45. The Ritual's End

Alex’s consciousness drifted into the black space, devoid of stars, weight, and any sort of breeze. He felt that his consciousness should be close to collapse and felt an urgent need to figure out what part of his memory was missing.

The memory of combining two of his skill uses was clear in his mind. Pushing through the loss of control and accomplishing the combination was a little hazier. However, things became clear again as he was pulled through the void and... then the System began showing him options for how to proceed. It took some of the ritual knowledge and two of the titles that he gained—worse yet, it had taken his class's active skill so that there was no chance of him repeating the combination.

He performed the mental equivalent of a deep breath, refocused his will, and pushed the thoughts aside.

I need to focus on this now. I can’t afford to make a wrong decision after what I just lost.

His eyes skimmed over the Past Self options.

***

Enhanced Creativity [Passive Skill]:
Unlocks latent artistic potential and increases creative thinking.

***

Once, he might have jumped at a chance to boost his creative skills. Now, he really only saw the benefit of the skill in the second half, with the bit about increasing creative thinking. His old life felt distant now.

Looking at [Social Acuity], Alex scoffed internally. It was yet another thing he may have gladly accepted before the System was introduced into his life. He’d gone through a lot, and while he still wasn’t confident in all situations, his faith in his own abilities had grown drastically. He’d faced down monsters… what were awkward social situations compared to that?

***

Focused Discipline [Passive Skill]:
Enhance your ability to concentrate and maintain productivity.

***

This third option caught his eye for a moment. He thought about how that might aid in his concentration and ability to split focus with his [Parallel Mind] skill; however, the more he thought about it, the more redundant it seemed.

His own discipline and focus were increasing at an almost alarming rate because of the jump in his Willpower to the point that he wasn’t even able to utilize his Willpower to its full effect.

These options… they’re not for me. Not anymore.

In a way, it made sense to him. They were made for the old Alex- the one who’d spent his days hunched over at a desk, doodling in his free time and fretting over client and manager feedback. That Alex was gone.

With a mental sigh, he turned his attention to the remaining options.

The Present Self options all had options he felt required more serious consideration. [Ritual Resonance] caught his eye, but in a way, it felt like a weak consolation prize.

***

Ritual Resonance [Passive Skill]:
Develop an intuitive understanding of ritual magic, allowing for faster learning.

***

While it would help him continue to learn ritual magic, he didn't feel like it would replace the knowledge and skill that he lost. The bitter taste of having lost something, taken without choice, to the System, was still all too present.

Without the main class skill that was helping me advance my rituals, do I need to start looking into other kinds of magic more seriously? I pushed myself to the edge- past the edge, for that schematic… now it’s just gone.

He pushed on to the next option.

***

Mana Conduit [Passive Skill]:
Your body becomes a natural channel for mana, increasing your capacity and control over magical energy.

***

This one was tempting for several reasons. Increased capacity and control fit with exactly what he was going for in his build. The increase in capacity would be nice, but Alex felt like, for the most part, that weakness was temporarily patched in his bond with Valtherion. Likewise, his control was abnormally high for his level and would continue to increase drastically as he leveled. More ideally, this would be something that gave him a big increase in magical power or potency.

The [Arcane Wand] made him pause, and he read it more than once.

An Epic Item? My nicer spatial pouch and Sam’s staff are both Rare items, but those are the only Rare’s that I’ve seen. I can only imagine how strong an Epic Rarity combat item would be.

It would undoubtedly be strong, but it felt like a crutch. It wouldn’t help him grow and learn. As he thought about it more, he noted that the description didn’t show him the Rank of the item, which would likely play a big role in the item’s power.

If it’s an E Rank item, will it matter how rare it is? It will still be E Rank, and I’ll be moving into D Rank soon.

With a mental shake, Alex moved on to the Future Self options. These were the most intriguing by far. He noticed the asterisks and time-gating mentioned in the descriptions.

Understanding dawned on him. He realized it was the System’s way of preventing another incident like the one that had just occurred. Wary of him gaining power beyond what the integration should have, it instead gated things by certain milestones in other areas of his growth.

Surprisingly, he found himself appreciating the safeguard. At least that way, he wouldn’t be at risk of losing anything that he gained.

***

Runic Apprentice [Epic Item]:*
An ancient teaching spirit-tool designed to guide practitioners through the art of runic magic. Progression gated by Rank.

***

The first option immediately caught his attention. An ancient teaching tool? He assumed it might be some kind of book or manual of some kind, though he was unsure of how it would be gated from giving him more information. What would stop him from continuing to read further? It frustrated him some that the description didn’t mention how far the teaching and tool could take him.

{Elemental Affinity} seemed like an extremely strong option, especially knowing that Olivia had one for Shadow and how much it strengthened her magic in that area.

Is there something like a raw magical affinity?

Alex hadn’t leaned his build into any one specific elemental area, and he liked that he was flexible. So far, he wasn’t restricted to one thing or another, and the versatility and utility of his modified ritual circles felt valuable.

Lastly, there was [Enchanter’s Insight].

***

Enchanter’s Insight [Active Skill]:*
Gain foundational knowledge needed to begin crafting magical items. Progression is gated by increasing skill proficiency rank.

***

It seemed similar to the Runic Apprentice item, though more limited in scope. One offered aid in learning a foundation for enchanting, while the other offered a path to learning runic magic.

He weighed his options, but found himself drawn back to the Runic Apprentice. It promised not just knowledge, but a tool used in the past by others to learn. The time-gating, rather than feeling restrictive, seemed like a built-in safeguard against overreaching again.

Alex made his choice by directing his will toward the Runic Apprentice option. As he did so, the void around him began to dissolve and that same constant tugging at his consciousness returned. He felt himself begin to pull along the line and move significantly faster than his first trip through the space.

A bright flash of light engulfed his consciousness, and in the next moment, he was back in his body, squinting his eyes against the flash. He found himself on the ground, an amulet clutched in his hand tightly to his chest.

The first thing he noticed was the absence of pain and exhaustion that he expected. His body felt renewed, as if he’d just woken from a restful sleep rather than from a harrowing magical trial followed by a trip through the cosmos.

Concerned faces swam into focus as he opened his eyes. Mark and Olivia hovered nearby. They had expressions showing a mix of worry and relief. He heard a sigh and then crying to his side as Sam rested on his knees. The younger man slowly lowered his head and put it against Alex’s shoulder.

“Alex!” Mark exclaimed. “Are you okay? What happened?”

For a moment, Alex was disoriented. The memories of the endless black space and the System’s intervention rushed back to him. It was overwhelming, and he blinked rapidly, trying his best to reconcile the events.

“I… I’m fine,” he managed. “Uh- how long was I out?”

“Maybe a minute or so? You collapsed; Sam said there wasn’t anything in your body to heal. We were… terrified.” Mark leaned a bit closer to Alex and looked at him with a serious intensity that made Alex want to lean back.

“But then, you just woke up.” Olivia finished.

Alex sat up slowly, marveling at how normal he felt. Unlike the first time he’d used the Heavenly Eye, where he was so mentally exhausted that it required several days of bed rest, he felt no aches or fatigue this time.

“Woah, buddy. Be careful,” Mark said, moving behind him quickly to put a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s alright, really. You wouldn’t believe what just happened,” he began, then paused. He was unsure of how to explain the events that he’d just experienced. How could he express with just his words the strange void and the System's intervention?

He felt a sense of frustration. “I lost something,” he said. “But…” he opened his hand slowly. There, in his palm, was a small golden amulet that looked almost like a coin on a chain.

He used his Heavenly Eye’s ability to scan items and felt an intense stabbing pain in his head. When he cried out, Sam and Mark both jumped. Alex quickly covered his eye and the side of his head, pressing gently against his temple. “Fuck, that hurt.”

"What happened?"

"I'm not really sure. I tried to use my Eye," Alex said.

"I swear to God, I would hit you in the back of the head if I wasn't already worried that you were injured!" Mark exclaimed.

Alex gave a halfhearted chuckle, feeling the pain in his head subside. "I need to tell you guys what happened," Alex said. His voice regained some strength as he spoke. "Something big happened. Something way bigger than I thought was even possible."

Mark slid a muscular arm under Alex's and gently helped lift him into the chair that Sam had been sitting in during the ritual experiment. "I feel like that says a lot coming from you, especially after what you just went through a month or so ago." Mark was serious, and he watched Alex intently as he began to recount the story of what happened.

His friends settled in to listen, and Alex felt an overwhelming amount of gratitude for their support. All of them listened closely, and their faces showed a mixture of awe and concern as he described the gains he’d gotten with titles and skill levels, the massive black space his consciousness had been taken to, and then, last, the System’s direct intervention and removal of the gains above the Journeyman level.

"So, you lost your [Ritual Insight] skill, the titles, and the knowledge you gained from the skill combination?” Olivia asked softly when he finished.

"Yes, but it only took two of the titles. I still should have the Journeyman one and Gifted Mage... and it took my skill, but I did get something from the System in return. I'm just not sure how worth it it will be." Alex held up the amulet in his hand for them to see and laid it out on the desk in front of them.

All three of their heads leaned forward to get a better look at the item.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"The System said it was an Epic item. It’s called the Runic Apprentice. The description said that it was meant to help me learn runic magic. To be honest, though, I thought it was going to be a set of books or something. I’m not sure how this is supposed to help. That's why I tried to scan it just now." Alex scratched the back of his head as he looked down at the amulet.

"So you're saying that the System took away your cheat-like skill combination and then gave you an item in return?" Mark said, skepticism clear in his voice.

Alex shrugged. "I guess so, but it specifically said the compensation would need to be ‘within integration parameters’ or something like that.” His thoughts drifted temporarily to the earlier prompts the System showed about how to handle his situation. He felt a small wave of nausea as he remembered it had almost decided to kill him outright or remove his eye. “Uhm.. yeah but the options for this one’s category would be time-gated so that I couldn't get knowledge stronger than I should have at the moment. Which… I guess that is the whole reason that the System decided to intervene. The System said that having Expert knowledge and the ability to repeat the combination was like 900% past the integration parameters or something crazy.”

Mark whistled low. "Dang… guess that makes sense why the item is Epic, huh? That's… That's huge, dude. I haven't even seen an Epic-anything on the Auction House. I mean, I've only seen one or two Rare items show up there."

As they discussed the implications of what had happened, Alex felt a large amount of frustration. He couldn't help but think about the combination of his class skill with the Heavenly Eye and how he had believed it would be a smart way to leverage his abilities.

He groaned and shook his head. "That skill was helping me gain an enormous bonus for the progress I've made with the modified ritual circles. It’s basically the entire reason I pushed so hard to evolve my [Mana Manipulation] into [Mana Threads]," Alex said. He couldn't keep the disappointment from his voice. "It feels unfair to have them taken away just as I'm starting to really understand their potential."

His friends exchanged concerned glances, and he knew he was complaining about something that he couldn't change.

"It's not just about losing the skill," Alex continued, while rubbing his temples. "It's the knowledge I gained. I pushed myself to the limit for that, and I didn't even get to see any of the improvements for the advanced schematic. An Expert ritual could have taught me so much…"

It doesn’t help anything to whine about it… but fuck. How do I turn this around?

"I get it, man. It's a big loss."

Alex sighed and looked at the amulet on the desk. The Runic Apprentice item was supposed to be compensation, but at that moment, it felt inadequate compared to what he’d lost. "I know this Epic item is valuable," he said as he scooped it off the desk. "Right now, I'm just trying to wrap my head around where to go from here. Should I step away from rituals?"

Olivia leaned forward. "You'll figure this out; I know you will." She reached over and gingerly rubbed his back and upper shoulders. It was only then that he realized how tense they were and how hunched over he had been.

Alex nodded, appreciating their support. He sat up straight, knowing he had to move forward, but he allowed himself a moment to acknowledge the setback.

Deciding that he needed to reassess his status screen, he pulled up the window and quickly allocated his Free Points to see his gains.

***

Status 
Name: Alex Moore - Level 28
Class: Ritualist (Novice)
HP: 610/610
MP: 705/705

Traits: (1/3)
{Primordial Will}

Titles: < Control Freak >
Pathfinder
Unbound
One Against Many
Control Freak
Journeyman Ritualist
Gifted Mage

Physical Stats:
Strength: 29
Agility: 48
Constitution: 66
Vitality: 31

Magical Stats:
Intellect: 59
Willpower: 413
Mana: 41 + 30
Wisdom: 95

Bond Skills:
[Mana Siphon] (Novice - Level 18)
Primary Stat Shared - Mana

Active Skills:
[Mana Thread] (Journeyman - Level 3)
[Mana Infusion] (Novice - Level 19)
[Feather Step] (Novice - Level 16)
[Mirage] (Journeyman - Level 11)
[Parallel Mind] (Journeyman - Level 8)

Passive Skills:
[Sleep Resistance] (Tier I)
[Efficient Rites] (Tier I)

Bound Items:
Unique E Rank Growth Item - Heavenly Eye of the Celestial Sage

***

Wow, the System didn’t remove the two levels I gained, or the level increases to [Parallel Mind]. And my stats made another huge jump with both titles?

Alex willed the information for the titles to appear next to his Status.

***

Title: Journeyman Ritualist
A ritualist who has proven their worth through consistent success and deeper understanding of magical formations. Their knowledge surpasses novice practitioners.

+5 to all stats

***

***

Title: Gifted Mage
This title recognizes those rare individuals who completely master a magical concept beyond their Rank. True potential often manifests before power catches up.

+10 to all magical stats

***

"Good God," he mumbled to himself. Another blanket increase to his stats was a major boon for someone like him, who was restricted by his trait. The greedy part of him, though, couldn't help but let out a sigh and wonder at how large the stat gains would have been if he had gotten the other two titles.

No point in moping about it now… I'm getting close to the D Rank mark with the two levels that I got.

"I guess I need to start looking into my options," he said so that the others could hear. "Maybe I should consider changing my class or finding a way to make the most of this new item. I was already thinking of how I could potentially combine the runes with the rituals…"

"Whoa, changing your class seems pretty drastic."

"The System was really specific when it took my skill. And just like I thought, it only took the skill and not the class. I just don't know that it's going to be worth it to keep the class without the main active skill. I'll have to decide if it's worth using something like the class reset token, or maybe just keep this class because I think I'm pretty close to hitting the advancement threshold. Then I could use the Evolve function to get something better like Sam did."

As his friends offered suggestions and encouragement, Alex found himself balancing between frustration over his loss and a tentative curiosity about the possibilities ahead. The path forward wasn't clear, but he was already beginning to consider how to adapt.

He selected the Gifted Mage title as his currently displayed title, appreciating how it looked on his status screen before closing the window. As he turned the amulet over in his hand, running his thumb across its surface, he felt his curiosity growing. Despite the disappointment, a part of him was eager to dive into runic magic and discover just how worthwhile this exchange would prove.