Victor rushed toward the source of the noise, but he was hardly getting close. Even if his mind was clear, the mist turned the forest into a disorienting maze. But then, a faint blue light glimmered at the edge of his vision, drawing him toward it.
“What is that?” He could hear one player asking that question not far away; he must be getting closer to them.
“It’s an incomplete magic tool designed to repel magical beasts and supernatural phenomena like this.” This bragging voice obviously belonged to Eleanor.
At that moment, the source of the turmoil revealed itself again in the same floating orbs form. Recognizing the opportunity, Victor seized the moment and cast a spell — {Tempest Burst}. A whirlwind burst forth and scattered the mist, revealing the forest’s true form like it once was. Simultaneously, the powerful tempest also caught the floating orbs, hurling them deep into the forest, away from the group.
Victor quickly assessed the situation and saw that one of the players had sustained a severe bleeding gash on his chest. A magic spell must have caused it, likely {Slicing Wind}. Meanwhile, another player was in a daze and hoisted his spear defensively against his own allies from approaching. The two players were namely Zero and Locktekei.
“Stay back! Don’t come any closer, you monster!” Locktekei screamed.
Seeing this, Victor thought, So even players aren’t immune to these illusions… Yet, they seem to possess some resilience against it. It was a miracle that only one was affected and not all of them.
“Sir Astralium! You’re here!” Mike called out to him in relief.
Still on edge, Thunder questioned as he scanned the forest, “Have those strange entities been driven off?”
“Yes,” he assured them. The wind cyclone should be effective against this elemental life form, at least temporarily. Though, it didn’t mean that they should stay here for long either.
Approaching Locktekei, whose mind was still clouded by the illusion, Victor removed his Twilight Moon Pendant. He used his infused mana to gently subdue Locktekei’s erratic movements before placing the pendant around his neck. The pendant’s calming effect was immediate; his eyes gradually cleared, and his eyes became clear.
“Wh-What…? Headmaster?” Locktekei was puzzled as he stared back at him.
“Good. It seems that your mind has cleared up.” Victor took back the pendant and wore it before turning toward the injured player, Zero.
His injury wasn’t fatal and could be easily healed by the energy pool inside the Nexus Tower. However, he was bleeding, and it was still far away from the destination. By the time they reached the academy, he might have died from blood loss. Immediate on-site treatment might be preferred here.
“What have I done?” Locktekei murmured guiltily, still grappling with the aftermath of his actions.
“You were under the influence of a supernatural illusion. It’s not your fault.” Victor tapped his shoulder to assure him and then approached Zero.
“Esteemed Headmaster, Locktekei, I’m fine. I can still walk.” Zero stood on his feet despite the injury, looking as if the wound didn’t bother him in the least. Well, being a player meant that he would have pain shielding, making such an injury no different than a scratch, but this didn’t mean that the body was the same.
“Mm, I know. But be more cautious next time.”
It was clear that Zero, being the most rational and the first one to process the situation, had been injured while trying to restrain Locktekei. Luckily, MsMelody, a healer with a high Bio-elemental affinity, was here to administer immediate medical attention. If Victor wasn’t wrong, she was studying to become a nurse in real life, so she also knew how to do first aid. What a happenstance.
As a third-stage Initiate Attunement acolyte, Victor could also use his mana to heal, but it wouldn’t be half as effective as a specialized healer like her.
“Whew! I thought I was a goner.” Eleanor wiped the sweat off her forehead like nothing big had happened. “The Thornwood Forest is a very dangerous place; no wonder that my pops and the other old folks warned me never to venture inside.”
“That’s right, it is dangerous. But it is also an ideal location for a base camp. On top of that, it’s full of untouched resources.”
Most Magus academies were like that. They would build up their foundations inside a treacherous land where they could exploit geographical advantage and maintain a defensive stance against enemies. Besides, this kind of problem wouldn’t have been an issue if Victor was a real official Magus, but a mishap or two was still something within his expectations.
After Zero’s injury closed up, Victor told the players to quickly vacate the area with the two wooden carts while avoiding the likely place where the elemental life form might have been blown away. Such an eerie entity could resurface at any moment, and preparing a countermeasure was imperative. Perhaps the answer to this dilemma already existed in the form of an outgoing girl and her disproportionally large backpack.
She had been the one who caused the will-o-wisp-like life form to show itself, thus allowing Victor to unleash a spell to blow it away. It was highly likely that his girl still hid a secret from him — something which might be quite shocking. Either way, he would let nature take its course for now.
Nevertheless, it seemed Victor was not the only one intrigued by her enormous backpack, as the players couldn’t resist asking about its contents. Eleanor, with a laugh, explained, “You wanna know what this backpack contain? It contains all my essential tools, personal items, and various works-in-progress, like the one that helped us earlier. It’s all part of being an Artificer.” Realizing she might have revealed too much, she glanced at Victor with a sheepish smile.
Seeing no reaction from him, Eleanor playfully added, “Well, preparation is key in our line of work is all I can say,” and winked at the players, eliciting nods of understanding from them.
As they continued their journey deeper into the forest, the players’ moods gradually became lighter. The tension and uncertainty that had clouded the atmosphere began to dissipate… It wasn’t long before Mike quietly sang the catchy lines of “Old Town Road” by “Lil Nas X.”
“Yeah, I’m gonna take my horse to the old town road. I’m gonna ride ‘til I can’t no more,” he crooned, his voice echoing softly among the trees.
His solo was soon joined by another voice, adding to the chorus. “I got the horses in the back. Horse tack is attached…”
Mike picked up the melody again, this time with more gusto, playfully mimicking a cowboy as he hauled the cart. “Ridin’ on a horse, ha. You can whip your Porsche…”
Soon, the next line of “Nobody can’t tell me nothing” became a group chorus with everyone joining in. This song seemed to soothe their frazzled nerves and lift their spirits.
Victor watched, mildly astonished. Singing was not unusual among the players, but this was the first time he witnessed them spontaneously uniting in song. It was as if the music was helping them shake off the remnants of the earlier incident, easing their anxiety a bit.
When the third verse arrived, Zero took the lead with remarkable enthusiasm as if his injury didn’t exist: “Hat down, cross town, livin’ like a rockstar…”
Because of the infectious earworm that appeared from hearing them singing, Victor was forced to hum the tune under his breath. Meanwhile, Eleanor was awestruck by the song and quickly followed to sing as well. This musical interlude continued with a few more popular songs until they were getting close to the destination: the Sanctum of Interdimensional Magi.
As they neared the academy, the imposing black spire of the Nexus Tower and the expansive clearing came into view. At last, they came back from their arduous and unexpected journey. Victor himself felt a bit gleeful that there was now a new NPC that could help him; he could offload tasks that he previously couldn’t.
Stepping onto the academy grounds, Victor turned to the group and ordered, “Send the seeds to the agricultural group.”
““Yes!””
The six people nodded together and scurried away with the two wooden carts. He had promised each player two hundred merit points for their participation in the expedition. Though the reward a lot more than a typical hunting mission, it was clear from their expressions that the experience had been thrilling.
Turning to Eleanor, Victor welcomed her, “Welcome to your new home, Eleanor. Now, there are a few important things that you really, really need to know about this academy. Let’s head to my office first.”
“Aye! Anything you wish, boss!” she responded with a playful salute and a giggle.
Boss? Victor frowned a bit at this but realized that he should probably ease up on his strict Magus demeanor around Eleanor. After all, her spirited nature seemed unlikely to change, and perhaps that was for the best.
“On that note, I’ve been wondering about something regarding these folks.” Eleanor’s gaze drifted over the group of six players that, for some reason, didn’t do what he told them to and were staying at a close distance from them.
Overlooking this fact, Victor responded, “What about them?”
“Isn’t it just me, or do their names sound a bit... well, you know?” Her voice was dropping to a whisper.
Victor already guessed her line of thought, so he replied, “Literal, you mean?”
“Yes, exactly that!”
Victor chuckled lightly. “They’re not their real names. Think of them as… creative aliases they adopted when joining the academy.” This was obviously a lie, but he couldn’t think of anything that would fit better to explain the situation.
“Wait,” Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she affirmed, “so I get to pick a fancy alias, too? How exciting! Let’s see... What about HammerForgeSweetGirl? Or, wait, I’ve got it — PrettyArtificerNo1! Sounds catchy, right?”
Victor, trying to keep a straight face at her antics, managed to let out a response. “Uhh, sure…”
***
Even though they were told to deliver the seeds to the agricultural group, they couldn’t resist lingering to watch the interactions between the headmaster and the new NPC girl. This deviation from their task was surprisingly Alfred’s idea, as he was the supposed leader of the agricultural group, even if he had long since delegated his duties to someone else.
While their voice was out of earshot, they could see from Eleanor’s animated expressions and the interaction so far that they seemed pretty close. They even went as far as speculating about the hidden relationship between the two.
Their musings were soon interrupted by the arrival of several familiar players — Prominence, SuperNova, and Storm. Yes, Storm seemed to have been revived when they were gone.
Brimming with millions of questions after his week-long absence, Storm blurted out, “What’s going on? Who’s that with the huge backpack, and why is she with the headmaster?”
“Hmm, think of her as a newly added NPC,” Alfred explained. Although he had a clear idea about the NPC girl, it was a bit difficult to tell it in detail. Besides, he could be wrong, so waiting for the official website to update the information would be better.
The three players were not satisfied with the answer, though they had little choice but to accept it.
“Okay…” Storm made another question, pointing at Alfred. “But then again, why are you injured so badly?”
“Yeah, your acolyte robe is almost cut in half. It looks like you’ve been through a meat grinder — not that I see you’re that injured,” Prominence expressed his opinion.
“What exactly happened in this expedition?” SuperNova couldn’t help but chime in as well.
Hearing that, Locktekei scratched his head sheepishly and confessed, “Uh, that was me. I kinda attacked him. It wasn’t intentional, but…”
“Relax, don’t blame yourself.” Alfred shook his head. Truth be told, he was also caught in the illusion too when he tried to stop him.
“Mhm. We were ambushed by something… supernatural. It was like nothing we’ve ever faced before,” another player added.
With that, the group then retold them the harrowing tale of their recent adventure, reliving each moment with exaggeration, forgetting the task and the two NPCs who were already out of sight.
AstraMagically
Victor rushed toward the source of the noise, but he was hardly getting close. Even if his mind was clear, the mist turned the forest into a disorienting maze. But then, a faint blue light glimmered at the edge of his vision, drawing him toward it.
“What is that?” He could hear one player asking that question not far away; he must be getting closer to them.
“It’s an incomplete magic tool designed to repel magical beasts and supernatural phenomena like this.” This bragging voice obviously belonged to Eleanor.
At that moment, the source of the turmoil revealed itself again in the same floating orbs form. Recognizing the opportunity, Victor seized the moment and cast a spell — {Tempest Burst}. A whirlwind burst forth and scattered the mist, revealing the forest’s true form like it once was. Simultaneously, the powerful tempest also caught the floating orbs, hurling them deep into the forest, away from the group.
Victor quickly assessed the situation and saw that one of the players had sustained a severe bleeding gash on his chest. A magic spell must have caused it, likely {Slicing Wind}. Meanwhile, another player was in a daze and hoisted his spear defensively against his own allies from approaching. The two players were namely Zero and Locktekei.
“Stay back! Don’t come any closer, you monster!” Locktekei screamed.
Seeing this, Victor thought, So even players aren’t immune to these illusions… Yet, they seem to possess some resilience against it. It was a miracle that only one was affected and not all of them.
“Sir Astralium! You’re here!” Mike called out to him in relief.
Still on edge, Thunder questioned as he scanned the forest, “Have those strange entities been driven off?”
“Yes,” he assured them. The wind cyclone should be effective against this elemental life form, at least temporarily. Though, it didn’t mean that they should stay here for long either.
Approaching Locktekei, whose mind was still clouded by the illusion, Victor removed his Twilight Moon Pendant. He used his infused mana to gently subdue Locktekei’s erratic movements before placing the pendant around his neck. The pendant’s calming effect was immediate; his eyes gradually cleared, and his eyes became clear.
“Wh-What…? Headmaster?” Locktekei was puzzled as he stared back at him.
“Good. It seems that your mind has cleared up.” Victor took back the pendant and wore it before turning toward the injured player, Zero.
His injury wasn’t fatal and could be easily healed by the energy pool inside the Nexus Tower. However, he was bleeding, and it was still far away from the destination. By the time they reached the academy, he might have died from blood loss. Immediate on-site treatment might be preferred here.
“What have I done?” Locktekei murmured guiltily, still grappling with the aftermath of his actions.
“You were under the influence of a supernatural illusion. It’s not your fault.” Victor tapped his shoulder to assure him and then approached Zero.
“Esteemed Headmaster, Locktekei, I’m fine. I can still walk.” Zero stood on his feet despite the injury, looking as if the wound didn’t bother him in the least. Well, being a player meant that he would have pain shielding, making such an injury no different than a scratch, but this didn’t mean that the body was the same.
“Mm, I know. But be more cautious next time.”
It was clear that Zero, being the most rational and the first one to process the situation, had been injured while trying to restrain Locktekei. Luckily, MsMelody, a healer with a high Bio-elemental affinity, was here to administer immediate medical attention. If Victor wasn’t wrong, she was studying to become a nurse in real life, so she also knew how to do first aid. What a happenstance.
As a third-stage Initiate Attunement acolyte, Victor could also use his mana to heal, but it wouldn’t be half as effective as a specialized healer like her.
“Whew! I thought I was a goner.” Eleanor wiped the sweat off her forehead like nothing big had happened. “The Thornwood Forest is a very dangerous place; no wonder that my pops and the other old folks warned me never to venture inside.”
“That’s right, it is dangerous. But it is also an ideal location for a base camp. On top of that, it’s full of untouched resources.”
Most Magus academies were like that. They would build up their foundations inside a treacherous land where they could exploit geographical advantage and maintain a defensive stance against enemies. Besides, this kind of problem wouldn’t have been an issue if Victor was a real official Magus, but a mishap or two was still something within his expectations.
After Zero’s injury closed up, Victor told the players to quickly vacate the area with the two wooden carts while avoiding the likely place where the elemental life form might have been blown away. Such an eerie entity could resurface at any moment, and preparing a countermeasure was imperative. Perhaps the answer to this dilemma already existed in the form of an outgoing girl and her disproportionally large backpack.
She had been the one who caused the will-o-wisp-like life form to show itself, thus allowing Victor to unleash a spell to blow it away. It was highly likely that his girl still hid a secret from him — something which might be quite shocking. Either way, he would let nature take its course for now.
Nevertheless, it seemed Victor was not the only one intrigued by her enormous backpack, as the players couldn’t resist asking about its contents. Eleanor, with a laugh, explained, “You wanna know what this backpack contain? It contains all my essential tools, personal items, and various works-in-progress, like the one that helped us earlier. It’s all part of being an Artificer.” Realizing she might have revealed too much, she glanced at Victor with a sheepish smile.
Seeing no reaction from him, Eleanor playfully added, “Well, preparation is key in our line of work is all I can say,” and winked at the players, eliciting nods of understanding from them.
As they continued their journey deeper into the forest, the players’ moods gradually became lighter. The tension and uncertainty that had clouded the atmosphere began to dissipate… It wasn’t long before Mike quietly sang the catchy lines of “Old Town Road” by “Lil Nas X.”
“Yeah, I’m gonna take my horse to the old town road. I’m gonna ride ‘til I can’t no more,” he crooned, his voice echoing softly among the trees.
His solo was soon joined by another voice, adding to the chorus. “I got the horses in the back. Horse tack is attached…”
Mike picked up the melody again, this time with more gusto, playfully mimicking a cowboy as he hauled the cart. “Ridin’ on a horse, ha. You can whip your Porsche…”
Soon, the next line of “Nobody can’t tell me nothing” became a group chorus with everyone joining in. This song seemed to soothe their frazzled nerves and lift their spirits.
Victor watched, mildly astonished. Singing was not unusual among the players, but this was the first time he witnessed them spontaneously uniting in song. It was as if the music was helping them shake off the remnants of the earlier incident, easing their anxiety a bit.
When the third verse arrived, Zero took the lead with remarkable enthusiasm as if his injury didn’t exist: “Hat down, cross town, livin’ like a rockstar…”
Because of the infectious earworm that appeared from hearing them singing, Victor was forced to hum the tune under his breath. Meanwhile, Eleanor was awestruck by the song and quickly followed to sing as well. This musical interlude continued with a few more popular songs until they were getting close to the destination: the Sanctum of Interdimensional Magi.
As they neared the academy, the imposing black spire of the Nexus Tower and the expansive clearing came into view. At last, they came back from their arduous and unexpected journey. Victor himself felt a bit gleeful that there was now a new NPC that could help him; he could offload tasks that he previously couldn’t.
Stepping onto the academy grounds, Victor turned to the group and ordered, “Send the seeds to the agricultural group.”
““Yes!””
The six people nodded together and scurried away with the two wooden carts. He had promised each player two hundred merit points for their participation in the expedition. Though the reward a lot more than a typical hunting mission, it was clear from their expressions that the experience had been thrilling.
Turning to Eleanor, Victor welcomed her, “Welcome to your new home, Eleanor. Now, there are a few important things that you really, really need to know about this academy. Let’s head to my office first.”
“Aye! Anything you wish, boss!” she responded with a playful salute and a giggle.
Boss? Victor frowned a bit at this but realized that he should probably ease up on his strict Magus demeanor around Eleanor. After all, her spirited nature seemed unlikely to change, and perhaps that was for the best.
“On that note, I’ve been wondering about something regarding these folks.” Eleanor’s gaze drifted over the group of six players that, for some reason, didn’t do what he told them to and were staying at a close distance from them.
Overlooking this fact, Victor responded, “What about them?”
“Isn’t it just me, or do their names sound a bit... well, you know?” Her voice was dropping to a whisper.
Victor already guessed her line of thought, so he replied, “Literal, you mean?”
“Yes, exactly that!”
Victor chuckled lightly. “They’re not their real names. Think of them as… creative aliases they adopted when joining the academy.” This was obviously a lie, but he couldn’t think of anything that would fit better to explain the situation.
“Wait,” Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she affirmed, “so I get to pick a fancy alias, too? How exciting! Let’s see... What about HammerForgeSweetGirl? Or, wait, I’ve got it — PrettyArtificerNo1! Sounds catchy, right?”
Victor, trying to keep a straight face at her antics, managed to let out a response. “Uhh, sure…”
***
Even though they were told to deliver the seeds to the agricultural group, they couldn’t resist lingering to watch the interactions between the headmaster and the new NPC girl. This deviation from their task was surprisingly Alfred’s idea, as he was the supposed leader of the agricultural group, even if he had long since delegated his duties to someone else.
While their voice was out of earshot, they could see from Eleanor’s animated expressions and the interaction so far that they seemed pretty close. They even went as far as speculating about the hidden relationship between the two.
Their musings were soon interrupted by the arrival of several familiar players — Prominence, SuperNova, and Storm. Yes, Storm seemed to have been revived when they were gone.
Brimming with millions of questions after his week-long absence, Storm blurted out, “What’s going on? Who’s that with the huge backpack, and why is she with the headmaster?”
“Hmm, think of her as a newly added NPC,” Alfred explained. Although he had a clear idea about the NPC girl, it was a bit difficult to tell it in detail. Besides, he could be wrong, so waiting for the official website to update the information would be better.
The three players were not satisfied with the answer, though they had little choice but to accept it.
“Okay…” Storm made another question, pointing at Alfred. “But then again, why are you injured so badly?”
“Yeah, your acolyte robe is almost cut in half. It looks like you’ve been through a meat grinder — not that I see you’re that injured,” Prominence expressed his opinion.
“What exactly happened in this expedition?” SuperNova couldn’t help but chime in as well.
Hearing that, Locktekei scratched his head sheepishly and confessed, “Uh, that was me. I kinda attacked him. It wasn’t intentional, but…”
“Relax, don’t blame yourself.” Alfred shook his head. Truth be told, he was also caught in the illusion too when he tried to stop him.
“Mhm. We were ambushed by something… supernatural. It was like nothing we’ve ever faced before,” another player added.
With that, the group then retold them the harrowing tale of their recent adventure, reliving each moment with exaggeration, forgetting the task and the two NPCs who were already out of sight.
AstraMagically
