Lurker > nikko004

C) Hang out with Terry instead

You put your hand out and shake your head. Id rather keep my quarters to myself. Are you really sure you cant just sleep by yourself?

She looks around, thinking about it. In the end, she sighs. I dont think Id be able to sleep. It feels much more unsettling without company.

You stroke your beard. Well, I think Lye has been looking rather unsettled recently. Perhaps you could sleep with her instead and itll help both of you.

She looks at Lyes door. Youre right, she did seem like that. Alright, Ill go to her then. Have a good night, sir Merlin. She bows, then leaves, closing the door behind her.

You crash unto the large bed and stare at the ceiling.



No good. Youve been staring at the ceiling for too long. You look over to the window, where you can still see the moon peeking at you from the clouds. It fills your room with a gentle blue hue.

You grumble and get up, making your way up to the rooftop of the castle where you all landed. There, you see Terry sitting near the edge and looking over the city.

He looks back over his shoulder. Oh, Merlin. Why are you still up?

I could ask you the same, boy.

He looks back to the city. Ive just been...thinking a lot. That, and I already slept a lot earlier to recover, so its hard to sleep right now.

You sit next to him, with one leg dangling over the edge. Me too. Well, not the sleeping part. But yeah, thinking.

He looks at his bandaged hand. Merlin, what made you pursue the mastery of magic?

You tilt your head.

Cuz, well, you and King Goldius told me about the importance of resolve. But I dont even know why Im doing all this. Just recently, I fought for nothing but pure survival. It was such a raw instinct. He tenses his bandaged arm, which makes him wince a bit from lingering pain. But instinct alone wont get me far.

You adjust your hat. Hmm...well how about this, why did you attend a fancy magic school?

He looks up in thought. When my parents died, they took me in, even though I sucked at magic. It didnt help that the Academy was mostly for rich nobles. I guess I just stayed out of obligation.

So basically, you havent done a single thing for yourself.

He exhales. Guess not. Ah, but you still havent answered my question, Merlin.

You stand up. Do you like magic, boy?

Eh? I guess? We kinda need it. That still doesnt answer my question though!

No, it is you who didnt answer my question just now. Resolve is tied to the heart, boy. And that answer didnt have any.

Terrys face grows more puzzled by the second.

You sigh and hoist him over your shoulder. I think itll be easier to show you.

Terry flails around. Eh?! What are we--

You fall forward, then kick against the wall, launching yourself towards the city.

Miraculously, you land in a cart with bags, easily cushioning your fall.

The owner of the cart is startled. Oy, what the hell? The weather didnt tell me about raining Wizards!

You jump out and tip your hat at him.

You wish to guide Terry to find his motivation for pursuing magic. Where do you think hell find it?

A) Theres a festival happening in the town square. Attend that
B) Find the rowdiest pub in the city
C) By coincidence, run into someone Terry knows while walking around the city

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alright alright ill update tomorrow

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yump

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How to open a door, Step one: https://imgur.com/EWKRS

yup

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up

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happy hallowumpin

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lumpin

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umpin

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bumpin

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up

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B) Must protecc

You cross your arms. If I was alone, yes. But right now, I also have to deal with keeping everyone else alive.

The King raises his hands and backs off. Alright alright, I can respect that.

Lyes tail droops. Mr. Merlin...do you think of us as burdens?

Oh I, well, I didnt mean it like that--

She stops and looks at you dead in the eyes. Do you?

Smore tries to interject. Miss Lye, he is simply taking a less risky option--

Smore. Please. Im trying to ask a question.

You frown and take off your hat. Look, Im not gonna bullshit you here. You are a burden. Plain and simple. You couldnt control your magic back in Rockenrolland, and you could only barely beat Queen DuVaines golem by a hairs width.

The King looks curiously. Whoa, the young lady survived against DuVaine?

You glare at him. You. Shush. Actually, speaking of you, that thing kicked your ass. Tell me Lye, do YOU think you can take on that thing if he couldnt?

She pouts. I dont fuckin know! Maybe if we all banded together we could! Why does it have to be down to you always protecting us? Smores a fucking dragon!

Who cant use her only form of vision right now, nor can she use her wings.

Mr. Gundilf has his weird blackpowder thingy and he can kick ass!

Well he...actually nah, I got nothing. He can kick ass. Still, what about you and Terry?

We she exhales. ...also got nothing. She kicks a pebble aside and continues walking forward. Man I just...Im scared, Mr. Merlin. Of everything right now. I wish I was stronger like you. You never fear anything.

You also exhale. If only that were true. you mumble. You cant show her any weakness though, as her teacher.



The walk continues for a while, until suddenly, a net unravels and captures you all, hanging you from some trees.

Oho ho ho hell yes, that sounded like a real big one-- Gundilf says before being met with disappointment. Yer not food.

The hell is happening?! says the King while wiggling around. Goddamn! Merlin, your ass is blockin the way!

Or perhaps your face is blocking my ass.

Gundilf cuts the rope with a pocket knife. Upon your landing, he helps you up and pats you on the shoulder. Good tsee ya brother. Please tell me ygot food.

You also pat him on the shoulder. Indeed I do. Its where our cart is.

He looks unamused. A no woulda been fine too.

The King starts crawling away. Oh hell no. Nobody told me about this. Your friend is Gundilf the Reaper?!

Gundilf scratches his beard. This the lil bitch boy thats supposed thelp us with finding Goldius?

Look man, Im backing off if hes gonna be part of the deal! My dad says hes the baddest of bad news!

Smore pats herself off after helping Lye up. Would Miss Watermoses not be sad if she heard you?

Oh cmon, dont you pull that on me! He looks at the ring. ...Agh! Alright, fuck it, fine, I aint backin off. Please dont kill me.

Gundilf grins. Oho, so yer the new big Wind boy? He throws his knife at the King.

...Which lands just in front of his hand, cutting off some leftover rope that got tangled.

He immediately shivers.

Gundilf crouches down and picks up his knife, while looking at the King mischievously. Tell yer old man I said hi.

Lye pats herself off. Wheres Terry?

Right on cue, Terry emerges from the woods with his face all dirtied up. He is carrying a net with a large animal in it. Mr. Gundilf, check out what I--

All he sees is Gundilf looming over the King with a knife.

Mr. Gundilf, we cant eat people!

The moment Lye sees him, she instinctively backs away with her tail curled up. Terry notices her and is slightly confused.

The King immediately jumps up. OOOOH HELL NO, DO NOT EAT THAT. he yells, pointing to the animal in the net.

Gundilf sighs and cuts the net. Damn. And here I thought wed be having Griffin stew tonight.

The Griffin spreads its wings and growls at Terry.

But its anger is interrupted by Airagorn pouncing on it and hugging it. Oh G-man, dont ever leave me alone again!

G-man chirps.

Smore looks at it inquisitively. Fascinating. Mother never told me about this creature before.

The Griffin panics upon seeing Smore approach it, and it bows out of fear. It seems to recognize a pecking order.

The King gives it one last round of petting. Whew. Alright, we found G-man. That makes this a lot easier. Hes our ticket outta here. Alright G-man, you ready to fly us outta here?

You look at it with wonder, not having seen a Griffin in years. Is he gonna be able to carry all of us?

The King thinks very deeply.



G-man jets through the gravitational pull of the dense mana, bursting right out of the forest and into the moonlit skies.

I feel silly. You say, sitting on the Kings shoulders with your massive frame.

Oh dont be a stickler brother, the views great from up here! Gundilf says while sitting on your shoulders.

This is so fucking cool! says Lye who is sitting on Smores shoulders. She glances at the full moon and has an urge to howl for some reason.

Terry sits behind Smore as he looks down to the forest.

And back in the forest, the beasts red glowing eyes glare back at him; the rest of its body buried in darkness.



After getting a good view of Airyzona from above, it really just looks like Wizardcity but on a floating island. Nothing really stands out to you. G-man lands on the roof of the castle.

The King escorts you all inside, where he leads you to a hall with some bedrooms. Alright, this has been too long of a day. Im peacin out. Well talk about the search tomorrow. Make yourselves comfortable.

With that, he walks away to his own room.

Lye glances at Terry then immediately darts her eyes away. Okay-this-was-fun-goodnight! she says rapidly and then runs into one of the bedrooms, slamming the door shut.

Terry yawns. Lyes got it right. Gnight! he says, also entering a bedroom.

Gundilf nods at you and gets to his own bedroom.

You also walk to one of the bedrooms but notice Smore following behind you. Whats the matter? Theres plenty of other rooms here.

She twiddles her thumbs. Ive never slept alone. Ive always been with Mother.

A) Sleep with her

Alternatively, there is another event that can happen at night if A is not chosen. Choose who to hang out with if not with Smore.

B) Gundilf
C) Terry
D) Lye

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How to open a door, Step one: https://imgur.com/EWKRS

muppity

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taking the train in bump city

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driving through bump city

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travelling downtown in bump city

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back in bump city

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bump

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up

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How to open a door, Step one: https://imgur.com/EWKRS

A2) Show the ring and find the others

You hold the ring like you were flipping a coin, but instead you flick it towards his forehead.

Ow! The hell-- King Airagorn sees the ring that bounced off his head and landed on his hands. ...Mousey?

You loom over him. I was told youd know what this ring means.

His eyes open up like a sad dog. It means Mousey wants a divorce! Shit!!!! He starts sobbing.

You sigh. The fuck? A divorce? Youre talking about Queen Watermoses, yes? All she said was to ask you for help and to show you that ring.

He continues sobbing. Buh...but...this was the ring I won for her at the Wizard Festival! I knocked those pins down to win this prize for her, and now shes giving it back?! He stands up straight and flails his arms out. DID OUR ONE DATE MEAN NOTHING TO YOU MOUSEEEEEY?!

The large beast roars.

He jumps. Shit, right. That guy. Ill uh, keep my post-divorce breakdown on the down-low then.

You pinch the bridge of your nose. You had one date with her. And that was enough for you guys to get married?

He puts on a smug face. Heh. Of course not. Far from being married; I am simply deeply infatuated with her. Sthe whole reason why I even got on the Grand Wizard council, so I could see her again after that fated day!

Smore perks up in curiosity. Is this part of your Wizard mating rituals? Does one pursue a partner with such one-sided fervor like that?

The words one-sided seemed to stab the King. Hey now, it may -look- one-sided but trust me. Every time we make eye contact at the Grand Wizard meetings, were one step closer to our honeymoon. He looks at Smore keenly. Now that I look at you, youre part dragon, just like Mousey, aintcha? You guys got a different mating ritual?

Oh, mother says we usually just ask.

He blinks. Ask? Like, ask to fuck? Just like that?

Smore remembers that fuck means beating someone up according to you. In her mind, she thinks back to her father defeating her mother in combat before they got married, at least thats how the story goes according to her mother. So with that, she nods.

He sighs and plays with the ring. Damn. I wish I was a dragon. Thats way easier.

You clear your throat. Ahem. Anyway, are you going to help us or not?

Oh! Right, right yeah, if Mousey trusts you then I got your back. He scratches his chin. ...What do I got your back on again?

Im sure youve been told that I killed King Goldius. What really happened is, Im being framed.

He crosses his arms. Cmon now, I didnt do it is like the dumbest way for a criminal to hide the guilt.

You glance at the ring, and then him, all with contempt.

He gulps, then sighs. Alright alright, fine, Ill believe you. But only because Mousey does as well. So who killed him, then?

Hes probably still alive. Thats where you come in, we need your help finding him, sir King of the skies.

He squeals. Oh man, is that what Mousey called me?! Shit!!!! Divorce is off the table!

Lye approaches you and tugs your robe. Mr. Merlin, shouldnt we look for the others first?

You nod. Right. Im sure Terry is fine if Gundilf is with him, but itd put my mind at ease if we find them.

She waves her tail anxiously. I think I might know where they are, actually. I saw some mana that might be from him.

Smore tilts her head. Most interesting, Miss Lye. Even I could not sense that much.

Ehehe she laughs nervously.

Oh, got some more friends in this forest? The King asks. Well if yknow where they are, lead the way then, lil lady!



All of you walk through the forest, with Lye up front next to Smore who is keeping a watch for any danger.

You and the King follow behind.

I should ask, you begin, do you know where the hell we are?

Youre walkin in the Under Forest! We call it that because, well, yknow.

You look up. Right. Makes sense. So, you really take morning walks in this shady place?

Oh, I just like to call it a walk. Really, Im here to train. Show I keep up with the rest of the Grand Wizards. They got all that fancy magic, but me? I just got a pointy stick, he says, materializing his spear. I mean, everyone else has a stick too, but mines pointy. So that automatically makes me special.

Sure, keep telling yourself that, you mumble.

Luckily, the King didnt hear you and continues on. This place is pretty good for honing your battle senses, yknow? Its got an endless supply of mana beasts!

Smore chimes in. I was rather curious about that. These beings seem to be made almost completely of mana. Where do they come from?

Right here, Ms. dragon. Dunno what it is about the trees, but they trap mana down here, so its built up a lot. Enough to form these beasts somehow. Lucky for us though, they dont seem to like the sun very much, so they stay here, away from the public.

You look up. Is that related to the large beast thats been roaring for a while now?

Oh, him? Thats Azrael. I just let him do his own thing, while I try my best not to show my face to him! Least I could do for making him like this.

Lye turns her head. Dude. You made that big-ass monster?

The King puts his spear away and shakes his head. Nah. Well, yeah? Kinda. Originally, he was the size of a pup, yknow? He tried to bite me, so I kicked his ass. Didnt have it in me to kill him though, so he got away. Big mistake that was.

He sighs. These beasts are smart, yknow. Azrael held a grudge on me. Really wanted to get back at me for defeating him. And well, thats what he did. Within a few months, he probably fought tooth and nail with the other beasts to get stronger. To get bigger. And when we finally crossed paths again

He puts his hand over his chest. Well, I almost didnt make it. I barely escaped within an inch of my life. Doesnt feel good when the shoe is on the other foot. Worst yet, it was only the size of a bear when we had that rematch. Now its almost as tall as these big-ass trees.

He balls his hand up. Azriels crazy, man. Im pretty sure he wants to kill me, to finish the job and all. But part of me thinks Im not worth it for him anymore. Seems to me like hes become prideful. That all he seeks is a formidable warrior to fight. Kinda worries me that he might get strong enough to overcome the sunlight and kill everyone just to find that warrior.

Right on cue, a roar echoes throughout the forest.

The King raises an eyebrow. Come to think of it, hes acting up way more than usual right now. Only thing thats different is that you guys are here. Heh, wonder if hes out for your blood, Mr. Criminal.

I told you, I didnt do it.

Alright fine, Mr. May-or-may-not-be-a-criminal.

He stops and looks at you dead in the eyes. Look. Youre definitely pretty strong. I felt that first hand. And Azrael probably senses that too. So level with me here man. Are you confident in fighting him?

A) Yes. And then flex your guns.
B) No. Prioritize everyones safety.


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How to open a door, Step one: https://imgur.com/EWKRS

yeah ive been good thanks :) just been feeling uninspired for the week but ill suck it up and try to write tomorrow

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tis but a bump

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yeah we bumpin

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incoming bump

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bum

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up

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How to open a door, Step one: https://imgur.com/EWKRS

C) Befriend Wolf

Lye ponders to herself. Out of curiosity, she extends her other hand out, but the wolf is fixated on licking her wounded hand. She successfully pets the wolf.

You turn around and see the wolf near her and ready yourself to charge, but she looks at you and puts her hand up.

"Hold on a sec, guys. Can y'all stop attacking? I...I think they're chill." she says.

You stand in silence, then cross your arms. Wolves leap out past you, flocking to her.

Smore crouches down, also letting her wolves through.

They all leap onto Lye, piling on top of her. She gets increasingly flustered as the pile grows.

They all start glowing blue. The pile starts to look more like a blob of mana.

You run up and grab King Airagorn's body, shielding him from whatever might come next.

Lye closes her eyes.

...And when she opens them, she sees a familiar sight. Time is frozen again. She looks at her hands to see them completely blue like before. She entered Mana Zen.

She sees the mana strings flying around her and waves at them. They wave back.

The giant blob of mana floating right above her starts to descend.

She reaches her hand out to it. It grazes it, then starts to flash.

It slowly shrinks, changing its form to something rather human-like.

In fact, it looks a lot like her Mana Body. It holds its hand out to her.

Being raised to be the polite girl she is, she grabs its hand for a handshake.

The moment their hands clasp, she immediately falls to one knee. The strings on her Mana Body start floating to the humanoid. Her breathing starts to get heavier and heavier. It felt like she was losing air. She weakly looks up to the humanoid.

Its head changes to that of a wolf, flashing a sinister grin at her.

Her Mana Body starts to fizzle erratically. The fizzling gets more and more intense until another Mana Body emerges out of her.

It looks just like Terry. This must be from when she had to cast Merlins Fist.

Terrys Mana Body floats in stasis above the Wolf humanoid and Lyes Mana Body. The humanoid tries to grab him, but some force rejects it.

Mana strings dance around him, and then they weave together into rope. They attach to him and start to grow out towards a peculiar direction.



Alright lad, you just rest up and hope you dont die of an infection or something. Im off to find another source ofood since these damned beasts just disappear into thin air, says Gundilf before he walks off into the darkness.

Terry stares at the sky. Hes not sure whether its day or night, but his newfound Mana Vision lets him pretend the mana strings floating around are like stars in the night sky. Its a soothing sight for him.

A strange rope of mana reaches his view. It wiggles around and then dangles over him.

He slowly sits up and notices Gundilf still in faint sight. However, hes not moving. Almost like a statue. In fact, the trees that were once swaying are all as frozen as statues. Leaves are suspended in the air.

Mr. Gundilf? Terry calls out. No response.

He looks back to the rope, dangling more wildly.

Out of curiosity, he weakly reaches out for it. The moment his finger makes contact with the rope, a big flash of light blooms.



Terrys Mana Body glows brighter than before. He descends to the ground and sees the wolf head of the humanoid. Instinctively, he throws a punch at it.

It gets knocked to the ground, before he pounces on it and starts beating the shit out of its face.

Terry? Lye calls out.

No response from Terrys mana body. Its almost robotic in a way. The long string being attached to him reminds her of a puppet.

After thoroughly punching its face, he grabs the rope attached to him and wraps it around the humanoids neck, choking it.

It flails its arms around desperately.

Lye isnt sure what the hell is going on, but she doesnt like it. Her unease causes her Mana Body to change from blue to red. She gets up and runs to them.

Terry, what the fuck are you doing?! she yells while tackling him.

But the moment she touches him, his mana body also turns red then explodes into mana particles, just like the dead wolves. The particles all start flying in the direction of the long rope, which also slowly disintegrates like a lit fuse.

W-wait, did I...kill she starts to mumble with a shaky voice. The distress makes her body redder.

The heavily breathing humanoid gathers its bearings and strenuously tries to grab Lyes leg. But instead, it too has crimson dyeing its body. The strings around it start to fly back to Lye.

Lye couldnt stop it. She falls on her back and tries to scuttle away, but the humanoid was holding on too tightly.

She closes her eyes again.

Lye! you yell.

Her eyes dart open. She feels tears streaking down her face. She wipes her eyes with her hands, now back to their normal look. The mana strings dont seem to be visible anymore.

No more wolves. All that's left is Lye breathing heavily. The wound on her arm is gone.

She gets up and dusts herself off, but you notice something odd wagging back and forth. She notices your confused look.

You point to behind her.

She raises her brow and looks at her back, then jumps and smacks it.

It being a tail that faintly glows. Since it's attached to her, smacking it only sent it to her other side.

"Fascinating," Smore remarks while getting up. "You are truly quite remarkable, Miss Lye."

She spins around, trying to grab her tail. "What the fuck happened? What the fuck is this?!"

"Those wolves were trying to absorb your mana," Smore replies.

"Oh."

"I'm not sure why, but you absorbed them instead. And now you hold an extremely dense reservoir of mana behind you. It's rather similar to our dragon wings."

She flicks her tail. "So...they weren't being chill then. She stands in a moment of silence. ...Mr. Merlin, Miss Dragon Lady...did I kill anyone?

You and Smore look at each other, then back at her and shake your heads.

Do you know if...Terry ever...killed anyone? Is he the type to kill without remorse? she asks, more shakily than her last question. I mean, Ive seen you and Mr. Gundilf kill like its nothing, but...Terry?

Smore walks up to her and puts a hand on Lyes shoulder. Miss Lye, did you witness something unsightly?

She hugs the tall dragon lady in front of her. I dont know. I dont know if any of it was even real. Maybe it was just a bad dream.

You toss away the King and cross your arms. You know Lye, that was really reckless of you. What if those wolves did succeed in absorbing you?

She hugs Smore tighter. I dont know! But...I guess in the back of my mind, I trust you guys. I have to trust you guys. That youd save me in the end.

You look away. We wont always be there, yknow.

But right now, you are.

None of you say anything for a while.

The Kings body stirs. Dude..my head. Goddamn. Feels like a whole mountain fell on me.

(Multi choice time)
A) Show him the ring from Queen Watermoses
B) Save it for later

1) Prioritize taking care of that large beast
2) Prioritize meeting up with Terry and Gundilf
3) Prioritize escaping the forest

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How to open a door, Step one: https://imgur.com/EWKRS

dump

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How to open a door, Step one: https://imgur.com/EWKRS

its another bump

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lump

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wump

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buump

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How to open a door, Step one: https://imgur.com/EWKRS

Thanks again for all the bumps :D

A) Cast Rock

Terry throws the rocky rope towards one of the leaping wolves, but it sidesteps at the last second.

He pulls back, letting the rock graze the wolf from behind before it promptly explodes and disintegrates the wolf.

The explosion causes the rocky rope to bounce off to another nearby wolf. Without any hesitation, Terry charges it with mana and sets it off again, scoring another kill.

It bounces back to Terry, smacking him in the face. He rubs his cheek and continues to grit his teeth, taking notice of the growing frays on the rope.

More wolves remain, and are still fast approaching Terry.

He throws the rope forward again, but suddenly, it snaps.

His immediate reaction is panic, but muscle memory takes over before he could really react. Mana flows into the rope again. When Terry blinks, he sees the strings of mana for a split second as they vibrate erratically. When he opens his eyes, the image of those strings linger briefly.

He nudges his hand. The mana string flies out of the end of one half of the rope, and is guided back to the other half. It finally reaches the rock and blows up a wolf.

The rocky half of the rope flies away into the darkness.

When Terry blinks again, his eyes open to a completely new world. He looks around and sees the strings of mana with clarity that hes never seen before, coexisting with the world instead of strings floating in the darkness of closed eyes.

But before he can appreciate this newfound vision, one wolf reaches him and tackles him down.

His instincts kick back in as he blocks the wolfs gnawing advance with the remains of his rope, wrapping it around the wolfs neck.

He releases mana through the rope once more, but being able to see it physically lets him think about what hes doing. Seeing the string of mana vibrate wildly, he attempts to imagine it staying still.

Slowly, it vibrates less and less. He doesnt even notice the wolf struggling for its life, hes focused solely on the rope and the mana flowing through it.

He exhales. The mana comes to a standstill. He then nudges his hands, which conjures magic circles on their own.

A burst of flames erupts, along with electric sparks flying out. Once Terry was done being blinded by this, the rope was melted into nothing, along with the wolf.

The remaining wolves halt their assault, pausing in fear of what just came out.

Terry stares at his bloodied hands, which are full of swirling, but uniformly swimming mana strings. That...that was real magic! Without chanting! I can cast magic again! He looks to the wolves with newfound confidence. Only now does he truly notice that hiding within the dark fur of the wolves is an incredibly dense network of mana strings swimming in them.

One brave wolf decides to charge anyway.

He takes a deep breath and holds his palm forward, gathering mana to it. Reflexively, he flinches in preparation for an explosion, but instead a large electrically-charged fireball blasts out.

It melts the wolf in the blink of an eye.

The rest of the wolves start backing up slowly, before fully retreating back into the darkness.

While panting, Terry collapses to his knees. His senses fully hit him now, and all the pain from his wounded arm and shoulder kicks in. He cries out before almost passing out from the pain and blood loss.

Gundilf eventually returns to the nearly-unconscious boy, running up to him and comforting him.

The hell happened, lad?! he asks while ripping up some cloth to bandage him up.

Terry coughs. Im...a Wizard, Mr. Gundilf.

Youre a what? Gundilf says, not really able to hear his faint voice.



You punch another wolf. And another wolf. And another.

Smore is deep in another pile of wolves, kicking her way through.

You shake your hand from fatigue. Theres no goddamn end to them!

Lye cowers in between you and Smore, trying her best to calm herself.

However, a wolf emerges from a blind spot, getting past you and Smore and going straight to Lye.

She yelps and stumbles to the ground, wounding her hand against a stray fallen branch. Her body trembles as the wolf approaches close. It opens its mouth and then

Licks her wounded hand.

Lye blinks in confusion. Hopefully this isnt just the wolf getting a taste for Wizard blood.

What should Lye do?
A) Cast magic to repel the wolf
B) Flee
C) Befriend wolf

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uuup

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bump

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up

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B) Switch POV

...

Gundilf drops a bunch of sticks into a circle of rocks. Alright lad, think you can light this up?

Terry stands over the unlit campfire and points his palm at it. Uh...okay. Here goes nothing. He closes his eyes and gathers mana on his hand, but--

Gundilf grips his wrist. Stop right there. Youll blow yerself up again.

The boy lets out a long breath and stares at his hand.

Look lad, I may not be able to see those odd strings Merlin was talking about, but Ive fought enough Wizards to know how a spell should look like. He walks back to the campfire and rummages to his pockets. Guess for the time-bein, you and I are the same, heh, he says while taking out a rock and a piece of metal, then striking them together to spark up the campfire.

It lights up with a steady flame.

Terry sits on the ground in front while staring at the fire. Mr. Gundilf, am I never gonna be able to use magic again?

He takes out his trusty staff and wipes it down with a piece of cloth. Ya know lad, have you ever thought about what you can do without casting spells? Do ythink waving yer hands around and blowing shit up is all a Wizard is made of?

Isnt that...what you do? But with extra steps?

He chuckles. Ha! I suppose thats all youve ever seen from me. His belly rumbles. He rummages through his pockets for some bread, but to much dismay has not even a crumb of it.

He gets up and takes out some rope from his pockets, then walks over to a nearby tree and throws the rope over the rather high branch. With this, he starts tying it up in an elaborate way.

Terry also gets up and walks over in curiosity, trying to watch Gundilfs hands intently.

He throws Terry another coil of rope. Alright lad, you saw how I did it. Try doing one yourself. More of these we can set up, more we can eat.

Eh? Just like that? Ive never--

First time fer everythin lad, now cmon, throw it over the branch of that tree there.

Terry looks to the tree next to them and tries to throw the rope over, but couldnt quite clear it due to his weak arms. He tries again, but misses even more. Mr. Gundilf, I dont think Im cut out for this.

He glares at the boy. Lad. Im going to be frank with you, youre nothing without your magic. And you give up too easily. At this rate, youll fucking die out here, lad, you hear me?!--

Terry starts to tear up.

Gundilf stops for a moment, then sighs. Alright listen to me, lad. What do you think makes us Wizards special? Our arms? Our magic?

He sobs. Uhhhh

He points to his head. This, lad. This right here. He walks over to Terrys rope and ties a rock to one end. Try that now.

Terry swings the rope around, giving it enough momentum to get over the branch. He looks at Gundilf with glee. I did it! Did you see that?!

He chuckles. That I did, lad. Alright, I trust you remember how I tied that thing. Ill set up more traps deeper into this place. With that, he disappears into the darkness of the forest.

Terry whistles while vaguely trying to tie the rope, but failing miserably, as expected of someone who couldnt even see what Gundilf was doing since his back was in the way.

But that wont stop him; the high of being able to succeed in something for once is getting to him--

The trap Gundilf tied earlier sounds out. Terry lets go of the rope in astonishment, making it all fall down. He slowly turns his head to the activated rope trap.

A black wolf with red eyes is choking against the rope around its neck, flailing wildly as its hoisted. Eventually, it stops moving and explodes into blue particles.

Terrys eyes widen. He remembers reading one important detail about wolves in the countless books hes read.

Wolves hunt in packs.

Another wolf leaps out of the darkness, pouncing on Terry and pinning him to the ground. It bites right into his shoulder.

He screams the loudest as he ever has in his life. Mr. Gundilf! Help! Help--

The wolf pushes its paw against Terrys throat, crushing his windpipe and preventing him from saying much else.

His first instinct is to cast a spell, even if itll blow both of them up. But he cant chant anything like this, and he hasnt practiced chantless casting enough to use it in such an adrenaline-inducing panic like this.

But right now, hes beyond thinking about what he can and cannot do. He holds his palm against the wolf and channels mana haphazardly. All he remembers is the feeling of casting a spell, it doesnt matter what hes casting.

Just as he feels a spell coming out, the wolf bites his right hand, dispersing the mana gathered to it.

He tries to scream again, but the wolfs paw is still choking him out. Tears and blood flow out of him. All he can do is grit his teeth, trying to endure the pain.

He gets flashbacks of Firebong bullying him. Flashbacks of how useless he felt when he fought alongside Lye at the arena.

Flashbacks of Gundilfs words recently. Youre nothing without your magic.

He closes his eyes and resigns to his fate.

The wolf brandishes its fangs.

He remembers more of Gundilfs words. What do you think makes us Wizards special?

Another flashback. This time, two words from King Goldius.

Power. And Resolve.

His eyes dart open and throws his surviving left hand as a fist into the wolfs face.

But a lack of magic put into it, and his weak muscles made the wolf disregard it. It shrugs his fist off and lunges its fangs forward.

Terry uses the rest of his right arm to catch the wolfs bite. As its teeth dig deeper, Terry tears up even more from the pain.

He wildly flails his left hand around, until it wanders into the rock tied on the rope. He grabs it and smashes the wolfs skull with it.

It staggers off of Terry.

He slowly gets up and jumps onto the dazed wolf, bashing its head even more with the rocky rope.

Eventually, it stops moving, then disintegrates into the air.

Terry lets out a coughing fit after being choked up for so long. He lets out more tears while screaming very loudly.

More wolves show up, growling at Terry.

He wipes his face with his bloodied arm, smearing his face with blood. He grits his teeth and holds his right arm forward, readying some magic.

The wolves leap to him, but he lets out the spell just in the nick of time, blowing all of them up and himself.

He gets sent flying back near the campfire. He slowly gets up to his feet, only to see more wolves emerging from the darkness.

At this point, Terry isnt even thinking properly anymore. Half-conscious from the blood loss, all he can do is let his primal instincts take over. He notices the rope also flew over near him, so he picks it up and spins it around like a flail.

As one wolf leaps forward, he has two instincts: Use magic, and throw the rocky rope forward. Both of them take over.

Something interesting happens however; the erratic mana that would normally blow up at Terrys palms zip through the rope like a power line, where it then detonates at the rock at the end, blowing up right at the wolfs face.

It crashes into a tree, then disappears.

Terry actually wakes up a bit from that attack, still taking in what just happened. But the rest of the wolves charge forward.

He screams while swinging the rope flail around.

A) Cast Rock (Fight more)
B) Switch back to Merlin

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bump

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bunk

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wump

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up

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its bumpin time

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B) Run away, taking the King with you

You grab the dazed King Airagorn and carry him over your shoulder. Lets book it. Who knows what were dealing with here.

The other two nod.



The three of you keep a brisk jog through the darkness of the forest.

You feel a surge of pain through your head, causing you to stop and fall on one knee.

The other two stop as well. Sir Merlin, are you okay? asks Smore.

You slowly get up, clutching your head. Urgh...just when I thought the curse was going easy on me.

Lye frowns with worry. Mr. Merlin, maybe we should rest--

She gets interrupted as her vision gets covered by the sight of your wide frame.

And her hair falls back down after your fist whizzed past it at a blazing speed.

Skewered through your knuckles is the head of a black wolf-like creature. Its glowing red eyes fade while it yelps, then it disintegrates into the air in an explosion of blue particles.

Lye loses balance a bit from being terrified to hell. Shed seen that punch countless times, but never once was it directed anywhere towards her. Just for a moment, she really thought she was going to die.

You help her regain balance. Lye, best be quick on your feet. Were no longer alone.

Lye takes a deep breath and tries to look at you, but glances away. R...right.

Surround all of you are a pack of these dark wolves.

Smore gets into battle stance. How peculiar. These are creatures made of pure mana. She flicks her hand, throwing down an icicle above one wolf.

It, however, preemptively dodges, like it saw her attack coming.

She flicks her wrist hand again, attempting to conjure another icicle above it, but what she saw next with her mana vision took her by surprise.

The wolf jumped up and clawed off the mana she was manipulating.

The other wolves slowly start to close in.

You stand tall, observant of their moves. Well this is new. Pardon me, but can we do this another time? Were a little busy.

One wolf growls and leaps towards you.

Before being met with a face full of fist. It evaporates into blue particles just like the other one.

You shake the feeling off of your hand. There wasnt any blood, but it still felt gross. They certainly arent attuned to Chi like they are with Mana.

Smore changes her stance, funneling Chi to her legs.

Lye takes another deep breath and attempts to cast something, but instead gets greeted with coughing.

The wolves eyes widen and stare at her. Then they all howl. The sounds of leaves rustling in the distance follows.

You dash forward and punch half of this pack, while Smore takes care of the other half with her kicks.

Dozens of red eyes emerge from between the trees.

Smore runs up to Lye and helps her up. Miss Lye, I believe its inadvisable to be using magic right now. Your mana is incredibly unstable and seems to be mixed up with Sir Terrys mana.

Lyes coughing stops and turns into panting. Terrys...mana? Oh shit. Was it from that spell? she mumbles to herself.

Another pack emerges from all around, this time twice as many as the last. They all glare at Lye like she was their prey.

You lower the King down and crack your knuckles.

A) Get ready to fight
B) Meanwhile (Switch to Gundilf and Terrys perspective)

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update soon

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hi its a bump

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and up again

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and up

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bump

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Up

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