The Lich's Master

Chapter 13: Distant Smoke

Kyle prepared himself for a long, drawn out, and ultimately meaningless discussion. These were elves after all, they weren’t known to be the fastest at making impactful decisions.

But no, just like everything else in this game, the elves proved him wrong. The process of ‘convening’, consisted of a handful of elves listening to their leader’s quick explanation, nodding, and urging him to go ahead. It was so fast that Kyle hadn’t even gotten the chance to sit down somewhere.

The elven leader then applied the contents of the vial onto the tree roots, then stepped back and watched as the sickly white lines on the tree seemed to become tainted by something black.

“We shall see whether this works or not.” The elven leader muttered. The other elves nodded, and once again disappeared in the greenery as quickly as they first came.

“I hope it does,” Kyle said with a light-hearted chuckle. “Um, is there anything else I can help you with?” He fished for a quest. The small notification at the corner of his eye had reminded him of them, and now he was wondering how many quests he could get from one person.

The elven leader just smiled and shook his head. “You’ve done quite enough, young human.” He said, brushing his ridiculously long, white hair back. “It is me who should be giving you something,” He approached Kyle, towering over him, and handed a small box to him.

“Within this box is a branch of the Evertree.” Kyle’s eyes shot wide open as the elven leader continued. “Plant this into the earth, and it shall become the core of your power. But beware, human. This is a rare and valuable artifact, and you can only use it once. Choose the spot wisely, as you won’t be able unearth it again. Not without killing it.”

Kyle bowed as he accepted the box. “I don’t know how to thank you,” He muttered. A core! He had gotten a core, and so soon! He couldn’t believe it!

“You look like you want to say more,” The elf said with a chuckle. “And no need to thank me, a branch like this is rare, but we already have the Evertree itself. It is of no use to us.”

Well, he had a point on both subjects. “I wanted to ask…” Kyle took a deep breath. It was a bit difficult to talk about game mechanics without actually using such terms. “If I were to seek to learn magic… what type of magic would you think is powerful?”

The elf’s eyes glimmered with excitement. “A mage in the making!” He exclaimed cheerfully. He turned to look at the poisoned tree. “Nature magic is the purest thing you can find,” He then said with a calmer tone. “The world will be your ally, and you will never be alone as long as you have plants or animals nearby. Call for their aid, and they will always respond in kind.” He smiled. “Most elves take to becoming druids because of it. None can match the power they wield.”

Kyle bit his lips. “So, you think druidism is the strongest type of magic?” He asked finally.

The elf nodded. “You can control fire and burn everything, or become a necromancer to command the dead, but nature always prevails in the end. The trees you burn will regrow, and even the dead are nourishment for new life.”

As awesome-sounding the elven leader had made it sound, the idea of relying on plants and nature didn’t really seem all that appealing to Kyle. “I see,” He muttered quietly. “Thanks for telling me your thoughts, I’ll need to think about it for a while.”

The elven leader chuckled softly. “What’s strongest matters little,” He said, raising his hand. A spark of light formed in his palm. “I believe nature magic is the strongest, but the sun, and its pure light sings to me. I am a light mage, who only knows a little about being a druid. Find the thing that calls your name, and study it.”

On his way back across the hills, around the snow capped mountain, and through the forests, the elven leader’s words rang in his ears. Nature didn’t ‘sing’ to Kyle, nor did he hear it calling his name. The same could be said about necromancy, and the magic of death and undeath. Though, if it were calling his name, or singing to him, Kyle would probably prefer to run away in terror instead anyways.

The mental image of that made him chuckle as he made his way through the woods. He opened his inventory as he walked, and let his gaze linger on the box the elven leader had given him.

‘Wooden Box Containing a Branch of the Evertree: This item can be used as a Core.’

It proved to be difficult to suppress his excitement. Core items had been introduced to the game shortly before he found himself stuck here, on a patch that released at the end of the first week of the game.

In short, they were items that could be placed at a certain point in the world’s map, to claim a large area around them as land belonging to the player who owns the Core. Then, the players would be able to build a fortress, or whatever else they wanted around that Core.

Of course, the claiming and building part of this system hadn’t been added to the game yet. Just the items themselves as very rare collectibles were in the game as of now. Kyle rubbed his hands together in excitement. He couldn’t wait for the next patch to come!

A larger, more extensive, and diverse map, along with player made castles and such all over the place! And he could have a castle too! He grinned and made a mental note to thank the elven leader again sometime in the future, once he had his castle constructed.

The smell of smoke distracted him from his plans and thoughts. With some confusion, he hurried through the woods, only to see a pillar of smoke rising into the air.