Strength Based Wizard-Chapter 39. Beyond the Bronze Horizon, Part I

Chapter 39

Beyond the Bronze Horizon, Part I

I make my selection and—

FWOOM!

The selection barely finishes confirming before the void yanks itself inside out.

A tidal wave of bright white light, floods my vision, washing over whatever’s left of my concept of “up,” “down,” or “hey, maybe I’m not dead.” A rushing sensation, like I’m being sucked through a pipe heading straight into the great beyond.

Just as suddenly as I was flash banged by the System, the light fades and with it the strange sensationless state of being. I’m met by a gentle breeze. It’s soft. Warm. Smells like cut grass. Grass? I can hear it shifting in the breeze. I feel the blades tickling my ankles and calves.

I open my eyes and stumble forward, feet squishing into lush, dark green grass. I blink away the residual light, and suddenly the world resolves into an oddly familiar setting.

Entering Dead World #43.

I’m standing in a wide-ass field. A sea of greens and golds stretch out around me, as far as I can see. Sunlight kisses my face. It feels good. I’m instantly absorbed by the serenity of the scene. It’s like I’ve been picked up and dropped into a Bob Ross wet dream. The peace is interrupted by another System message:

THE CARDINAL HAND SEES YOU.

Well… shit. That can’t be good.

Reading the message causes cold dread to spiderweb itself throughout my guts. It reads like a warning… Or a threat.

“Wait a second,” I mumble. “Dead World 43…”

I knew that sounded familiar! My mind adjusts, orienting itself and pulling on threads of memories from months ago. Dead World #43 is the same Realm I entered during my first Gate… It’s Jelly Boy’s home Realm. And I had received a very similar foreboding message just before using my Return Key to summon the Exit Gate.

Great, Awesome. Love this for me, I think.

I spin in a slow circle. Veronica. No Clyde. No squishy, bouncing Jelly Boy trying to lick electricity poles.

Am I alone?

Did the Combine Enhancement for our Bronze Tickets not actually work after all? Were we sent to different Realms? Perhaps each person’s Bronze Gate is meant to take them back to the same Realm they visited on their first Gate? Who was to say? I don’t recall seeing any mention of that pattern on the Discussion Channels.

Or did the Bronze Gate Tickets work as we intended, and we were all brought to the same Realm. Just scattered to the four corners of this god-forsaken Dead World.

I clap my hands together in a sad attempt to summon purpose.

“You just need to deal with the cards you’ve been dealt,” I say, trying to do my best to channel Dad.

Pop.

The air next to me shudders, ripples like hot grease, and bam—Veronica materializes out of thin goddamn reality, coming into being in a shower of pixelated light.

She lands with a practiced step, eyes already scanning the horizon like she's expecting trouble. I hope I looked half as cool when I materialized into this Realm, but let’s be real. I know I came stumbling in like a newborn deer that just woke up from a long nap.

Before I can say anything to her, I’m greeted by another pop.

Clyde appears to my left, half-crouched like he just got teleported in mid-squat. He looks around, then immediately straightens. His expression? About 10% relief, 20% suspicion, and 70% pure what-the-hell-is-this-place. He looks around, taking Veronica and I in, along with the rest of our surroundings.

Finally, and to my immense relief, Jelly Boy joins us. Instead of a pop, his coming into being is heralded by a wet, squelching noise—like the sputtering sound a ketchup bottle makes when it coughs up the last of its contents. A brief flash of light and then there he is, a basketball-sized ball of blue ooze floating in the air near my face for a breath before he plops down onto the grass beside my feet.

He looks side-to-side curiously before looking up at me, his eyes closing in joy, accompanied by a fanfare of vibrations. I bend down and give him a nice little pat. “Welcome home, buddy,” I whisper.

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“Careful crouching down like that,” says Veronica. “With those jorts, something’s bound to pop out!”

I glance up at her, prepared for a quippy response, but am startled by the storm of System notifications that attack my vision. I stumble back, falling straight on my ass with a “Oomph!”

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Veronica busts out in laughter, covering her mouth while pointing a finger at me.

I mentally karate chop the interface closed with one swipe of thought.

Clyde finally decides to speak up. “Get a bunch of notifications too?... OK if we take a beat? Review the notifications and then discuss next steps?”

Veronica responds with a curt nod. Jelly Boy is bouncing softly in place, but his typically black eyes are reflecting a subtle blue light like they do when he’s up late sitting in front of my laptop streaming one of his shows. He didn’t even hesitate to begin working through his notifications.

“Makes sense to me,” I say. I remain seated as I begin to open and swipe through the System-generated text boxes.

Party Synchronization: Complete.

Veronica Sampietro has joined your Party!

Clyde Richmond has joined your Party!

[Party functions are available in the Party Menu.]

I close out of this notification. I’m excited to see what functionality the System might offer to an actual Party and make a mental note to check it our when I have a little more time. I know that Exploration Teams during Gate Jobs utilize the Party function all the time. But I never really spent time searching for information about it. Interesting that the System automatically placed us into a Party upon entering the Gate.

New Class Obtained: Muscle Mage!

[See User Menus for More Information]

I exhale a slow, shuddering breath reading this message. I have an official, System-awarded Class…! And t think that a couple of weeks ago I was content using my System-enhanced body to make gains in the gym. I’m assuming Clyde and Veronica are exploring the finer details of their new Classes too. I wonder what Classes they opted for?

I need to check out my new Stats!

User Profile:

Name: Joseph Sullivan (Participant No. 4,432,444)

Race: Human

Discipline: Spellcaster

Class: Muscle Mage

Level: 11

Health Points (HP): 80 [Current: 80]

Mana Points (MP): 0 [Current: 0]

Stamina: 115 [Current: 115]

0 MP?... I run a hand down my face. What the hell did I do?... Clearly not read the description closely enough. I didn’t realize I would be losing all of my Mana in exchange for channeling magic using my muscles.

I try not to let my frustration get the best of me.

I move on to my Statistics.

User Statistics:

PHYSICAL STATISTICS:

Strength: 22

Dexterity: 13 [+9 from Equipped Items]

Constitution: 10

MAGICAL STATISTICS:

Intelligence: 3

Willpower: 9 [+6 from Equipped Items]

Spirit: 1

Wow. Now, that is something to behold! It’s a pleasant surprise to see an immediate impact from the Natural Stat Growth of my new Class. But it’s immediately apparent why it isn’t wise to level up too much before gaining your Class: that Stat Growth absolutely laps a measly +2 stat points on each level up.

A 22 in Strength? Hell yeah…

I mentally swipe to my Trait and Skill menus. At a glance, neither offers too much additional information beyond the basic attribute descriptions I was provided at Class Selection.

TRAIT: Body Focus.

[Description: The user’s body becomes their arcane focus, allowing them to cast spells without the use of using an attuned focus. How the user focuses their body may impact the casting process of Spells. Stamina is now used instead of Mana for casting Spells. All Spell costs remain otherwise unchanged.]

The sensation that follows reminds me of when I used the Spell Tome to learn Mana (Force) Blast. Like a USB was plugged into the front of my skull—instant understanding flooding my synapses. Different body movements and poses flip through my mind, each one attached to one of the Spells I know.

The movement for Wizard’s Hand? Turning my torso slightly to the side while flexing both arms in front of me—almost like a fighting pose—fists closed. Hm… That’s interesting. I have a sneaking suspicion that causes me to think about the pose for Mana (Force) Blast. Arms opened wide, slightly bent to flex the biceps, and wrists turned slightly inward to pump the forearms a bit.

Wait a second…! Is that a Crucifix pose?... I think back to the pose for Wizard’s Hand. That’s definitely a Mantis pose. These can’t seriously be bodybuilding poses!

TRAIT: Flexible Casting.

[Description: The User has the ability to modify the nature of their spellcraft. At the current level, this Trait has altered all Spells cast by the User to use the Strength score as its Source. Beginning at Level 15, the User will occasionally be able to modify a single Spell upon level up.]

Okay, now we’re cooking! Who needs Enhance Spell potions from Quests when I’ll eventually receive free opportunities to modify my Spells. While the ability to use my body as a spell focus is both a blessing and a curse, the optionality and customization this Trait provides me will allow me to design and tailor the kind of Spellcaster I am. It’s freaking awesome!

I check out my new Skill, next.

Skill: No Pain, No Gain

[Description: The User is capable of creating an ‘Overclock’ effect when casting a Spell. This Skill can be activated in combination with casting a Spell and has no cooldown time. The User may sacrifice a percentage (in units of 1%) of their Stamina in order to increase the power of the Spell. For every 1% of Stamina sacrificed, the User will also lose 0.50% Health.]

Hm, okay… Definitely not anything new, but the percentages are a helpful detail to keep in mind. Given the disparity between my Stamina and Health, it will be something I’ll need to keep in mind. Don’t need a math mistake zeroing out my Health and eliminating the protection it provides.

I exit my own Stat windows and before I fully back out of the Menu interface, I pause. My eyes catch the Ally Menu. I mentally open the menu and select ‘Jelly Boy’ to see his details. His selected Class is… Not what I expected.

Class: Arcane Juggler

[Description: A rogue-like prankster Class focused on taking an enemy’s magic and turning it against them. Arcane Jugglers are mischief-makers incarnate.]

Before I can check out his Stats, as well as any new Traits or Skills he may have gained, a new message window slams into my vision.

New Quest!: Beyond the Bronze Horizon.

Description: Obtain a Dragon’s monster core and bring it to the Old Gobblin Factory.

Reward: You will receive a Return Key (x1).

Did that just say dragon? As in a giant fuck-off, fire-breathing lizard?

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! I groan, falling onto my back and closing my eyes. How was this even going to be possible?

“Huh…” Veronica says. “Can the System make spelling errors?”

“Did that just say gobblin?” says Clyde.