Touch Of Fate 123 One With The Wind

In a small room in the bas.e.m.e.nt of the Administration Building, a crystal orb, resting in a metallic stand, flashed twice with a blue light. A box shaped device built into the stand displayed the name, 'Michael Rasmussen' twice in succession, before going dark. A little while later the process repeated.

Ordinarily, this would have caused a small stir amongst the guards whose job it was to monitor these devices, since it represented an unusual anomaly in the detection system. However, recent events had prevented them from doing so.

"You know what that thing does?" A man dressed in black leathers asked as he cleaned the blade of his dagger.

"Not sure. I think it's some kind of security system." His partner replied as she stripped the uniform from the guard she'd dispatched earlier.

"Heh. I guess it doesn't work that well, then." He started doing the same with his own target. "When's their relief supposed to be arriving?"

"These two were on the night s.h.i.+ft. The next crew isn't supposed to be arriving until early tomorrow morning, but by that point they should have been replaced by our other agents. You should know all this. It was covered in the briefing." Came the terse reply.

"You know I barely pay attention at those things. As soon as they tell me where to go and who to kill, I just blank on the rest." By this point he had the guard's tunic most of the way off, but frowned when he saw the amount of blood staining its front. A quick application of Lifestyle Magic cleaned it up quickly enough.

The woman dropped the boot she was trying to pull off her victim's foot. "And that's why you are always s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g up the important bits. If I wasn't here to stop you from doing stupid s.h.i.+t every few minutes, you would have gotten yourself killed a long time ago!"

He just smiled at the familiar exchange. "That's why I keep you around, rabbit. You always got my back."

Scoffing at the old nickname, she went back to the task at hand. "Yeah, yeah. Someone has to."

"So when are the others supposed to be coming through?"

The woman grimaced at her partner's complete lack of concern. "They should be moving now. I sent the message just a few minutes ago. G.o.ds! You are so irresponsible!"

"Haha. What can I say. It takes real talent to be like me."

Issuing an inarticulate sound which could only be called disgusted rage, the woman lit into her partner a second time. They were so distracted by their argument, that they completely failed to notice when the crystal ball began flas.h.i.+ng quickly, this time in red. Dozens of messages started popping up on the attached box. Each of them reading 'UNKNOWN.'

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Mike snuck back into the quiet dorm. It seemed like the residents had largely gone to sleep by this point, although he did run into a maid who was working late. She gave him a respectful bow before continuing on with her duties.

He slipped into his room as quietly as he could, wis.h.i.+ng he had gotten his hands on some kind of stealth related skill. Apparently, he hadn't been spending enough time and energy avoiding attention just yet. Judging from the soft snores, Brenden was soundly asleep. Mike guessed they must have had another difficult day of training. Hopefully, their efforts would show results.

Slipping into bed, Mike considered the events of the day as he drifted off himself. His run in with the princess had been a close call. Luckily, it looked like he had gotten away with it.

The next morning he got up early again. This time he waited in the living room, wanting to speak to the others about a few of the things going on, and relay the news about the event taking place tomorrow.

Not surprisingly Tal was the first one up, and after brewing her customary pot of tea, she sat in a chair across from Mike.

"Up early. Came in late." She commented in a monotone. Mike sensed she was a little displeased about it.

He sighed. "Had an issue to take care of in the Magic Department. I needed to limit the chances of being seen while I did so. Besides, I'm not the only one waking up early and coming late."

"Suspicious. Only training."

"I'm aware you're only training with the other two. Anyway, I'm not trying to keep it from you, but I was hoping it would be a surprise. If we end up going to Sera's initial request this weekend, I'll show you what I'm talking about."

The elf lapsed into a slightly awkward silence, as if she didn't know how to respond before finally giving a simple nod.

"Anyway, I was hoping you could pa.s.s a message off to the others. We have a couple of things going on in the next couple of days, and I was hoping that you plan accordingly. Tomorrow, there is going to be some kind of initial welcoming party for the whole University. It's not required, but it might be a good chance to take a break from training and get to know some of the other students."

Tal nodded again, but didn't seem too enthused.

"I've been told that there is some kind of naval demonstration going on at the same time, and it might involve one of their airs.h.i.+ps. I was planning on going for that much at least, since I'm interested in seeing one."

"Never seen one up close, either. They're only really available to the super-rich and the military." Brenden commented as he sleepily joined the conversation, fully clothed this time. "It might be fun to see what all the fuss is about."

"Speaking of the super-rich, we were invited to Broderick's place for a small gathering this weekend. a.s.suming Sera's request doesn't take too long, we should aim to attend."

"Fair enough." He yawned. "Anyway, Tal, it's time to wake our student, don't you think?"

"Indeed." Was the simple response.

While Tal got the half-asleep Oracle up and moving, Brenden spoke, "If you have time after cla.s.s, you should swing by the Martial Arts department's north east training yard. Sera's been making some pretty significant progress. I think you'll be impressed."

"Sounds good. There shouldn't be any problem with that."

Mike watched as Tal pushed a groggy Sera out the door, and Brenden trailed behind, only stopping to grab his sword.

Once the three of them had departed, Mike got ready himself, and went down to breakfast. On impulse, he grabbed the history book before leaving. He planned to make use of the extra time afforded by his Chanting cla.s.s, since the lessons were basically useless to him.

After a leisurely meal he made his way to his Elemental Magic cla.s.s. He was the first to arrive, and for once, wasn't accosted by anything in the process.

A notice was posted on the door stating that cla.s.s was canceled for today due to unforeseen circ.u.mstances. Students were asked to attend the rest of their usual cla.s.ses and resume their normal schedule at the start of next week. Judging from the tone of the message, it definitely wasn't posted by Instructor Johnathan.

Shrugging, Mike decided to take the opportunity to practice on his own. He felt close to a breakthrough with Air Magic, and wanted to focus on it. The feeling of riding on the back of a dragon had inspired a desire to fly through the air under his own power.

He wandered through the semi-deserted part of the department's training area until he found a good clearing.

Sitting in a shady spot, he started focusing on his mana. For a while now he'd been feeling a kind of imbalance in his Air Magic, almost as if he were using it improperly. When he focused on it, he was capable of some very intricate work. However, he usually found himself simply using it as a brute force tool of either distraction or transportation. When he did so, he felt a kind of resistance, almost as if he was working against himself.

At first, he'd a.s.sumed this disturbance would vanish once he improved the skill, but the more he thought about it, the more it felt like he was missing something fundamental to the process. Since he had the time to concentrate now, he wanted to explore this aspect.

With a surge of will, he summoned a tiny cyclone in the palm of his hand. Instead of observing the effects visually, however, he tried to feel the mana as if flowed through him.

An unusual change was occurring to the energy once it exited his hand. He could sense it clearly up to that point, but afterwards it felt…..distant and fuzzy.

Unsure of what it would accomplish, he tried forcibly expanding his perception to incorporate the tiny cyclone. He felt a level of resistance, like he was trying to press against some kind of limitation.

[Well, I've had good luck pus.h.i.+ng through these kinds of things in the past, let's just give it a shot.]

Unbeknownst to him, as he forced his mind against the barrier, a powerful wind started blowing around Mike, forming a small tornado that began to strip nearby trees of their leaves. The harder he pushed, the stronger the winds became.

Growing frustrated with the barrier, Mike unconsciously channeled some mana into his Water Magic, and allowed it to seep into head. His eyes turned blue under their closed lids, as his mind stilled. With surprisingly little effort he mentally shredded his limitations, expanding his consciousness beyond his own body. The wind that had been whipping around him stilled completely, allowing the suspended greenery to fall back towards the ground.

The world seemed to stand still for a moment, as he suddenly comprehended his surroundings with perfect clarity. He could feel each of the falling leaves, and could even count them despite having his eyes closed.

He realized he had a perfect grasp of everything the air touched, as a part of his mind somehow translated the subtle air currents traveling through the clearing.

The moment was broken as soon the wind returned. A sudden burst of motion in the air made him feel dizzy and slightly overwhelmed by sensory overload. He opened his eyes, took a few breaths and waited for the vertigo to pa.s.s.

[Looks like I accidentally unlocked some new skill again.]

He pulled up his briefly, only to shake his head at the information revealed. Evidently the last few days had been eventful, since his newly acquired skill was only one in a long line of changes that had taken place since the last time he'd looked.

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Status update below. Please feel free to skip to the next chapter.

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Michael Rasmussen

Race: Human

Age: 15

Cla.s.s: Skill Master

Tier: 3 (High)

t.i.tle: None

Multiverse Traveler

Blessed One

Hunter of Renown

Battlefield Healer

Kal'Thel

Philanderer

Hero

Dungeon Savior

Undinekath

Saint of Healing

Nemesis of Demons

Antagonist

Wyrmkin

Fortuitous Alchemist (NEW)

Known to the Other (NEW)

Dragonknight Aspirant (NEW)

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Skills:

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Primary Skills:

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Communication Magic (Rank 3)

Intermediate Healing Magic (Rank 5)

a.n.a.lyze (Rank 2)

Journeyman Almiran Military Swordsmans.h.i.+p (Rank 2)

Intermediate Water Magic (Rank 3)

Intermediate Fire Magic (Rank 3)

Basic Air Magic (Rank 5) (RANK UP)

Basic Earth Magic (Rank 5)

Basic Light Magic (Rank 1)

Basic Dark Magic (Rank 2) (NEW)

Basic Conjuration Magic (Rank 2) (NEW)

Basic Calling Magic (Rank 1) (NEW)

Basic Alchemy (Rank 2) (NEW)

Bind Familiar (Rank 2) (RANK UP)

Blood Collector (Rank 1)

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Secondary Skills:

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Lifestyle Magic (Rank 0)

Advanced Lovemaking (Rank 3)

Athletics (Rank 2)

Intermediate Evasion (Rank 3)

Basic Dagger Fighting (Rank 2)

Intermediate Spear Fighting (Rank 1) (TIER UP)

Intermediate Sword Fighting (Rank 2)

Intermediate Elemental Magic (Rank 3)

Basic Summoning Magic (Rank 2) (NEW)

Basic Riding (Rank 4) (RANK UP)

Basic Haggling (Rank 3)

Basic Musical Performance (Wind Instrument) (Rank 2)

Basic Unarmed Fighting (Rank 4)

Basic Chanting (Rank 2) (RANK UP)

Dual Casting (Rank 2) (RANK UP)

Aerosense (Rank 1) (NEW)

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Pa.s.sive Skills:

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Intermediate Fear Resistance (Rank 2)

Intermediate Physiological Resistance (Rank 1) (TIER UP)

Intermediate Poison Resistance (Rank 5)

Basic Heat Resistance (Rank 4)

Basic Mental Resistance (Rank 5) (RANK UP)

Moderate Mana Enhancement (Rank 3) (RANK UP)

Moderate Mana Regeneration Enhancement (Rank 3) (RANK UP)

Moderate Endurance Enhancement (Rank 2)

Moderate Agility Enhancement (Rank 2) (RANK UP)

Moderate Strength Enhancement (Rank 1)

Basic Willpower Enhancement (Rank 3) (RANK UP)

Limit Break (Rank 1)

Detect Hostile Intent (Rank 3)

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Inherent Skills:

Traveler's Luck

Fate-Touched

(BC) Vampiric Regeneration, Lesser

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t.i.tles:

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- Fortuitous Alchemist -

By virtue of your exceptional curiosity and luck, you have a created a rare alchemical item from common materials. Minor increase to material efficiency when performing alchemy. Positive mutation rate increased by 1%.

- Known to the Other -

You have stared into the Abyss and the Abyss has stared back. By communing with the source of Elemental Darkness, you have garnered the attention of an ent.i.ty that inhabits a realm beyond the bounds of reality. For good or ill, you will bear the weight of its gaze in both life and death. Moderate increase to the effectiveness of Dark Elemental Magic.

- Dragonknight Aspirant-

You have cleared the most fundamental condition required to ascend to the lofty ranks of the Dragonknights, a bond with a true dragon willing to serve as your mount. With time and proper training, you may one day join their ranks.

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Skills:

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Primary Skills:

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- Basic Dark Magic (Tier 2, Rank 2) -

One of the advanced forms of Elemental Magic. Dark magic allows the user to create, manipulate, and give substance to darkness. Characterized by versatility, it lacks the explosive power of other elements. Higher skill levels increase the mana efficiency and power of the magic produced.

- Basic Conjuration Magic (Tier 1, Rank 2) –

The most basic form of Conjuration Magic. Allows the user to conjure objects and creatures based on mental images, summoning them into existence for a limited duration. Higher levels of skill improve mana efficiency.

- Basic Calling Magic (Tier 1, Rank 1) -

The most basic form of Calling Magic. Allows users to permanently call objects and creatures to their locations. Can be used to recreate things that currently exist or once existed in exchange for a requisite amount of mana. Higher levels of skill improve mana efficiency.

- Basic Alchemy (Tier 1, Rank 2)-

A production skill. Alchemy is the process of altering magic and mundane materials into finished products. Although the methods vary based on the particular recipe, all alchemical products bear some trace of magical influence. Allows user to create basic alchemical items, retain memories of recipes, and develop an intuitive understanding of the subtle aspects of the craft. Current mutation rate: 0.01%.

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Secondary Skills:

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- Intermediate Spear Fighting (Tier 2, Rank 1) -

A more advanced skill of the Spear Fighting tree. Provides users with fundamental understanding of using spears and other, similar weapons in combat. Minor system correction to the usage of spears in combat.

- Basic Summoning Magic (Tier 1, Rank 2) –

The most basic form of Summoning Magic. It allows users access magic skills for the three primary forms of Summoning Magic: Conjuration, Calling, and Binding. Higher levels of skill provide a bonus on mana efficiency and potency. This is a Prerequisite and Limiter skill for all other Summoning Magic skills.

- Aerosense (Tier 3, Rank 1) -

Only available to pract.i.tioners of Air Magic. Allows users to sense the subtle vibrations in the air, and use them to understand their surroundings with near perfect clarity. Higher levels of skill increase sensing range, reduces disorientation caused by over stimulation, and increases cognitive understanding of nearby s.p.a.ce.

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Pa.s.sive Skills:

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- Intermediate Physiological Resistance (Tier 2, Rank 1) -

You have developed the ability to control your body's physiological responses to a large degree. Provides moderate resistance to the negative effects of physiological responses.