B4 - Chapter 4: Unique (Bonus Chapter)

Seth and Kaelen walked through Asethka's bustling streets, weaving between the other pedestrians.

Before they had left the palace, Aemon had informed them that the Champions of Chaos would be officially recognized as an active Adventurer branch within the city. Yet the man had also made another point clear: no one would protect them.

Regardless of the reputation carried by his father's name, Seth was expected to show respect to those affiliated with the Five Pillars.

Marcus had parted ways with Seth and Kaelen a little earlier. The old Alchemist intended to restore his long-abandoned shop and transform it into the official headquarters of the Champions of Chaos.

The drawback of that decision was obvious to Seth. Publicly tying the store to the branch would paint a target on it since Seth was one of their members.

Seth glanced at Kaelen as they threaded through a group of mercenaries.

"I'll ask Orwen to officially recruit you into the branch as soon as I can reach him."

Kaelen kept his eyes on the cobblestones ahead. "It's unnecessary. I doubt I would change much in the grand scheme of things."

"It could," Seth replied. "Especially if you ever find yourself in trouble."

"I'll deal with my own problems." Kaelen's voice remained as flat as ever. "You don't need to protect me like your friends in Kastal." The assassin paused for a brief moment. "And besides, you're the one who always attracts trouble."

Seth let out a sigh. He couldn't argue with that. "Fair enough."

Besides that, Kaelen was one of the most capable people Seth had ever met.

During the month they'd spent trapped inside the Iron-tier Rift, the two of them had exchanged only fragments of their pasts and ambitions, but Seth knew Kaelen intended to pursue his revenge alone.

Technically, Kaiser was now obligated to kill the two people Kaelen had placed on their contract, since the Dark Assassin had fulfilled his own part of the deal, and the Draerian had only a year to honor it.

Kaelen had told Seth that the man had refused to go after the Empress, so he'd had to settle for the two highest-ranking Black Reapers in the Empire. Seth knew that wasn't enough, and the object of Kaelen's vengeance lay far beyond that.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, the pair reached an intersection that marked the edge of the sprawling Adventurer District.

"I'll head to the Mercenary Guild," Kaelen said, adjusting the dark straps of his combat harness.

Marcus had insisted the assassin restrict himself to publicly issued bounties while the Champions of Chaos established their foothold in Asethka. The last thing they needed was Kaelen to get in trouble with the city's guards. So for now, that meant official contracts.

Seth nodded. "Take care."

Kaelen dipped his head, turned sideways into the traffic, and disappeared between the mercenaries and merchants.

Seth adjusted his course; instead of continuing toward the Adventurers' Guild district, he headed in the direction of the Oracle Guild. Even if he hated the idea of informing them about his Unique spell, Marcus had given him no choice.

Seth threaded his way through the crowds, catching rare curious glances directed at his golden irises. Most people looked away after only a second or two.

Distinguishing Draerian gold from the more common yellow hue required closer inspection, and most didn't care enough to do so. To Seth's surprise, though, some seemed to see the difference easily. The trio at the inner gate had done it almost right away.

Seth navigated through the crowded streets and soon reached the tall stone structure of the Oracle Guild. A large crest hung above its grand entrance: the pale head of a serpent with purple eyes.

He pushed through the doors and stepped inside.

Just as during his first visit, the interior was immaculately clean. A row of polished desks stretched across the rear of the vast hall. Clerks dressed in black robes worked in silence, their purple eyes fixed on stacks of parchment in front of them. Two guards stood on either side of the carpeted path leading toward the desks.

Seth gave the wardens a nod.

He ignored the vacant stations closest to the entrance and headed instead for the one in the farthest corner of the hall. The isolated desk offered at least some privacy.

An old man with a weathered face sat behind it. A pair of wire-rimmed spectacles rested on the tip of his crooked nose, and he had his head bowed as a quill scratched some words across a piece of parchment.

"What can I do for you, young man?" the clerk asked without looking up.

"I came to register a spell," Seth replied, keeping his voice low.

The man's quill continued moving. "There is no need to register every spell you create—" As he finally looked up, the words died in his throat.

His purple eyes met Seth's, and the indifference vanished from the man's face. The clerk studied him for a tense moment. "It's Unique grade, I take it?"

Seth nodded.

The man put down his quill and pushed his chair back. "Follow me."

The clerk led Seth away from the main hall and into a dimly lit corridor. At the far end, he opened an enchanted door and gestured Seth into a windowless chamber.

"Someone will be with you shortly."

Taken from NovelPhoenix, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Seth pulled out one of the two wooden chairs in front of the room's lone desk and sat down to wait. He still didn't understand why registering a Unique spell was so important. The whole thing felt strangely oppressive, like people insisting a child couldn't be trusted with a weapon because it might be dangerous.

Several minutes later, the door opened again.

A man stepped inside, dressed in the Oracle Guild's black robes, the fabric flowing from a high collar all the way down to his ankles.

Seth recognized him right away: Alfred. It was the Earl of the Oracle Guild who he had met with Marcus months earlier.

The man offered him a courteous nod.

"A genuine pleasure to see you again, Seth... He Who Cannot Be Chained."

Seth suppressed a grimace. "Just Seth is fine. And it's good to see you again as well, Sir."

The Earl took the chair opposite Seth and reached into an Endless Pouch beneath his robes. He withdrew a strange metallic apparatus consisting of four slender rods joined at their tips to form a pyramid.

"I heard about your recent exploits," Alfred said as he placed the device between them. "Quite remarkable."

Seth replied with another nod. He had no idea whether the man referred to his contribution during the war, or the fact that he had broken the binding of Zakar's scroll.

"Thank you, Sir," he said, keeping his response neutral.

Alfred unfolded the instrument, lowering each of the four rods until they clicked into place against the tabletop and transformed the pyramid into a flat structure.

"Apparently having your name spread throughout Asethka, and far beyond it, wasn't enough." A smile touched the Earl's lips. "You went and created a Unique-grade spell while still in the Iron Tier. You are collecting achievements, young man."

Seth forced a smile, unsure what to answer to the praise.

"You'll need to cast the spell now," Alfred continued, tapping the center of the device. "This artifact will observe its aetheric structure during its duration."

Seth hesitated. "There… might be an issue. The spell's main effect is to absorb ambient aether to refill my Well. Since it's already full, I wouldn't be able to maintain it for more than a second."

Alfred's purple eyes widened. Then he extended one arm across the table. "Give me your hand."

Seth complied.

The moment his palm touched Alfred's, a fierce pull seized his Well. His entire reserve of aether vanished in a single heartbeat. Seth's vision blurred as nausea rolled through him.

"Does the absorption rate increase with the density of ambient aether around you?" Alfred asked, releasing Seth's hand.

"Yes."

The Earl raised his open palm.

A cloud of blue aether poured from his fingers, swirling above his hand before flooding the chamber and saturating the place.

"You may proceed."

Seth stared in surprise. That didn't look like a spell. The Earl had simply taken control of the aether and bent it to his will outside his body without any grooves.

Pushing the thought aside, Seth drew a breath and activated Aura of Insatiable Hunger.

The aether hanging throughout the chamber surged toward him. The energy plunged through his flesh and flooded into his empty Well at a ravenous pace. Seth could distinctly feel most of it being torn directly from the aether hovering above Alfred's palm while the rest came from the surroundings.

The artifact on the table began to hum.

As the spell continued absorbing the energy, Alfred's expression cracked, shifting first to curiosity, then to shock.

Seth kept going, and within moments, his Well reached its limit.

'Nightmare. Cast some spells,' Seth asked through Link.

Inside the black teardrop of Seth's necklace, the direwolf didn't waste time arguing and began casting spells inside his den. He chained Shadow Step, Dreadful Shroud, and Predator Hunt in succession to burn through his reserves.

It allowed Seth to push the overflowing aether from his Well into his companion's, which let him maintain the aura's absorption.

Alfred's purple eyes widened even more.

Seconds later, the spell finally reached its limit and the pull ceased. Silence fell over the chamber.

"It can replenish more than your own Well?" Alfred asked at last, his voice now more serious.

Seth nodded. "The Spirit overseeing the war watched me cast it for the first time. It said that facet was what pushed the spell into Unique grade."

"It was correct." Alfred turned his attention toward the metallic apparatus on the desk. He pressed his palm against its center, then frowned at whatever information the artifact revealed. Once he'd finished reading it, he extended his other arm.

"Hand."

Seth placed his palm against Alfred's once more, and a heat rushed into him. The moment the Earl let go of his hand, Seth cast Intermediate Identify on himself.

Seth's gaze settled on the Unique spell. Only Legendary+?

He had expected more.

Aura of Insatiable Hunger felt so absurdly strong that Seth had believed it might receive a higher classification. Marcus had mentioned his father having Mythical-grade spells, but beyond that, Seth had no reference for what separated Legendary from Mythical. Still, he had thought the aura would have crossed that threshold.

"You seem surprised," Alfred observed.

"To be honest, I expected the grade to be higher, Sir."

A smile tugged at the Earl's lips.

"Mythical spells require the potential to alter the course of any battle," the man explained. "Your aura is undeniably strong. It essentially provides you with the benefits of a Storing Ring that cannot be disabled by distortion, while also functioning as a defensive spell capable of absorbing incoming spells for several seconds." The man began folding the rods back into the original pyramidal shape. "But it still falls short of the impact required to qualify as Mythical."

Seth considered the explanation, and he couldn't really disagree.

The ability to replenish his aether offered a huge advantage during long battles, yet throughout the past month of hunting, he had barely needed it. Most of his opponents had been dead long before he had used even half of his aether.

Its greatest effect came from stripping the surrounding area of aether and briefly preventing anyone nearby from casting spells, but that wasn't enough to alter an entire battle.

Seth's eyes narrowed. "If I refine the flow and make the absorption slower so the disrupting effect lasts longer, could it reach Mythical?"

Alfred blinked, then he shook his head. "I would strongly advise against trying that. Modifying an already stabilized Legendary+ spell borders on insanity. It is already powerful enough. Leave it at that."

But it could be better. Seth wisely kept that thought to himself. "What about the question mark next to Iron?" he asked.

"I cannot know for certain whether a spell is double-tiered until I examine it again after you've broken through," the Earl answered. "You'll need to come back once you reach Silver."

Seth nodded. That made sense. "Is there anything else you need from me for the registration?

"No. That concludes our business." Alfred moved the odd device back into his Endless Pouch. "I look forward to seeing whatever exploit you manage next." The man's purple eyes locked on Seth. "May the Gods guide your Path."

Seth paused, not standing up yet.

Considering everything he had recently learned—including the fact that a god had been involved in binding his entire bloodline with those scrolls—the farewell struck him differently than it might have a month ago.

He masked his discomfort. "Thank you, Sir."

Seth then rose and walked out of the chamber. He had one more item on his to-do list before heading to the Primalists' Den: visit Shenlong Tower.