon, as Sam had conjured up a stone bench for him, and listened to the popping of nearby campfires and the now-and-then swaying of the trees above them, breaking the somber silence between them.
"Well," Jass said, her voice soft as she broke the silence, "I guess this is the last night we'll be together for a while."
"…Yeah," Bonehead sighed.
"But, we're all going to the competition on Floor Five, right?" Deacon double-checked with the group.
"Yeah, of course," Sam answered, nodding with the rest of the group. "When the Iron Scales Guild announced a month ago that they're gonna host a group and solo tournament for new climbers like us who manage to reach and beat Floor 5 in six months time, practically everyone I know, even the more supercilious of nobles took their training a lot more seriously because of it."
"I assume we're teaming up for the group tournament," Esmerelda smiled, causing the group to break out in smirks.
"Without a doubt," Deacon smiled before looking over his shoulder and taking notice of the lack of people crowding around the Waystone.
"You all have my new number saved on your manaphones, right?" Sam mentioned as he got up from the stone bench he had conjured for himself to sit on.
"Yup," everyone answered, with Jass adding, "–still have you saved under Dumbass."