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Levelling Up The Weakest System High Matrix of The Assassins Guild
The inside of the Assassin’s Guild castle was even more labyrinthine than the Mage Temple. Alexei’s assassin guide took him on a twisting and turning journey that seemed almost to never end. When they rounded one corner another corridor, with its thick stone walls and its flagstone floors was waiting. For the beginning part of the walk into the depths of the castle, he could still see the outside world through windows. Before long the windows stopped appearing on the walls, likely because they had delved deep into the mountain itself. The only thing Alexei knew was that they were going ever upward. After every few twists and turns down long and winding corridors, the assassin would usher him up a flight of stairs. Alexei was sure that there had to be some kind of central staircase somewhere in the building, it would be ridiculous for there not to be, but for some reason, the assassin didn’t want him to take that route. The only logical reason Alexei could come up with for that w
Levelling Up The Weakest System The Story of The High Matrix - Battle For Undar's Reach
It was said to be an impenetrable fortress. Surrounded by the raging east oceans, accessible only by an arclight bridge, Undar’s Reach was the final bastion of the Atarni Empire. Holed up in its deepest chambers, spiralling below the seabed itself, the Emperor sat. His fingers tapped out a rhythm of impatience. A rhythm of fear. “Are the preparations complete?” He called out to his empty chamber, knowing that an attendant would be stood just outside the grand room. There was a brief scuffle at the door as the servant scrambled to open it. “Aye, my Liege,” the servant snivelled, “As before, all preparations that can be made have been put into place.”The emperor’s eyes slid half shut and he nodded in acceptance. If he were to die on this day, slaughtered by the Weapolocks of the Drasini, then it would be due to the will of the Goddess. But nevertheless, he would not go quietly and would drag as many of those creatures down to the depths with him. Godless fools that they were. XxXTh
Levelling Up The Weakest System Weapocraft
“I don’t understand…” Alexei said, “Did all of that happen? If it did, why don’t we know about weapocraft now?”The High Matrix was silent for a moment, and then she pulled a thin dagger out from under her sleeve. While the dagger was small Alexei could tell that it had been made with the finest precision and craftsmanship. The blade was as sharp as any he had ever seen, and the hilt was encrusted with jewels. “You don’t know of weapocraft because we don’t want you to,” The High Matrix said. With a flick of her wrist the blade was wreathed in a shimmering blue flame and suddenly grew three foot longer into a perfectly crafted short sword. The flames diminished, but the extended blade remained. Alexei fought his urge to jump out of his chair and flee the room. The leader of the Assassin’s Guild wouldn’t have spent so much time telling him about Weapocraft if she was going to kill him seconds later. “I don’t understand though, why are you telling me about all of this?” Alexei asked
Levelling Up The Weakest System Staying
Walking back down the mountain was more challenging than walking up the mountain had been. The High Matrix had suggested that he stay overnight in the Assassin’s Guild castle, but he knew from experience that worrying Neave and Risa by disappearing for extended periods of time was a bad idea. It was pitch black and the only reason he could see at all was due to the ball of light that he had conjured with his foci. With a little extra power put into the magery, he had been able to adapt the spell slightly. Usually the ball of light would give off no heat at all, now it was capable of giving off just enough to both keep him warm and melt the ice ahead of him. This made the walk back down to the tavern manageable, without it he was sure he probably would have slipped and fallen to his own death, which frankly would have been embarrassing considering everything he’d lived through to make it to the Assassin’s Guild in the first place. With the combination of light, heat and some caref
Levelling Up The Weakest System Fear
“So I take it you’ve never heard of Weapocraft either then,” Alexei said before allowing his foci to shimmer back to its original form. He placed the weapon back into its holster on his back where he felt it almost hum in satisfaction at being able to stretch its forms. “I’ve heard of it, yes,” Risa said, “But only in rumour and legend, stories that date back to the earliest days of the Mage Temple records mixed in with things that should really just be dismissed as rumour or legend.” “Like the battle for Undar’s Reach?” Alexei asked. Risa’s eyes widened, “That’s a piece of history only spoken about in the oldest of tomes, how do you know about it?” “It was something that the High Matrix spoke about as a way to describe Weapocraft to me,” Alexei said, “But the way she spoke about it… it was as if she had some kind of connection to it. Like it happened to a family member or something like that.” “This is… a lot to take in,” Risa said, “But okay, understood, we’re going to be stay
Levelling Up The Weakest System Gathering
Alexei, Risa and Neave stood before the gates of the Assassin’s Guild castle. Alexei wasn’t worried anymore. He’d been up there once before, and despite what he’d been expecting, the High Matrix and other people that he’d met in the Guild all seemed like pretty nice people. He wasn’t sure if the bloodthirsty nature of the assassins he’d faced off against in Alandria was due to their own maladjusted personalities or if they were just fronting as part of the job, but he was very glad that not everyone in the guild was like that. He could tell, though, that both Risa and Neave were at the very least a little bit unnerved. Neither of them was enjoying the cold very much, and the climb up the castle had led Risa to slip and slide numerous times on the icy path, even with Alexei’s fireball clearing the way ahead. Nevertheless, they’d all made it.“Who goes there!” Came a voice from the top of the guard tower, Alexei noted that it was a different voice than the one who had questioned hi
Levelling Up The Weakest System Cards on The Table
Dragon colonies gaining power. Signals from space. Spirits pressing harder and harder against the very fabric of the veil that separated one world from another. It seemed as if there were no end to the number of threats that were mounting against the world and no end to the amount of Weapocraft users that the High Matrix was forced to expend to try to deal with them. When there was a very limited number of Weapocraft users on offer that presented a bit of an issue. "So as you can see," The High Matrix finished off, "We find ourselves at a crossroads, and the biggest issue of all that we face is the lack of balance between the light, the dark and the material." It was the very issue that she had brought up with Alexei the night before, the one that was at the root of all the other issues surrounding it. Without balance two sides were focused on destroying one another, which left no resources to deal with the rest of the problems in the world, and so it was that which needed to be
Levelling Up The Weakest System Ebb and Flow
Much like the rooms that they’d had at the tavern, the rooms that were in the Assassin’s Guild were nothing special. If anything, they were even worse than those at the tavern due to their lack of a window. The only light that came into the room was from a small vent in the ceiling. Somehow, likely through an array of mirrors and magnifying glasses, the Guild had passed a shaft of light down through the building and was using it to light the rooms. The result was an incredibly pleasant naturally lit glow in the room. Though Alexei had to admit that he preferred a nice window with a view of the outside world to what he’d been given. It was a small sacrifice to make, though, to be trained in the art of weapocraft. He picked up his staff and felt the power of the thing thrum through his hand. It had always felt like he had been connected to his foci from the very first moment that he lay his hand on it, but now it felt like the thing almost had a living consciousness tucked away w
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- Levelling Up The Weakest System
Return of The Proto Lord
After his last encounter with the Proto Lord Alexei had never wanted to hear the hoarse croaking laughter of the creature ever again. Now that he had the hairs on the back of his neck and his arms were all standing to attention and every fiber of his being was telling him to flee, run as far away as he could, and never look back. But he couldn’t do any of that. He had a mission to complete, people to save, and a kingdom to protect. “Show yourself, Proto Lord!” Alexei called out, his staff held defensively in preparation to ward off any attacks, “I’m not the man you faced before, I’ll take you out myself this time.” “So you say,” The Proto Lord wheezed from somewhere in the dark, “And yet you still bring so many users of the Power Divine to fight alongside you. So many snacks for me to feast upon.”That was the final straw for Alexei. With a pulse of arcane power, Alexei slammed his staff down onto the ground. A sphere of light erupted out from where he stood, a magery spell desi
- Levelling Up The Weakest System
Manifest
Nerves had seeped into the hearts of the men that Alexei and Harold had chosen to take with them into the underground sanctum of the Proto Lord the moment they took their first steps into the tunnel system that the creature had made its home. They all looked to be strong and full of heart, but Alexei could sense it. The fear was electric and it was all he could do not to get caught up in the worry himself. Instead, he drew his staff and allowed it to shift forms into that of a magery wand, perfect to be used in enclosed situations and easier to maneuver with so many bodies around. With a flex of his will, Alexei summoned a ball of light at the tip of the wand and sent it out ahead of the group. It illuminated the dank depths of the tunnel that they were slowly descending into. Once upon a time, Alexei could have imagined the tunnel being used for mining and most likely to serve as a lower down access port to the well that he had originally sensed the malaise of the Proto Lord seep
- Levelling Up The Weakest System
A New Team
As Alexei explained what the Proto Lord was to Harold and the other members of the Royal Defence Corps he could tell that their willingness to fight such a creature was waning further and further. Alexei could understand. After being told to go to the front line and expecting to die in combat defending the kingdom the shades had all disappeared. That had given them all a second chance at living. Being told that they instead had to fight a being that was well on its way to becoming the next Demon Lord? Something that, just like the shades, could kill you and then perhaps use you to fight the rest of your friends? That wasn’t something that a lot of people were keen on. Harold, though, was a brave man and always had been. “Very well,” He said as Alexei came to the end of his explanation, “If that is the case then this so-called Proto Lord must fall before the Proto part of the wretched thing's name becomes Demon instead.“I will not order anyone to join myself or Alexei in this f
- Levelling Up The Weakest System
Ancient Evil
Alexei placed his hand onto the Warp Gate and sent a pulse of magery through the system. He’d never actually had to operate one of the things before, but thanks to his more innate relationship with magery it was a bit like opening a book and simply reading from the pages. He placed his palm onto the stone and it fed information directly to him and allowed him to open a temporary link between the gate he was standing next to and the gate that was back in Alandria. It opened with a sputter at first and then, as Alexei made the link between the gates more solid, it blazed into life with a swirling blue glow. “You really are full of surprises now, aren’t you,” Harold said with a shake of his head, he couldn’t believe how different his friend had become compared to the last time he had seen the man. “Just a bit of advanced magery,” Alexei shrugged, “What did you expect me to do when I got kicked out of the Academy, go become a merchant somewhere?”“That probably would have been the sm
- Levelling Up The Weakest System
Royal Defence Corps
Alexei worked his way through the woods until he was able to catch up with the soldiers of the Royal Defence Corps. These were all men and women who had gone through the training at the Academy and come out the other end, each of them with a Power Divine powerful enough for the previous Demon Lord to want to absorb it. Perfect for fighting against a Proto Lord who hadn’t fully come into the powers that Eldreth was offering them. At first, Alexei wasn’t sure who he should approach, but then he noticed someone who looked just a little bit familiar. Without any doubts, Alexei was sure the man he saw walking in the centre of the column was none other than his old friend from the Academy, Harold. “Harold!” He exclaimed, “Is that you?” The column of marching soldiers froze instantly, like a rabbit caught in the path of an oncoming dragonhorse, before turning on Alexei with their powers at the ready. It took only a moment for Harold to realise who had called out to him. “A… Alexei?!
- Levelling Up The Weakest System
Good News
“Okay, wish me luck you two,” Alexei said, he was standing in front of a Warp Gate, one that Risa had told him led to a town that was very close to the front. Neave wrapped her arms around him as best she could and he returned it by holding her close. “You better come back safely, yeah?” Risa said, she held his gaze with a stern look. “Hey, if the Shades are running wild then you have my promise that I’ll be jumping right back into that Warp Gate,” Alexei said, “This is a recon mission, nothing more nothing less. Promise.”She gave him a critical eye, “You know, every time you’ve ever said that you’re just going to look at something or do a bit of recon you’ve come super close to dying.” “Yeah, but those times I had no idea what I was going into, this time it’s either going to be one of two things, and only one of those two things could actually be dangerous. Pretty good odds if you ask me,” Alexei said with a grin, though he could tell he was only annoying Risa with his banter.
- Levelling Up The Weakest System
Grief
Waking up in the morning Alexei realised that, despite everything that was going on, he actually felt pretty good. Not only was the threat of the Demon Lord technically dealt with, he’d also met with the Administrar and had basically engineered a situation where the man would no longer be able to send people after him. All things said and done, that was two of his major problems dealt with already, even if he did still plan to get his revenge on the Administrar in one way or another. The man couldn’t be allowed to continue in his post, not after he had sacrificed so many Initiates to the Shade Front for no good reason. When everything had concluded and everyone was safe, Alexei intended to go to the Royal Household and speak to the Emperor, perhaps he would listen to reason, if Alexei could get an audience with the man of course. Alexei pulled himself out of bed, wrapped a towel around his waist, and walked off to the shower room. He shivered as the cold water streamed onto his
- Levelling Up The Weakest System
One Last Stew
“So, let me get this straight,” Lyla said, “You’re going all the way to the front to maybe take on a massive Shade Army that you have no hope of actually fighting against just in case they’ve gone wild now that the Demon Lord is actually properly dead.” It was a pretty succinct way of explaining the situation, but Alexei was glad that Lyla had grasped the broad strokes of what was going on. “Yeah, pretty much,” Alexei shrugged, “Though I have a feeling that it’s not going to be nearly as bad as you’ve just made it sound. In fact, I think it’s going to be a wasted trip, but a necessary one just in case.” “A wasted trip?” Lyla asked. “Well, after first meeting the Demon Lord and being given a sliver of his powers I’ve always been able to sort of… you know, sense them,” Alexei said, “Just as a kind of dark fuzz off to the eastern border. Can’t feel that anymore.” “What, as in they’re just gone?” “That’s what it feels like, yeah,” Alexei said, “It feels like the Demon Lord had one l
- Levelling Up The Weakest System
Lyla
While Alexei had made it seem as if he were going to be running off to the front lines as fast as he could, there was one thing that he needed to take care of before he left Alandria again. He was sure that if he left the city without at least swinging by The Trout’s Gills at least once then Lyla would have probably ripped his head off with her inhuman beastkin strength. Once again Alexei was struck by a distinct sense of de ja vu. The day had receded into night, with the final glimmers of the twilight sun just about peaking over the very top of the mountain. It was dark, and the streets of Alandria had drawn to a near-empty silence. The only thing that guided his way was the lamplight from the many torches that hung off of the sides of various buildings. The water lapped at the underside of boats and barges alike, and he knew that somewhere deep down under the water there was the body of the very first assassin that he had dealt with, now likely stripped of flesh to the bone by
