Dr. Arcane
Tower classes are divided into three phases: division, reputation, and bloodline.
In the division, there are three that are the best known and each of them has three types of reputations that can arise, all according to the individual's abilities.
The Fortius division is related to people who have more damage resistance, have more direct and close range attacks, focus on strength and constitution, and possible reputations are: Warrior, Fighter and Tank.
The Legios division is related to people who have more agility in precise movements and quick decision-making, have more flexible and medium-distance attacks, focus on intelligence and dexterity, and possible reputations are: Rogue, Analyst and Vigilante.
The Arkis division is related to people who have more skills in using spells and long-range attacks, as well as being a very good division to help the team, focus on wisdom and charisma, and possible reputations are: Arcane, Sniper and Support.
Of course, all that has been said is not a rule, as there can be several exceptions. Also, the last stage of the class, lineage, is a little known factor with almost no information about it, so there can be many combinations.
But I ended up getting a class that until then didn't seem to be known by anyone: Zhokin. I tried to find out in different ways how it works, tried out various types of meditations and training, asked the villagers and even searched every book that existed within my reach, but nothing came of this search.
I was able to wake up my Radiant Cut ability a second time, and still I couldn't discover the secret behind how it works. So far I've only been able to do it because of that voice I suddenly heard.
And to get on the list of mysteries, I couldn't use the Earth Blessing I got from Thyrus. The stone called Sacri has no description of the use of power, but the thought that it is related to my connection to nature is something I can't get out of my thoughts. I tried to ask Athenim if she knew anything but said she never got involved with the stone and didn't even ask her father how it works, which made me a little less hopeful.
- Ah…
I think it's been a while since I've sighed like that. Still, the fact that we're at a much higher-than-desired level of the floor is something that comforts me for now, as it gives me time to understand this extremely difficult puzzle of my skills.
After a day and a half of rest (this time because of Raild), we were ready to head to the fourth floor in the hope that it would be another quiet floor like what happened on the third floor. But when we started the challenge, the challenge showed that it is a floor of conquest, but instead of staying in the main hall, we were transported to another room with an extremely giant door and made of a very hard and magical material, obsidian. The objective of the floor is to open the door by getting the key. Fortunately, there were clues in the room telling where to find the key. Inside a cave that is in a specific place in the forest, there is a small entrance to a place called "arcane dungeon".
The arcane dungeon is a special place that, according to the instructions, nothing that isn't magical works inside. So we think it's better to prepare ourselves a lot before continuing the challenge.
We went to talk to Etho, the alchemist, who helped us enchant some basic equipment and gave us some tips about the dungeon environment. He said that inside the dungeon there are special mana stones that can be sold or used to cast spells from scrolls, which really caught my attention, as it would help me a lot in the next quests while I don't understand my abilities, but besides needing a magic pickaxe, incredible handling and mining skill is required. Adrick, however, took the initiative in wanting to go after these rocks and said we could trust him to get them. At these times, I am very happy to have companions.
And so we head to the place we are now, in front of the entrance to the arcane dungeon. But I feel like it won't be as simple to deal with as it was on the previous floor… Also, I'm starting to think that this dungeon has something really weird waiting for us…
At the entrance there is a stone door and on it there is a… sign?!... On the sign it is written: "Welcome to my arcane dungeon, my new guinea pigs!".
Surely there must be some kind of enemy with a psychological problem in there...
- How do you intend to act there? (Me)
- Honestly, I don't know… I don't specialize in magic attacks and I could only enchant two daggers to use in the dungeon… (Raild)
- Looks like I'd run out of enchanting materials when the lazy boar's turn came! HAHAHAHA (Adrick)
- It's all your fault, you prototype people! You wanted to spend all the resources on this giant axe!
- Hmm… after that ax saves your head I want it to receive a proper thanks!
- The least it should do is be useful to us now! If it wasn't just a waste of resources!
- What do you think, Kaule? (Me)
Kaule and I don't need to enchant our weapons as they are already magic. But because it is a totally unknown terrain, it never hurts to be cautious and cautious.
- I think as long as we're together we can handle any situation!
- "The power of friendship"!... (Raild)
- Looks like someone isn't in a good mood today… (Kaule)
- He must still not be feeling well after the previous floor. (Me)
- I won't be able to forget that anytime soon… (Raild)
"But it was a very funny scene! HAHAHA… You must have seen it, Kid, it was a…
Kaule suddenly covered Adrick's mouth before he could finish speaking.
- ~Remember we said we weren't going to comment on that...~
But before I tried to figure out what was going on, the expression Raild was making was so terrifying that I started to think again about whether I should have woken up today…
- Anyway! Let's just finish this soon… (Raild)
He opened the door and we entered the dungeon. It was totally… a beautiful place! The place is a room made of sparkling crystals and in many colors! A truly amazing place to see and you can feel that it really is an environment full of magic overflowing everywhere. But a voice ended up interrupting our moment of wonder:
- Hello, hello, testing! Is this working?...
A voice that came from everywhere? No… it's different… it's a voice that comes straight into our minds, but it's pretty hard to tell apart… and the voice seems to be an older man's…
- Welcome, dear adventurers… or should I say, my new guinea pigs! I am Mr Schörhertdavistk! But you can call me Dr. Arcane or the master of this dungeon! I am the magician who is closest to achieving the greatest knowledge of all the magic there is!
Knowledge of all spells?... Could it be...
- You will be my test subjects for my creations! If you pass, you will get the key you came for, otherwise it is death that awaits you... So I'll let you know...
- Dr. Arcane! I have a question for you!
- ...looks like we have a rude child here! I was talking about your…
- Is it true that you really know everything about magic?
- I see that in addition to being rude, he is deaf. Who do you think you're talking to?!
- What if I say something you don't know?
- Something… I don't know?… Nonsense! An ignorant person like you would have nothing to offer me! I don't think you realize the situation you're in with your teammates! Do you want me to kill you all?!
- ~Lyunil, what are you doing?!~ (Raild)
- ~Don't worry, I have an idea!~
So I held up my hands, as a sign of surrender so he would realize I just wanted to talk.
- How about a deal? If I ask you a question and you can't answer it, I want you to do us a favor...
- What if I answer?!
- Then I offer myself as your private guinea pig for any experiment!
- Lyunil!... (Kaule)
- Not just you, but all your companions too! (Dr. Arcane)
- What did you say, geezer?! (Raild)
- Then you owe one favor and four answers, one to each of us!
- Lyunil, what are you doing?! (Kaule)
- Have you lost your mind?! (Raild)
- HAHAHA! Looks like things got interesting! (Adrick)
- Accepted! He he he... (Dr. Arcane)
***
After accepting the agreement, Dr. Arcane asked us to wait a bit, as he needed to analyze some things to see if I wasn't using some kind of trick. So I took the opportunity to explain to the three of them what I intend to do.
- But are you sure he doesn't know that answer? (Raild)
- No…
- You fool !!!!!!!! Put all of us on this useless bet not knowing if he would win?! (Raild)
- But don't worry, regardless of the outcome, we'll have an advantage.
- What do you mean by that? (Kaule)
- Ready! I'm done and it looks like there's nothing wrong, you can ask the question!
- ~Trust me, everything will be fine!~
After nodding at them, I spoke the question aloud:
- How does the Zhokin class work?!
…
…
- Wait a minute! Wasn't it supposed to be a magic-related question?!
- Well, well, it looks like we have someone who hasn't given us an answer yet and tried to escape by using another question...
- Wait a minute! That wasn't part of the deal!
- How not?! What makes you think this is unrelated?
- Wait a minute then...
- In your time!...
Hi hi hi!
Looks like it's working!
But it looks like the other three looked happier than me! Despite being a sad reality because I don't know anything about my class, these moments end up being of great help! We can say that a disadvantage turned into an advantage.
- THERE IS! That must be it!... (Dr. Arcane)
/Glup!/ (x4)
— Damn, it has nothing... (Dr. Arcane)
/Sigh!/ (x4)
- And then, Dr. Arcane?! For those who were very confident in their own knowledge, it seems that now it is taking a long time to give an answer...
- Don't piss me off, kid! You said I have as much time as I need!
- Okay, okay… stay calm! In your time!
***
Forty minutes have passed and so far I have had no response. We decided to sit and wait while Adrick wanted to look around the dungeon. For someone who has gotten used to being in places like this during his life, he must be feeling quite at ease...
- Okay boy! I give up, I can't answer this question… I want you to at least tell me what kind of class this is?! (Dr. Arcane)
- I do not know either!
- WHAT?!... So... it's something no one knows yet?!! (Dr. Arcane)
For some reason he has changed the intonation of his voice and seems to be more excited than I expected... Now I feel a little worried...
- I'll open a passage for you, please come to the last hall! (Dr. Arcane)
Suddenly, a passage opens on the floor in front of us, forming a deep staircase...
I hope this doesn't end up in something bad...
***
We made our way to the bottom of the stairs, Adrick managed to catch up in time, and we arrived at a big place with a kind of crystal monolith in the center and beside it…
- Come on! Come on! Do not be afraid!
Dr. Arcane also appears to be a type of dwarf due to his size and manner of acting, but he appears to be of a much older age when compared to Adrick. His hair and beard are white and his face has the beginnings of wrinkles. Their garments, however, are the strangest! It appears to be some kind of big white vest with some pockets and some weird tools in the pockets… and he also wears a pointy hat full of frills and colors that always seem to be sparkling but don't dazzle the eye!
We approached him and he got right to the point.
- On here! You can keep the key!
Then he handed me the key without hesitation.
- Now you can ask your questions!
I looked at my teammates and they replied:
- As far as I was concerned, I was only interested in the key! Lyunil can ask for me. (Raild)
- I'm not interested in any questions either, I'll give Lyunil my turn too. (Kaule)
- Go ahead, kid! (Adrick)
- Thank you, guys!...
I turned my gaze to the little mage and started asking questions.
- First, I would like to know how I can get more information than the system has to offer?
With that, we will be able to solve this problem of scarcity of information.
- Unfortunately for you who are at Level 1 of the Tower you won't get much information yet… but when you reach Level 2 you will have much more access and there will be much more information to discover!
So we still have no way to get information… I think the best way is to take advantage of this opportunity!
- How can I find out more about my class and the skills I have?
- So it's you who owns this treasure? I was waiting for you to say that!
For some reason, I didn't think that answer was as exciting as he feels…
- I can make another deal with you! In fact, it's not a deal, it's a kind of help! I can analyze you to try to find out more about the behavior of magic in your body and how it behaves, as well as trying to find out what tendencies and affinities it can assume to see what kind of abilities you might have!
Despite being something that sends a chill down my spine when thinking about what kind of analysis he wants to do on me, it seems to be a very interesting proposition!
- And how am I supposed to repay this help?
- Don't worry about it, the important thing for me is having this rare new knowledge that's right in front of me...
Why does he seem to be looking at me like I'm a piece of meat?
- And what would I need to do?
- A fight!
- A fight?
- In that case, it would be the combat you would have to fight when you reached this last hall. I'll be in my room monitoring you with my equipment and when you're done I'll tell you the conclusions! But to improve this analysis I will need you to use some more equipment as well.
- I see, I'll do it then.
- Excellent!
- Looks like you're going to be pretty busy now… (Kaule)
- We'll finish the floor and then come back here!" (Raild)
- Wait! It's important that you participate in the fight too! (Dr. Arcane)
- Why? (Raild)
- Feelings and behaviors are also important tools for the realization of some skills. Because you are his companions, when you are participating in combat with him, hormones and synapses mixed with understandings and reflexes can be a key to knowing how the class works. (Dr. Arcane)
- That was a tedious way of saying that he wants us to get hurt in dangerous combat, because putting our lives in danger might awaken his ability… (Raild)
- So so… (Dr. Arcane)
He tried to hide it with a forced smile... But unfortunately he's right. The two times I was able to use my Radiant Cut was when we were in danger… but is this the only way I'll be able to use this ability?
- Anyway, you don't need to do this. We don't need to be facing dangers unnecessarily (besides, dangers always come to us…). We can find another way to… (Me)
- Blah Blah Blah… No need to give the king's speech every time we go to do something! We will help. (Raild)
- Besides, the challenges from now on will be more and more difficult… we will need all the effort we have. (Kaule)
- I came here wanting to fight anyway! (Adrick)
- It seems everyone has agreed! (Dr. Arcane)
I think I run out of options when this kind of thing happens...
- From your smile, I can tell you have good companions… (Dr. Arcane)
- Yes… Let's do the tests then!
- Great!... Before that, I was wondering where you got that sword and necklace that exude so much magic… wait… that stone on your necklace… it can't be!!!!
He fell backwards, in a state of great shock!
- That stone?! That was my next question for you!
- W-w-w-w-where y-you got that S-S-S-Sacri?!?!?!
- Why are you so shocked?!
- Do you have any idea what this is?! Do you even know where you got this from?!
- I got it from a friend named Thyrus!
- WHAT?!!! FRIEND?! YOU SAID THE TITAN OF THE EARTH IS YOUR FRIEND?!!
- And what's the problem with that?!
- With that stone you can swallow the whole dungeon… no… the whole forest, with the village and even the Tower underground with a simple wish!
- What?! This is serious?!
- Much more than serious!
He got up from the floor and started cleaning the dirt from his clothes.
- And do you know how this works?
— Infelizmente, não… eu só sabia desse tipo de coisa por causa de rumores! Nunca consegui ver um de perto… e diferente da minha vontade de descobrir sobre sua classe, tenho bastante medo de saber sobre essa pedra… o máximo que posso te dizer é que tome cuidado com isso, tanto ela quanto o interesse que ela desperta em outras pessoas podem acabar te matando…
— Entendo, mesmo assim obrigado pela resposta…
— Vou preparar os equipamentos.
E ele saiu em direção a uma porta que deve ser a sala dele. Parece que eu ainda não vou conseguir descobrir como a pedra funciona. Mas se eu conseguir pelo menos descobrir como minha classe funciona já será de grande ajuda!
***
- All ready! (Dr. Arcane)
We've finished making all the combat preparations. He asked me to swallow an object the size of a grain of rice, and also put some strange things stuck to some parts of my body… like octopus suckers with a special type of stone in each of them.
- The combat will work like this: I'll start with a 0-grade enemy and gradually increase the difficulty until we get satisfactory results! So, if you get lost on the verge of dying, have patience until we get the results!
- Don't play with us, you old man! If not me, you will end up there with you, it will happen! (Raild)
- So let's start!
He explained to us that the enemies in this room are actually his experiments. They are spells that create life, but that follow the creator's will, and like spells, enemies range from 0 to 10. For example, he said that the enemy we are going to face now is a spell called "hands of magic" which is a 0-degree spell and serves only as an extension of the user's reach. But as an enemy, they are big hands and they will try to hit us, like a giant ghost.
The monolith began to glow and the first enemy was formed, the hands of magic then appeared, but before the combat started...
A familiar voice came out of nowhere! ...
["Looks like we have a party going on here and I haven't even been invited! Isn't that right, Mr Schörhertdavistk?! "]
- It's you, pest !! What do you want from me this time?! Can't you see I'm busy!?
["This time I didn't come to play with you, I just want to have fun with an old friend. Although he doesn't remember me at the time… "]
[ERROR! THE SYSTEM IS BEING MODIFIED! THE ENEMY'S GRADE IS RAPIDLY INCREASING! DANGER!]
- You fool! What are you doing? It will kill us all!!
["Right answer!"]
[THE GRADE HAS BEEN UP TO 10! THE "TIME MARKER" MAGIC HAS BEEN ACTIVATED! THE CONTROL PANEL HAS BEEN LOCKED WITH PRIVATE SECURITY!]
["Let's see how much fun you will make me this time…"]
- DAMN IT !! WE'RE SCREWED !!! GET OUT OF HERE, CHILDREN! BEFORE…
/Strike!!/
What was this?
- DR. ARCANE!? WHAT HAPPENED?!?!?!?
Suddenly, a huge pool of blood starts coming out of the room he was in!
- DAMN IT!!!!
- Lyunil, let's get out of here! NOW!! (Raild)
- But what about him?!
- LYUNIL!!!! (Raild)
- This scene has said it all, let's go before it's too late! (Kaule)
- Dammit dammit dammit…
We started running towards the stairs again, but as we approached her, an extremely intimidating figure appeared in front of us!
A black armor with multiple regions with a glowing purple and a dark and icy aura. Over six feet tall and a huge sword, stained in blood… And I'm sure this thing won't let us through…
- ARMOR SKIN, PRIMAL INSTINCT!!! AAAAAAAAA!!!!
- DON'T GO, ADRICK!!!!
But it was just me blinking my eyes that the scene totally changed.
That thing disappeared… and Adrick had a big cut on his back lying on the ground…
- WHAT A…
- Closed formation, guard each other's backs!! (Raild)
We formed a triangle, leaning against each other's backs and looking around to find out where that thing went…
We can't help Adrick right now, but since he's activated his ability he'll be able to take it for a while...
- Natural Weapon! The system said the spell's name is "time marker", so be in a defensive position every second, as we'll never know when it's going to attack us. (Kaule)
We raise our weapons in blocking mode.
- How are we going to defeat something that controls time?! (Raild)
- If only we knew how this magic works… (Me)
Please voice I need you now!!
Suddenly my sword started to glow more than one side, on my left side, but not a glow equal to my skill, but like a glow… warning!?
- Kaule, get down!
I pulled him a little further to the side and after he had blinked the enemy appeared before our eyes and his sword made a small cut on the tip of Kaule's nose.
- What?... (Kaule)
When he asked, things had already happened and the enemy had already disappeared.
- What happened?! (Raild)
- How did you know? (Kaule)
- For some reason, the sword started to glow as if it were warning where the attack was coming from...
- This will be useful to us!... (Kaule)
He gets up again and we go back to the formation we were in.
- I don't understand why it disappears so suddenly? If he can stop time or something, he shouldn't be invisible or disappear for so long... (Raild)
Raild is right, it seems the enemy's skill isn't that simple and I still don't know how the sword managed to warn of the attack. Is this really some kind of time control?
This time the sword began to glow more towards the other side.
- Raild, that will attack you!
So we prepare to defend from the attack. The enemy appeared from the side we were waiting for and attacked with his sword in our blocking direction...
But something unexpected happened.
When the attack was about to hit us, the sword changed the direction of the glow and went back to glowing in the direction of the first time!
When we blinked it was too late! The enemy was in front of Kaule who was looking the other way…
- KA…
/Slaashh!/
- … ULE!!!!
Kaule was cut in half and each part fell to one side…
This can't be happening…
This must be some kind of nightmare…. but all that blood on the floor…
No no no no….
- KAAAUUULLEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!