Ruthless ~ 23!

HI guys! I just re-wrote a large section of this chapter, I was getting comments that Joe was wayyyy off his normal character, and you were totally right about that. Hope you like this better, and thank you all so much for the feedback. It makes the books better, and me into a better writer!  

~ 23 ~

Joe and the Master enchanter walked out of the temple and over to a small restaurant that had recently Opened. They opened the door, but when Joe saw who was sitting at a table waiting for them, he stopped cold and started to turn around. The old man he was walking with gripped his arm firmly, “Please allow me to have a chance to explain my actions.”

“You are going to tell me that you are the one who ordered her to spy on me. I got that.” Joe’s mouth was a firm line, and he gripped the weathered hand on his arm for a moment before throwing it off of him. “I am not particularly interested in letting you explain this away. Friends do not spy on their friends, usually that is reserved for people they see as enemies. Terra, why didn't you just come to me directly and discuss? Why did you bring him along? Am I so volatile that you need a third person just to have a conversation?”

The Enchanter held up a hand to stop him. “Joe, you have to understand. You know how oaths work. Not only was she risking a title, she would have automatically lost her apprenticeship with me. The reason I am here now is that there are still things she cannot reveal, and I needed to offer the explanation for her. Now, here is what was happening. I was attempting to scout out an extremely talented individual without alerting my own enemies to my interest.” 

“That ship has sailed now, and now I am risking you being drawn into my fights because I messed up and didn't place enough trust in my chosen apprentice.” The old man waved at the table, where Terra was staring down at the wood. “It was my fault that she lost a friend. I just want a chance to explain myself and make the offer I originally had planned.”

“If this is about the Mana batteries, sorry to have to tell you that I really want to keep that design to myself for now. Beyond that, the item I used to craft them was destroyed when my guild was attacked by a different group that only had their own interests in mind. I don’t see myself recreating such an expensive process, especially not to hand it over to another person who will not tell me the full truth. If you planned to tell me the full truth, only Terra would be here, correct?” Joe was pleased to see him wince as the meaning struck home.

“I feel that I don't have much to say that would change your mind on this, so I will get right into what I have to say and you can decide for yourself.” The elderly man collected himself, “Terra has explained to me that you have an incredible affinity for enchantment. You have been able to craft not just standard things; you have been able to generate and refine recipes for enchantment that others have given up on. Your Mana Batteries were not the only thing I was interested in, but that did play a large part in grabbing my attention. Now, there are interesting things that you have created, but I also see the glaring holes in your ability to progress.”

“Joe, there is a reason the College exists. There is a reason that we have teachers that are able to help students along the path they choose. Without the wisdom of those who came before you, you are treading your own path through the wilderness while marching alongside a paved road leading to your destination.” the Elder sighed at the hesitance he still saw in Joe's eyes.

“Everything has a cost.” Joe simply replied. “I would prefer the cost to be decided by me, and not by what someone decides is best for me.”

“The College is different now.” The Enchanter promised him with a serious tone. “I will not ask that you give me anything right now, not even an answer, but please think about the things I have said.”

Here he waved at Terra, who had flushed a brilliant scarlet and still had not looked up from the table. “I simply wanted a chance to explain myself, and attempt to make reparations. She was never meant to be spying on you, per se. I didn’t even actually send her, Terra was there because she wanted to be, and I simply asked her about your potential and such. Then I asked her to keep my interest private, and that is where I went wrong.” 

“For now, I offer to bring you your knowledge of enchantment to an acceptable level so that you would not destroy yourself or others. I will take you to the Beginner rank in whichever enchanting discipline you desire as recompense. From there, you will need to register as my student to go further. What I will not do… is go easy on you, so be prepared to hate me for entirely different reasons if come for tutelage!”

“Enjoy lunch on me.” With that, the old wizard strolled out of the room after flipping a few coins onto the table. Joe looked at Terra, who had still declined to move. He held his gaze for a moment longer, but when she didn't react at all, Joe turned toward the door.

“Please wait.” Terra quietly requested. Joe paused, but did not look back at her. “I am sorry that I so thoroughly ruined my friendship with you, but please take my Master's offer. The things that you can already do… I can only imagine what you would be able to do.”

“I have never really had many friends, Terra.” Joe remained in place, struggling with himself. Self-reflection was hard. “I am an independent an inventive person… I know that I can be preoccupied with my thoughts, I can become detached and isolate myself. In spite of all that… I want to be capable, and competent. I want to possess knowledge and understand my environment. Most of all, I fear becoming useless or trapped.”

“I didn't know what to think, back when you walked away after I joked about calling you a spy. It was clear that something had happened, and I could only assume the worst.” He turned to face her directly, “In the future, if we are going to have an issue, please come talk to me yourself. Even now, I feel oddly paranoid, and want to lash out. I don't know what to think… so I am going to take your word for it that there was no ill intent. Until I see something different, that is how I’ll try to act, as well.”

Terra’s eyes widened at his words, but still she swallowed hard and nodded. “I really did not think that what I was doing was wrong, honestly I agree that the fact that I could not explain myself and had to simply leave made things a hundred times worse than they should have been. Still, I understand, and it will not happen again.”

Joe nodded, “Thank you, I will also try not to be so quick to anger. I tend to jump to conclusions, but I could also… really use a friend. Shall we try to catch up?”

“I ordered some food, please sit and eat.” Terra pushed his chair out with her foot, and he sat down. They talked for a little over an hour, awkwardly at first, but getting warmer as time went on. Apparently, she was still dating Tim, and the relationship was going very well. He told her about some of the issues that he had been having recently, and they exchanged information about interesting items that they had seen circulating.

Too soon, Joe needed to leave and get back to his normal duties. “Thank you for this, and thank you for the explanation.”

“Thanks for letting me give one.” Terra smiled brilliantly at him, and Joe rolled his eyes at her overacting.

Feeling happier than he had in a week, Joe went out into the Guild area and looked around. There was plenty of work for him to do, and now seemed like the right time to do it; so he decided to sit down and think about what he should prioritize. He broke it down into a few broad categories. His current quests, his duties for the guild, his personal characteristics, and his overall skills. upon thinking of his overall skills, he remembered to use his lore increase for the day, and boosted his Architectural lore to Novice nine by simply focusing on it and activating, “Knowledge!”

He needed to return Daniella's book to her, it had helped him get up to Novice five, and he had been diligently working to maximize his lower in the novice ranks before he saw her again… Joe blinked and works to refocus, he had been finding it harder and harder to remain on one subject recently, and he was uncertain as to why. perhaps the fact that there was so much to do made him wants to ignore it all and go lay down in bed instead? That sounded pretty normal to him.

He decided that since he was thinking about his skills anyway, he would start there for now. Joe knew that he needed to go and increase his combat proficiency, he was becoming nearly useless in fights beyond being a support character. Even there, his non-combat abilities had also been stagnating. Now, there was nothing wrong with being a support, but he wanted to be able to have a greater impact in fights if possible. Whether that meant finding new skills or improving his current ones, only time could tell. 

Joe pulled up his Ritual Magic skill and sighed as he realized that it was still at Expert one. For some reason, no matter how he had been innovating with his rituals, no matter the complexity he created, this skill had barely increased since he had become a Rituarchitect. Before, he had assumed that he just was not using enough or challenging himself enough. 

With a fresh attitude and a new outlook, he looked at the book he pulled out of his storage ring: Alchemically Enhanced Components. “You hold the key, don't you? A cook could never become a Master Chef simply by having the ability to chop his ingredients really well, by having the best pots and pans, the best ingredients, or the best recipes. It is a combination of all of that, and why would Ritual Magic be any different?”

As soon as he voiced his thoughts, he had an epiphany. Joe staggered as his heart pounded and a strange energy seem to well up within him. black energy started to seep from his pores, and the sclera of his eyes flashed with spinning ritual circles. his eyes closed, then reopened, completely clear of whatever had affected them.

You have reached a deeper understanding of not only your skills, but your class and the inherent benefits and limitations it holds. your base class has been upgraded from Ritualist to Ritualist+. You have gained a novice understanding of the five component skills that comprise Ritual Magic as a whole. Form a deeper understanding of not only who, but what you are to increase your base class further. New Prestige classes have opened further along your path.

Ritual Magic (Expert I): Ability to create, maintain, and change rituals much more efficiently than usual. This is a category of magic That is advanced based upon the understanding of the sub skills within it. only win one is a master of all the portions of this category can they be true Masters of Rituals. (Bonuses currently maximized at -85% mana and component cost.)

Alchemical Rituals (Novice III) (Passive): this governs the ability to use alchemically enhanced components in rituals to alter, further Specialize, or broaden the effects of a ritual upon activation. This is a subskill of the Ritual Magic category. +1n% to use Alchemically enhanced components in a correct manner. this may include choosing which component to use, where to place it, or how to refine it. this bonus is applied to skill checks when creating alchemical components for rituals, where n = skill level.

Enchanted Ritual Circles (Novice I) (Passive): Whether it is the storage of Enchanted gear, the usage of Enchanted inks, or the linking of multiple ritual circles, this skill governs the ability to use those enchantments in the creation of ritual circles. This is a subskill of the Ritual Magic category. +1n% to use enchantments correctly in the creation of ritual circles, where n = skill level.

Ritual Circles (Expert I) (Passive): The creation of ritual circles is a meticulous and tedious process that few have the patience or prowess to pursue. Simple mistakes lead to catastrophic results, but correct usage may lead to unfathomable power. This is a subskill of the Ritual Magic category. +1n% to use create, destroy, or alter ritual circles, where n = skill level.

Ritualistic Binding and Summoning (Novice I) (Passive): There are a plethora of components that's can be created to alter rituals. Many of them cannot be obtained naturally. They must be drawn from elsewhere and harvested for use. a word of caution, usually whatever is summoned does not want to be used as a stepping stone for your power. sometimes, be summoned may be used directly to empower a person or object. Ever heard of a sentient sword? Yep, that is this skill. This is a subskill of the Ritual Magic category. +1n% to for summoning or binding to be successful, where n = skill level.

Magical Matrices (Beginner IX) (Passive): Math, the bane of adventurers. Knowledge of how things are, how they should be, and the ability to prove this is the true path to mastery. This is a subskill of the Ritual Magic category. +1n% effectiveness of the lore skill when applying it to the creation of magical diagrams when a form of higher math is required, where n = skill level.

Joe swallowed as he looked over the new additions to his skills. “That is a lot of information to take in… I feel like I should be a little offended that my entire class just became a giant passive ability? That doesn't seem like it should be right. and this! what does it mean that new ‘Prestige’ classes will be available? What is a ‘Prestige’ class and how do I get one?”