Implode ~ 26!

Unlike every other time that he had accessed a teleportation field or an elevator, the trip was not instantaneous. In fact, it felt much more like riding the Bifrost than it did teleporting from one location to another instantly. Also, what might have felt ‘ticklish’ to a Grandmaster Dwarf certainly felt like having his top layer of skin flayed off and kosher sea salt rubbed in.

Even so, he was able to fully enjoy the transportation. The sights that grew visible as the Zone receded below him were absolutely wondrous to behold. When he glanced up, he saw only the black, empty sky above. He burst through the final bit of atmosphere, traveling toward a dark spot hidden among a multitude of dark spots. As he flew closer, he pierced through what must have been an illusion, and finally the sun could be seen reflecting off what could only be the top portion of a mountain.

His physical form acted as a stream of energy, blasting through the stone itself and forcing his mind to go blank in order to protect him from the sensation. When he came to, he was standing alone atop the mountain, staring at the most glorious building he had ever borne witness to in his life.

Grand Ritual Hall (Legendary)(Unclaimed).

Joe wasn't entirely certain how he knew exactly what the building was, or why the system would give him the notification so freely, but he felt that it had to do with the unique combination of the building being unclaimed, and him being a perfect fit to open it up for the first time in a millennia. Like a snail inevitably drawn toward a rich man, Joe drifted forward, his eyes unable to see anything else on the Sage's Summit. Other Dwarves were appearing behind him, but all held their tongue in reverence for the structure and the history that it represented.

The Ritualist drew near to the grand Ritual Hall, and his hand extended out on its own as he approached the door. The Grandmaster, along with all of the Masters, held their breath. This was the moment of truth, the moment when they would know if they would be the ones to see beyond the doorway for the first time in a thousand years. Joe's palm pressed flat against the door, and a tiny ritual flared to life. It was the first time he had ever seen this particular ritual, but a single circle Novice ritual hid no secrets from him.

“They can even be used like this?” He shook his head at the wonders he had yet to discover, filing away the inscription with his near-perfect memory. All the ritual had done was to compare data. It verified what class was allowed to enter the building and cross-referenced it against his base class. “This is spectacular. I could use that on so many different things… what am I doing? Activate skill growth boon, Ritual Magic!”

Ooh! Good choice! That selection will grant a lesser impact on all subskills of Ritual Magic! However, it will only last five days instead of seven. Do you accept?

“Absolutely, I do.”

A second circle summarily appeared around the first, and Joe realized that the building wasn’t finished testing whether he held the necessary requirements. It was strange to him, though; he had never seen a ritual that allowed for additional circles to activate if specific conditions were met. “I thought that rituals were all or nothing… I don't know if this changes everything, but it is certainly something to look into.”

The door to the building hadn’t even opened, and he had already gleaned information that would be incredibly beneficial down the road. Finding applications for it would be a challenge—or perhaps not, depending on what he discovered within these mysterious walls. Joe’s eyes scrutinized the new ritual that had been activated, widening slightly as he realized that the addition of the second circle had shifted the purpose of the first. Now the linked ritual was not only checking against his class, but it was also checking against his class skills. “First qualifier:class, second qualifier: my mastery of rituals? The way it shifts the language, the vectors, the quotients based on the input from the previous circle is extraordinary…”

Magical Matrices has reached Student VII!

Ritual Magic has reached Expert VI!

Ritual Circles has reached Expert V!

The three skill increases all at once felt more shocking, but the fact that he had gained the increase from what was currently appearing as a Beginner-tier ritual was mind-boggling. The only cause he could think of was that perhaps obtaining this information, especially how these rituals were interacting, was filling in a gap in his foundational knowledge that would become incredibly important in the future. He was already making plans for altering some of his rituals, such as those he used for area protection, to test whether he could designate affiliation and class as his white list instead of the crude methodology he had been using: a drop of blood from each person who needed access to the area. “The level of sophistication this has reached… I had no idea it was possible.”

The ritual vanished, and he felt a sense of presence wash over him. Even without needing to confirm it, he knew that the building itself was judging him. It had been explained to him time and again, pounded into his head, that enchanted objects were alive, even if only a little. As they aged, they gained more intelligence and more ability to act upon that intelligence. A Legendary building, over a millennia old—who knows how long it had been around before that—it was entirely possible that this place was smarter than any person attempting to enter it.

The feeling swept away from him, leaving him with a faint sense of loss. However, three emotions had been implanted before it had gone. Amusement, excitement, and a bitter loneliness. If he had to guess, the third of the emotions was the only reason that the door slowly began to creak open.

You have been granted limited access to the Grand Ritual Hall! As this is a Legendary building, only a Grandmaster of Ritual Magic(s) has the credentials necessary in order to attain ownership of it.

“He did it!” The excitement rolling off the Grandmaster Dwarf was palpable, yet she kept her voice pitched low so as not to startle anyone or anything that might be within earshot. “How much were you able to access?”

“Limited,” Joe admitted with a shrug, “but I can tell you that just watching as the door opened brought me up a skill level, and I am only three away from attaining Master status. I'm certain that if I achieve that, I would be able to do more with this building.”

She nodded, more than happy to agree with his assessment. “Absolutely correct, and let's make that happen. Whatever you need from us, consider it done. The treasury is open to you, as is access to whatever perks this building can give you, so long as we are able to secure our history from within.”

“Awesome.” Joe forced himself not to jump up and down with joy—the resources that would be available to the ruling faction of the city, Masters and Grandmasters alike, was certain to be far more beneficial to him than repeated trips to the dump in the hopes of finding a diamond among the turds. Oftentimes literally.

The Council walked into the building reverently and began searching around. Joe had expected the Ritual Hall to appear similar to the one that he had built, but he spotted a major difference right away: this building did not bear any dedication to the deities, and therefore no temple portion awaited before entering into the ritual area proper. If he’d had no prior experience with such a building, he would have assumed it was just a giant empty room, just as the Dwarves did.

The sheer disappointment rolling off of them was hilarious to Joe, especially as they did not understand what they were looking at. “If I am correct, the ritual area of this building isn’t going to be hidden like mine needed to be, which means that this is a false room. Let's see…”

He connected to the building, slowly guiding his mana to flow out of him and into the floor. Typically, such an attempt would cause an explosion as the material absorbing the raw mana would reject it and detonate violently. Here, he was able to feel the strange material that reacted to willpower and smiled as he confirmed that he had been correct. Raising his hand for pure theatrics, Joe brought his palm down as he commanded all of the ritual material to collapse into a large orb to hover above the ground.

The ‘room’ that they had entered, which had been as large as a warehouse, instantly vanished. Several of the Masters gasped in shock as the actual building was revealed. Just as it was on Midgard, the Ritual Hall seemed to hang weightlessly in space. Stars and galaxies surrounded them, pinpricks of light that moved and flowed as the universe itself. Meteors, asteroids, solar flares… every celestial body was captured in the space that surrounded them. Only the huge orb of ritual-stuff that floated in the center of the room gave the lie to the idea that they were striding through the universe unassisted.

“Right, so, if the ritual is intended to be compiled in the open room—thank goodness for plenty of space, finally—that means that the other portions are likely being used for storage instead of secret ritual creation areas.” Joe walked to the left portion of the huge space, tapping on the floor as he went. Obviously, there was no way to tell where the entrance lay, but he tried to give the impression that he could hear something the Dwarves could not. He figured it would rankle them. “Sounds like this is the spot!”

“What is he going on about?” Master Stu grumbled just as Joe waved his hand upward, and the floor followed. A staircase leading down appeared, and Joe waved his fellows toward it. “I think this is the storage area, if one of you wants to go and check, I'm sure there is going to be stuff down there that you don't want me to see.”

His nonchalance earned him a confused glance, and one of the Masters that hadn’t spoken yet voiced the question on all of their minds. “You are just… fine with not knowing what is down there? It could be riches and treasures that would be incredibly beneficial to your class. Something that has been left just for you, the inheritor to the previous owner of this building.”

“I want to make my own way,” was the human’s simple answer. “Of course, if you find something protected by rituals, let me know, and maybe if you find some Ritual Diagrams or grimoires, I would appreciate having access to them. But a deal is a deal. I never bargained for access to those things in advance, so demanding them now would not be fair.”

“A human with honor!” The Grandmaster crowed, elbowing Stu hard enough to make him gasp for air. “I told you it could be done!”