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2024-10-29 19:42:56"Hm...? Oh, hey, Master...g'morning," Yawned the person sleeping on the stairs lazily, sitting up groggily.
A little girl? She looks younger than Lilac...but Lilac has previously mentioned that she's the youngest member in the Guild. Maybe this girl's another new member like me?"I thought I told you to stop sleeping down here," Sighed Ifeus in response."But it's so nice and cool down here...," She muttered sleepily, before turning her gaze this way, "Huh? What's going on? Why are there so many people down here?"Hm? Oh, looks like pretty much everyone in the Guild followed us down here. I didn't even notice."We're holding a duel, you might as well stay and watch. Oh, let me introduce you, Topaz...this is Sapphire Roselle. She's an Apex Mage, specifically an Ice Mage. Sapphire, this is Topaz Oriole, our newest member, an Ascended Mage, a Martial Artist to be specific. Since you're both named after gemstones, I'm sure you'll get along," Remarked Ifeus with a grin."Come on, that's the dumbest thing I've ever-...wait, did you just say that this little girl is an Apex Mage?" I responded in disbelief."Hey, who're calling a little girl?" Sapphire muttered sourly in response."Don't let her appearance fool you...she's actually twenty-six years old," Replied Ifeus with a wry smile.Seriously? She's more than ten years older than I am? I mean, that's more than double the age I'd assumed she was..."Hey, any day now! We doing this or not!?" Called out Rex impatiently."After you, Tomato Head...try not to trip again," I responded dryly, before making my way down the stairs as I muttered under my breath, "What an asshole...""I know he's being difficult, but he's a good kid...he's only a few months older than you, and worked his butt off to become an Ascended Mage and reach B-Rank. So he's probably pretty frustrated that someone who's younger than him, and with less experience, is starting at the same rank right off the bat. I know he's being immature, not to mention unfair at lashing out at you like this, but try to get along with him after this is over," Remarked Ifeus, as he placed a hand on my shoulder."Yeah, a sad backstory doesn't make him any less of a dick, nor is it a valid excuse for his rotten attitude," I huffed as I shook his hand off my shoulder and continued making my way down the stairs.I headed towards the arena as I reached the bottom of the stairs, making my way onto it and taking my place. I took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled to compose myself, before getting into my stance."You ready for a beat down?" Inquired Rex tauntingly."Let's find out what's redder, your blood or your hair," I countered icily, itching to get started."Alright, I'm starting the countdown!" Called out Ifeus, before counting down, "Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six!"I shouldn't rush this. I need to stay cool and assess what he's capable of, and then look for an opening..."...Three! Two! One! ZERO!""Take this!" Exclaimed Rex, as he formed an intense, swirling fireball and fired it out at me.He can cast his Arts without chanting too, huh? Not bad.I swiftly raced across rapidly, evading the flames as I sprinted around the arena, keeping a close eye on him while slowly closing the distance."That the best you've got!?" I yelled out tauntingly."Oh, I'm just getting started!" He snapped in response, inhaling sharply before blasting out a massive wave of flames at me from his mouth.His aim is spot on, and with how wide that attack is, I can't dodge it. Well, in that case...I abruptly halted, raising my right foot as I began channeling Ether into it...my boots are pretty thick, so no one can see the glow of the Ether. I may not be able to use this technique with my fists since I don't have any gloves, but that doesn't mean I can't use it at all!Right as a stifling heat reached me, and the wave of flames closed in on me, I drove my foot back down, slamming it against the floor with immense force.A powerful shockwave burst out as my foot collided with the floor, a couple of cracks spreading out from the point of impact as the incoming flames were blown back by the force of the shockwave, the flames rapidly dissipating.The force of the shockwave went on to strike Rex, knocking him off balance and sending him stumbling back slightly, as I swiftly bent my knees and channeled Ether into both my feet. My right foot is a bit numb from that stomp, but I didn't take any damage, I've got a better handle on how much Ether I can channel without injuring myself with the subsequent backlash.I then leapt forward with all my strength, an intense gust of wind exploding out as I kicked off the floor, my body rapidly flying through the air and closing in on him in the blink of eye, his eyes widening in alarm.As I drove my fist towards his face, he suddenly fell backwards, his back hitting the floor with a thud as my fist whiffed through the air.He didn't just happen to lose his balance just now...no, he fell on purpose. He stopped trying to regain his balance and instead let himself fall, in order to evade my attack.My eyes then widened as he opened his mouth, embers of flames flowing out of it as he charged up a blast of fire in his mouth...I reacted as quickly as I could, channeling Ether into my right elbow, which was covered by my sleeve, before swinging it out and letting the Ether explode, unleashing a powerful force that sent me flying across to my left, narrowing evading his flames as he blasted a massive wave out of his jaws, the flames licking the bottom of my right boot.Ow...since I had to react so quickly, I put a bit too much Ether into my elbow, the backlash did some damage to the bone in my upper arm.As the force I'd generated began to wear off, I extended out my left leg, which hit the floor and skidded across, before I pivoted across and regained my balance, just in time to see Rex regain his balance as well."I'll admit it...I was wrong. You're definitely strong, there's no denying that anymore...but still, I won't lose!" He declared with a look of determination in his eyes, before exclaiming, "Let's see you counter this, my most powerful Art...take this, [Inferno Art: Pyro Dragon]!"
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Did he say Pyro Dragon? That's the most powerful Inferno Art in the Fire Class...the only Arts stronger in that Class are the Lightning Arts that are unlocked at the Apex Tier. Trying to dodge it would be a waste of effort...so, I'll just have to counter it. I could try rushing him, but his casting speed is incredibly fast, he'll finish charging it up before I can reach him. I then opened up my stance, lifting my right foot up by my side as I channeled Ether into it...the amount of Ether I used to counter one of his attacks earlier won't be enough against this attack, I'm gonna have to risk taking on some serious backlash. Not enough yet, I need more, as much as I can possibly channel! I still don't have a very good idea of how much damage I can cause with this technique, after I broke Ifeus's arms, I was wary of overdoing it and ending up destroying the basement or something, on top of the fact that I was trying to avoid any excessive backlash. But I don't the luxury of worrying a
The Fractured Mage Chapter 27 - The Solaris Magic Guild(Part 5)
I-I'm so...s-so damn cold, I've never been this freezingly cold before... "W-wasn't there a better way of stopping the fight than th-this?" I stuttered as I shivered uncontrollably, my entire body trembling like a leaf. "S-seriously, I-I'm freezing my a-ass off over here...," Mumbled Rex weakly. Since he's an Ascended Mage of the Fire Class, he likely has the Fire Immunity Trait, which means that he can't be hurt by fire or heat. But the downside to that is that it makes him weaker to the cold. Which means that he's feeling it way worse than I am right now...good, serves him right, the asshole. It's a small consolation for the duel ending in a draw. Though, if I'm being honest, I'm glad I didn't unleash that last attack that I'd been charging up. I got way too caught up in the heat of the moment, I probably would've broken a lot more than just my arm if I'd unleashed that attack... "Sapphire, if you would," Ifeus prompted her expectantly. "Ugh, you're giving me way too much work
The Fractured Mage Chapter 28 - The Serene Woods(Part 1)
"Is this the place?" I inquired, as Lilac stopped the cart. "Mhm, that's right. This it is, the Serene Woods," She nodded in response. About a week has passed since I joined the Guild now. It's the 28th of April, 505 PA, and I was currently out on a Quest with Lilac, and we'd just arrived at the location in which the Quest was designated to take place. The party that Ifeus had decided to form that'd include me, Iris, Lilac and, ugh, Rex, has been put on hold for the time being...because a certain someone took off on a journey. After my duel against Rex, we headed back home, where we found a letter on the welcome mat outside the front door, written by Iris. Apparently, she'd left on a journey to go get some training done, and in her letter, said that she'd be gone for at least a month. As a result, Ifeus has been really restless and anxious all week, constantly on edge the whole time. In her letter, Iris hadn't included where she'd be going, probably to keep Ifeus from searching f
The Fractured Mage Chapter 29 - The Serene Woods(Part 2)
"I know you can telepathically talk to the creatures you've tamed, but how effective is it? I mean, they have lower intelligence than humans, right, so do they always understand what you tell them?" I asked her, as we followed the Hellhound into the woods. "Hey, I know that I've explained how my Magic works to you, more than once. Grr, you weren't paying attention, we're you?" She frowned indignantly, before adding as she narrowed her eyes at me as I sheepishly averted my gaze, "Fine, I'll explain it again...yeah, I can't hold complex conversations with them, they get confused if I try saying anything too complicated. The most effective application of this Art, Creature Thought Communication, is giving commands.""I see, so like asking them to do a specific action or something?""Yeah, something like that. Of course, they can refuse if I ask them to do something they don't want to. If I've formed a Contract with them, I can force them to do it anyway, but I'm determined never to do t
The Fractured Mage Chapter 30 - The Serene Woods(Part 3)
As Lilac stared down the Goblins with a tense air about her, she then reached behind herself and drew out the dagger strapped to her lower back as well as taking hold of her whip latched onto her right hip with her other hand, before glancing at her Hellhound, likely communicating a command to it. The two of them then shot forward rapidly, the Hellhound targeting the injured Goblin while Lilac went for the other one.The Hellhound leapt towards the injured Goblin as it closed in on the Monster, which was holding a rusty dagger with its remaining hand, a weak look in its eyes as blood continued to pour out of the stump where its other arm used to be. The Hellhound used one of its front paws to strike the Goblin's arm with a rapid swing of its leg, the impact causing it to drop the dagger, before the dog snapped its jaws around the Goblin's neck, a loud crunch echoing out as it snapped the weakened Monster's neck like a twig. The other Goblin was holding a broken wooden staff, thrust
The Fractured Mage Chapter 31 - The Serene Woods(Part 4)
"Are you sure they're coming towards this direction?" I asked her warily. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure they are...they were moving around a lot for a while before this, but once they got within about three hundred meters of us, they began heading straight this way," She nodded grimly. Goblins are supposed to have a pretty good sense of smell...hm, they must have come across the corpses of the Goblins we'd killed. That would've made them realize that there's a threat to them somewhere in the woods. In response to that, they must have started roaming around the woods, trying to pick up on any unfamiliar scents, or maybe they already picked up our scents when they came across some of the Goblins we killed earlier and are now tracking us...yeah, the fact that they're heading this way means that they must be on our trail, we need to get ready to fight. If they're three hundred meters away and heading straight for us, it'll only be a matter of minutes before they're right upon us. We'll have
The Fractured Mage Chapter 32 - The Serene Woods(Part 5)
I fired out a couple of small but powerful Ether blasts with a rapid spin at a pair of Goblins charging towards me, my attacks too fast for them to evade. They began to halt and try to scramble away, but my attacks struck them before they could even begin to move, loud crunches echoing out as my blasts caved in their chests, shattering their ribs as they let out agonized screeches of pain, bleeding out rapidly as they collapsed onto the ground, unable to move as blood gushed out of their mouths. I then spotted Lilac evading a Goblin leaping towards her with a dagger clutched in its hand, she stepped out across to its left to dodge the wild slash of its blade, before swiftly plunging her dagger into its throat while it was still airborne. She then yanked her arm back to pull the blade out, and as the Goblin fell onto the ground and skidded away lifelessly, she drew out a throwing knife and flung it at another Goblin racing towards her from her right, the blade striking and getting e
The Fractured Mage Chapter 33 - The Serene Woods(Part 6)
"It looks kinda scary, it's way bigger than any of the Goblins we came across," Muttered Lilac nervously, as the Winged Ogre a few meters ahead of us paced around with an agitated look on its face. Is it angered by the fact that we killed all those Goblins? The most powerful Goblin type Monsters are the Goblin King and Queen, considered Extreme Level Monsters. They're effectively immortal, and live in hiding in a place called the Forest of Demise.If they're killed, then a new King and Queen will evolve from two existing Goblins, the only way to prevent that is to kill every single Goblin in existence, but that's pretty much impossible. The last time a Goblin King or Queen was killed was over sixty years ago or so. The Goblin Queen can give birth to upto ten spawn every single day, which include Goblins and Imps. Imps are Goblins with wings, there's no noticeable difference beyond that, so they're both considered Low Level Monsters. Goblins and Imps have a one in ten chance of evo
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- The Fractured Mage
Chapter 96 - Monster Army(Part 3)
Point-of-View: Iris Lero———————————————————————————I began to point my blade at the Dragon as it raised its arm up, before I lowered my weapon in surprise, as the Dragon... "No, wait-...!" Began Lilac, before abruptly trailing off as the Dragon plunged its claws into its own throat, killing itself.Blood gushed out of its neck as its body went limp and collapsed onto the ground, sending tremors across the area as blood poured out of the deep gash in its neck, pooling around its head."Wow, uh...that was hardcore. Wasn't expecting that from you, Lilac," Remarked Rex in surprise."N-no, I...that wasn't me. I linked with the Dragon using Thought Communication and managed to free it from the control it was under, I was going to set it free after that. It was in a frenzy and immensely enraged, even though I managed to establish a telepathic link with it, I couldn't get it to listen to me. I think it thought that I was going to take control of it instead of letting it go, and it chose t
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Chapter 95 - Monster Army(Part 2)
Point-of-View: Iris Lero———————————————————————————"Damn it, there's just no end to them!" I snapped, as I slashed off a Monster's head with my sword, before rapidly extending the blade towards a Monster barreling in towards me from the right, piercing through the top of its head and splitting its skull open as I swung my blade up while continuing to extend it out.I then whipped my arm across, the blade slicing across several flying Monsters and bringing them down, before I began to spin around as I sensed a Monster springing up behind me.As I turned around, a massive blast of flames came shooting towards the Monster from its left, eliciting a deafening roar of pain from it as the flames enveloped it and set it ablaze, its agonized roars soon fading as it got burnt to a crisp."I know you probably had that under control, but you're welcome regardless," Grinned Rex, beads of sweat running down the sides of his face, before firing out a scorching wave of flames from his mouth at a g
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Chapter 94 - Monster Army(Part 1)
Point-of-View: Lilac Lero ———————————————————————————"Thank you for coming, we really appreciate the assistance," Smiled the Guildmaster of the Praepotentia Guild, a grateful look on his face."Don't mention it, we're all on the same side here, so it's only natural that we help each other out when necessary," Replied Iris politely. "Yes, of course, I completely agree."Hah, yeah right. Pretty sure this guy used to mock our Guild in the not so distant past, guess him showing genuine gratitude like this despite his previous attitude towards us means that the situation here must be pretty dire.After Sapphire wiped out all the Monsters around the capital in the direction we'd come from, we entered the city and made our way to the Praepotentia Guild. We came across a Goblin on the way in, I used Forced Tame on it to confirm that these Monsters are being controlled by someone with the same Class as me. We then arrived at the Guild shortly after, and there were a lot of people here, wit
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Chapter 93 - Perpetually Exhausted
"Too slow. Come on, I know that you can do a lot better than that," Remarked Ifeus, before firing a telekinetic blast at me.I quickly countered with an Ether-negating wave, before firing a barrage of swirling Ether spheres at him. As my projectiles closed in on him, he vanished from sight, before I stiffened as I sensed him reappearing behind me.I began to fire out a shockwave of Ether from my body, before I found myself falling as he swept at my legs with his right foot, tripping me over. My left shoulder hit the ground with a painful thud, as I let out a weary groan..."Come on, man, give me a break...I haven't eaten anything in almost two full days now, and you only let me sleep for like two hours last night. I can't fight like this, I'm completely drained," I complained as I tried to catch my breath, my stomach rumbling and my vision blurring."Oh, don't worry...I'll let you have some food and a bit more sleep tonight. But there's still a few hours before night time, so we're no
- The Fractured Mage
Chapter 92 - Request
Point-of-View: Lilac Lero———————————————————————————"Damn it, I miss To," I sighed irritably, feeling restless and impatient."Yes, I know, you've been saying that every single day, multiple times a day, for the last month. I'm sure he'll be back soon, try thinking about something else in the meantime," Responded Iris as she gave me a pat on the head."Don't patronize me, you stupid gorilla...""...just this once, I'll let that slide. But only once, got it?"Yeah, whatever. Today's the 15th of August, 505 PA, and we were currently on our way to the capital, Rosnoir City. There had been an immense spike in the number of Monsters around the capital, attacking around the outskirts of the city. Which is very unusual behavior for Monsters, they tend to dislike hunting in unfamiliar territory. Though, from what we've heard, they're not hunting, they're just attacking and killing without really eating the people they kill. Which is even more unusual and unnatural for Monsters. Even smal
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Chapter 91 - Ambushed(Part 2)
I quickly set up an Ether-negating barrier over the alley, ducking as one of the people surrounding me flung a dagger at me, narrowly avoiding it. It's likely that all their weapons have been coated in poison, a single hit might be all it takes to kill me. This is bad...including the woman who'd tricked me, there's eight of them surrounding me right now. The odds are heavily stacked against me, I have absolutely no margin of error here..."How troublesome, it would seem as though we can't use our Magic," Remarked one of them, as they circled around me."It's not a problem. This is just a minor inconvenience, it's no great obstacle.""You know, I'm starting to feel kinda insulted!" I snapped, forming a ring of Ether around me before rapidly expanding it outwards towards them while narrowing and sharpening the edges of the ring.Some of them managed to duck under it, while the rest sprang above it to dodge the attack, several knives coming flying in towards me from multiple directions
- The Fractured Mage
Chapter 90 - Ambushed(Part 1)
Well, this was a massive waste of time. What gives? The hell is going on here, anyway? I mean, seriously, who sent me that letter? Somehow, I don't think this was just some dumb prank... On the bright side, I get to go home now, and since Ifeus is here, I just need to meet back up with him and he can teleport me right back to Skyrouge City.So, at least I don't have to worry about taking the long journey back by carriage. Still though, I'm kinda pissed, I don't like that I just wasted a whole lot of time on nothing.As I walked down the street, muttering to myself irritably, I was snapped out of it as someone came jogging this way, trying to swerve out of the way as they closed in on me, but in their rush, failed to fully get out the way and ended up bumping into me, getting knocked down with an alarmed cry as I stumbled back a bit before regaining my balance."Uh, sorry about that, are you okay?" I inquired, offering my hand to help them up. It was a young woman, she was carrying a
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Chapter 89 - Letter
"Uh...I don't know, this sounds really fishy," I frowned apprehensively."I understand your concerns, but I can assure you, this client is a trustworthy sort. The letter appears to be authentic, this is definitely his seal...so, I don't think there's anything to worry about," Replied Ifeus, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder."Still...given what happened on the last Quest you sent me out on, I figured I'd have to stay cooped up at home for the foreseeable future," I sighed wistfully."Yes, you seem to be quite disappointed that that's not the case. The thought did cross my mind, of course, but no, I won't be doing that...it may be the safer option, but if you just stay at home indefinitely, you're not going to get very much stronger, Topaz. And with the way things have been going lately, you need to get as strong as possible, as fast as possible. And the best way to do that is to keep building your experience level," He surmised, a slightly conflicted look on his face.I mean, I
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Chapter 88 - Failed
"I see, that sounds like it must have been a pretty harrowing experience. I'm glad the both of you are okay, at least," Remarked Iris, as she slumped back in the couch and munched on a chip."Yeah, that could've ended up a lot worse than it did. It really helped that that girl, Luxuria, just kept talking. I probably wouldn't have broken free from her control otherwise," I replied with a grimace, before adding, "Anyway, based on what you said about your Quest, it sounds like things didn't go too much better for you."It was the next day, around 5 PM in the evening. Iris's group got back from their failed Quest early this morning, and she'd just woken up about half an hour ago. She had a bite to eat, and then joined Lilac and I in playing some board games. Before we long, we got to talking about our Quests yesterday... "It was a disaster...we failed to protect our client, and while I'm not too torn up about his death, he was a real asshole, the fact that I was so completely helpless to
