The Ruby Magician

Daniel stood at the war room and took a deep breath. His sole apprentice had already cleared the first tier and was ready to upgrade his class, much to Daniel’s disbelief. Wyn was one of the most determined and talented Climbers he’d seen in years, and he was happy to help him. He had asked Daniel almost immediately to join their group to discuss their class options. Daniel felt honored but originally declined since he wasn’t part of their group, thought Wyn was insistent. He said he needed an experienced Ruby Magician to help guide him. And it was his job as mentor, after all, to provide as much guidance as possible.

The older Ruby Magician reached into his jacket and pulled out a flask. He inspected it closely before taking a long drink. Water didn’t have the same effect as alcohol, but he made a promise to both Wyn and himself that he’d clean himself up. And, he had to admit that he felt better in years after suddenly going sober.

He swiftly put his flask away and knocked on the door with three rasps of his knuckles.

Footsteps scrambled around inside the room and the noise made Daniel’s heart race. Why was he this nervous? He’d been around new Climbers for years. Wyn was different, though. He knew it in his gut. Something about him told the older, slightly grizzled Ruby Magician that he had what it took to really make a name for himself and their class.

The door opened and Wyn warmly greeted him. After being whisked inside, Daniel was introduced to each of the four others in Wyn’s group. They were all lounging around the room. He had heard of the veteran who lost an arm, and seeing him here was a bit awe inspiring. Truly the young man was courageous for continuing to climb, and Daniel instantly respected him. The other Climber was a Ranger, too, a unique class that wasn’t often picked when new Climbers had their choice of upgrades. But from what Wyn had told him about her, he was impressed and thankful she was in his group.

In fact, he was thankful for all of them. They helped keep Wyn alive, and for that alone he’d do anything for them.

“It’s an absolute pleasure to meet you all,” Daniel said, wringing his hands together subconsciously. “Wyn has already told me so much about you, and from what he’s said, you seem like one of the most put together groups I’ve seen. It’s a miracle that you all came together just by circumstance.”

“You can say that again,” John said. “I literally owe my life to them.”

“Same here,” Cedric said.

Marcy reached over the large table in the middle of the room and grabbed an apple from the basket of food. “Nice to meet you. Now that we’re all here, we need to figure out what you three are choosing for your upgrades. It’s not the easiest balance to choose what the group needs and what you want to be as a Climber, but it’s an important one.”

Daniel sat at the table beside Wyn and nodded his head. Marcy hit the nail on the head. Most young groups of Climbers disband during their second tier from poor class synergy. Guilds were formed to help reduce that inefficiency, among other reasons. But for individual Climbers who relied on a select few others to climb with, it was crucial their abilities meshed well.

“Then let’s get to it, then,” John said. “I was given the standard upgrade of Warrior, but it doesn’t appeal to me. Too… boring.”

Wyn laughed. He had the same thought when he reviewed the Ruby Warrior class.

“It’s one of the most common classes out there,” Cedric said. “And for good reason.”

“As I said, boring. But my other two choices were far more interesting. Squire and Templar. How great is that?”

The others clapped him on the back, and Wyn was equally as happy for his friend even if he didn’t know those classes. If John chose the Squire, though, that would eliminate one of his own choices.

“What’s the difference between them?” Wyn asked.

John laid his parchment out on the table. It was rolled up tight and curled back together the moment he sat it down, but a few stones and weights on each corner helped keep it flat.

“You can read it if you want, but basically the Squire is more defensive while the Templar is more supportive. The Squire focuses on defensive skills and auras to boost the team. The Templar actually has some healing with oaths instead of auras, but they’re nearly the same.”

“Cal was a Templar before he became a Paladin,” Cedric said. “They’re both solid class progression lines but not quite nearly the same like you say. Though your skill list is one of the best I’ve seen!”

John gave a smug smile. “Well when your growth is strength, endurance, and willpower, you have excellent options. And I’d like to think I excel in each of those categories.”

Wyn peered over at the parchment and abruptly stood up. John’s upgrades were far better than his! Even if he only had three options and Wyn had five, his three were much better. He didn’t have the ability to use spells, but the benefits outweighed that deficit.

The Warrior class was similar to his Ruby version, but gave John 8 skills from a list of 12. Wyn assumed it was the tradeoff for not being able to cast spells. The biggest benefit he saw, though, was that the class increased his strength and endurance by a moderate amount, and speed by a small amount. Was that a perk of being a pure combat class with only skills? If those natural abilities improved with a class upgrade, he’d carry that improvement with him everywhere. Wyn had heard that tower magic fades after a certain distance leaving the city, as the source of the magic was purely from Alistair and had to stay close. But as long as he stayed here he’d be unnaturally physically strong.

The Squire class really showed Wyn the difference between his Ruby Magician generalization and the specificity of another class. John’s Squire upgrade gave 6 skills from a list of 10 and again increased his physical attributes. It was only a small amount and gave less skills than the Warrior, but his Aura skill was far better. It allowed him to share skills between three allies within 50 feet without any additional mana. Which was absolutely absurd.

Finally, his Templar class really was a boon. Like the Squire he gained 6 skills from a list of 10 and increased his physical attributes by a small amount. It had an Oath skill like Cal, benefiting two allies within 30 feet. Not only that, but he gained four Oaths, all of them useful and focusing on protecting, healing, and boosting allies’ physicality for a small amount of mana. Wyn didn’t know how much mana John had, but for the amount stated they required he could likely use several Oaths back to back before needing to completely recover or use a potion.

Wyn was happy for his friend but felt a bit deflated. When comparing his class to John’s it really did seem inferior. He could use spells, but only having a few skills to John’s many and his own potential abilities being watered down versions of John’s was a bit of an eye opener.

Unfortunately Wyn didn’t know about the specifics of the skills available for John to use. They shared a few from their lists but John’s looked more direct and powerful. And, if Cedric said they were good, then of course he believed him.

“Do you think we need more healing, though?” Marcy asked. “Wyn can already heal a bit if we ever needed it after Tasha. I’m not sure having a third person for that is really necessary.”

“I thought about that,” John said. “Which is why I’m hesitating about going Templar. I’ve been leaning towards the Squire and hoped it was going to be one of my options anyway. The thought of being a Knight was always in the back of my mind, and it can be a great front-line defender class. So I'll be choosing Squire.”

Wyn couldn’t blame him. It had great benefits for its class, and Marcy had a point with the extra healing. Wyn was hoping to be support for the group and John to be their primary combat class, but it seemed at first glance like John could do both. And better.

“What if I won’t be healing quite as much?” Tasha asked. She was twirling one of her curls with her hands, wrapping it around her finger over and over.

“What do you mean?” John asked. “You’re a Diamond Magician. Aren’t you going Diamond Wizard?”

Tasha’s face grew red. “I don’t want to be put in a box. Just because nearly every other mage becomes a Wizard doesn’t mean I will.”

John reached a hand out and placed it on Tasha’s shoulder. “I know. I just didn’t know what your plan was for the upgrade. I’m not going to tell you what to do. Honest.”

Tasha relaxed and nodded. “I’m sorry. But I’ve been discussing it with my mentor and wrestled with it all night. I think I’m going to choose the Herald.”

Daniel leaned back in his chair and nearly choked on the roll he was eating. The Climbers all turned to face him.

“I’m so sorry,” Daniel said, wheezing through the last bite. “I’m alright. That just caught me off guard.”

“Why?” Wyn asked. “Is Herald a bad option?”

“Quite the opposite, really,” Daniel said. “It’s a rare class line that can offer great power. When used properly, of course.”

“That was the same advice Cynthia gave me,” Tasha said. “She’s my mentor. I’d have to work at it and it can be a learning curve, but I’ll likely have the Summoner for my next upgrade which is a very strong class.”

“That it is,” Cedric said. “One of the top guilds has a Summoner in their leadership. They’re not exactly a recommended class line, though, according to him and other sources.”

Tasha’s face stayed the same shade of red. “I have my reasons. But it can offer me much more potent healing as well as other ways to contribute to the group. I don’t want to be just a healer. I’d rather help us manage our climbs in ways to reduce needing to be healed at all.”

“What are your reasons, then?” Wyn asked. “We’re putting everything on the table. No holding back. I know you want to do more than heal and I’m in full support of that. But there’s no reason to completely leave us in the dark if that’s the class you want.”

Tasha twirled another curl while eyeing everyone. No one else spoke, all of them waiting for her to respond. She finally let go of her curl and straightened her posture in her chair.

“That’s understandable. Yes, I want to do more. But I feel this is the right step for me to prove myself. To all of you. To my family. To my father. That I not only belong here but also can hold my own. Sure I can heal and protect all of you but I want to do that and more. Plus, Cynthia can show me how and guide me. She’s agreed to meet with me at least once a week to ensure I’m doing the best I can.”

“She sounds like a great mentor,” Daniel said. “You’re fortunate to have her.”

“I really am,” Tasha said. “And you all can trust her. I know about the Summoner Edgar, too. Cynthia was also his mentor and said I had a chance of getting the Herald upgrade since my growth and climbing style is similar to his.”

John took a drink from his cup and began filling it with the pitcher on the table. “Well, damn. I shouldn’t be surprised you’re so well connected. Thanks for sharing that! And I agree with Wyn. I’m in full support.”

“Agreed,” Cedric said. “I’m not one to tell another Climber how to follow their own path. Whatever you decide we can make work. Open communication is how we’ll do well no matter our classes.”

“Of course I agree, too,” Marcy said. “Why not have another class in our group that isn’t recommended? We already have two, let’s go ahead and make it half of us.”

Tasha let out a deep breath and clasped her arms around John, hugging him tight. He didn’t shrug her off, only smiled.

“So that brings up you, Wyn,” Cedric said. “And I’m sure I can speak for the others when I say we don’t mind one of our mentors coming to help strategize, but surely there’s a reason you invited Daniel.”

Wyn stood up beside the table and took out his parchment with the class upgrade options. He looked at everyone closely before speaking. “There is. I’m not as experienced as you and Marcy or as knowledgeable as John. And Tasha, it’s obvious you have good connections to help bridge the gap of being a new Climber. But I’m… distracted. I know I am. Thoughts of keeping my sister safe and paying my family’s debt, trying to mentally handle the change from leaving the war to coming here. I’ve definitely rushed this process which is my own burden to carry, and it feels like I’m in way over my head. But I want to make sound decisions, and honestly no one else knows what being a Ruby Magician is like better than Daniel.”

The older man smiled awkwardly while bowing his head in respect. “I’ll do whatever I can to inform you and help. I truly only want you to do well.”

Wyn returned his smile and placed his parchment on the table, shifting the stones and weights to each corner to keep it flat. “And this is part of why I feel that way.”

The group crowded around Wyn’s paper. Daniel rose from his chair and Tasha actually gasped.

“Five options?” Marcy asked. “What in the hells? How is that possible?”

“Wyn, this is incredible,” Daniel said. “Ruby Magicians normally have four upgrade options. But five? I haven’t even heard of that before.”

“Though the first three are a bit… bad,” John said. “Sorry, Wyn. It’s weird how you had two of my upgrades. But they look like worse abilities than mine.”

“That’s the price we pay,” Daniel said. “When pulled in too many directions our abilities are stretched thin. You have a multitude of skills but no spells, and other Magicians have a multitude of spells with few skills solely related to improving their magic. Our class falls somewhere in the middle, giving us more variety but less focus.”

“I can finally see it for myself,” John said. “But what about those last two class options? Those don’t look bad at all. They look pretty good!”

“I have a theory on that,” Wyn said. “I think when I met the Avatar in the form of the witch during my first climb she influenced me in more ways than one. I think this proves it. I haven’t been able to come up with a better answer.”

The others just stared at the paper, processing his words. Finally, Cedric spoke up. “John has a point. He’d make a better Squire than your Ruby variation. But the last two are good upgrades. I can’t say for certain they’re great, but definitely your best bets.”

“They’re great alright,” Daniel said. “I haven’t heard or read about either of those classes but their benefits are far better than an average Ruby Magician upgrade. And their abilities are uniquely strong. Chaincast is a rare skill I’m familiar with, but Shout isn’t in any reference book. Plus, Wyn, with you being a Captain, that doesn’t seem like a coincidence.”

“I thought that, too,” Wyn said. “But… it’s remarkably similar to the Squire’s ability to share skills with others. Do we really need two of us being able to do that?”

“Likely not,” John said. “And we could still get a sixth member. What if they’re a Templar or other class that can also share skills like that?”

“Another good point,” Wyn said. “Plus, I think I’m ready to move on. I was a captain. Not anymore. I had a terrible experience serving in the war and don’t want to repeat myself. Maybe a change would be for the best.”

“If that’s what you want, then I understand,” Daniel said. “But your skill list is also unusual, if a bit random. If you’re picking the Strategist choice and have two skills to pick, which ones are you considering?”

“That’s where I wanted some more advice. What, exactly, do these do? I get the gist of Guard Up. What about the others?”

“Silence Attack is a good active weapon skill we share with Fighters. It’s a useful one-time skill that silences magic-using monsters and prevents them from casting magic.”

“I had that as one of my new skills, too,” John said. “It will definitely be useful.”

Daniel nodded in agreement. “Weapon Bond is a great utility skill that lets you store a chosen weapon in an extra dimensional pocket. And you can magically will that weapon back to you for a bit of mana if it’s out of that pocket but not on your person. It effectively makes you near impossible to be disarmed.”

“If only I had that for my arrows,” Marcy said. “It might be too strong, though. I guess there’s always enchantments that do the same thing.”

Wyn thought further about that ability. If he chose his knife as the bond he wouldn’t need to store it at his back anymore. He still thought it was a stupid idea to throw it, but if he did he could instantly return it for some mana. Would the same idea work for his spear? Could he throw his spear and return it to himself using the skill? Of course he could. And what if that spear was magically thrown, instead?

Excitement welled up inside Wyn. “Is there an enchantment out there that gives some kind of bonus to throwing a weapon? Like my spear?”

Cedric scratched his chin. “There are enchantments for just about anything. They’re more common on hand axes and daggers, but I’m sure there are.”

“Are you thinking about throwing your weapon and using that skill to bring it back?” Tasha asked. “That’s a bit of a leap to make the skill usable. And if it costs mana to bring it back every time you’ll drain yourself pretty fast.”

Wyn deflated. “I wouldn’t use it all the time! But you’re probably right.”

“That would look damn cool, though,” John said quietly.

“If you found a weapon with an enchantment that teleported you to it you’d be quite versatile,” Daniel said. “I once knew an Assassin Climber that had a pair of magical daggers that worked similarly. One dagger let her teleport to it, and the other was magically recalled back like the Weapon Bond skill. She darted around combat like a specter, hardly ever being touched in the second tier!”

Wyn’s excitement grew again. John’s did, too, because he leaned over the table and stared wide-eyed at Wyn.

“Easy, boys,” Marcy said. “It’s something to consider. But what about the last skill? Wellspring?”

Daniel paused for a moment, then reached into his jacket and pulled out a book that was far too large to be able to fit inside his pocket. He opened it and quickly sifted through the pages before stopping. “Aha! I knew it would be in this one! Wellspring: lay down a large glyph that covers a ten foot area. This glyph converts health into mana of whatever creature is within it and does not differentiate between friend or foe, though does not affect the caster. You do not have to be inside it to obtain the converted mana from the inhabitants of the glyph. The glyph lasts 10 minutes. Costs a moderate amount of mana to use.”

“That doesn’t sound ominous at all,” John said.

“It’s an Onyx Magician skill,” Daniel said. “You shouldn’t have access to that, Wyn. It must be what you said about the Avatar influencing your choices.”

“I think so, too,” Wyn said. “But that skill sounds risky to use.” Wyn looked down at the mark on his left forearm. Seeing it made him think of the times he checked his mana recovery from Lucidity.

Something clicked in Wyn’s mind. If Wellspring gave him mana, on top of Lucidity recovering mana for him, he could be more liberal with his mana use as his recovery would be expedited. And, since the Strategist has the benefit of healing spells recovering mana on top of health, he could boost himself with Regen for even more recovery.

Wyn pointed to the description of the Strategist on his parchment. “Healing spells recover mana, too. Along with Lucidity that skill could be a great trap to recover mana.”

“You could get to a point where you could recover mana naturally within minutes,” Cedric said, shaking his head. “I don’t care what you say about the limitations of your class. That’s absurdly strong. If you pick the right equipment and were smart about your skill and spell use -”

“You could essentially never run out of mana,” Daniel said, cutting Cedric off.

The others sat in silence for a moment.

“I think I’ll pick that,” Wyn said.

“I’d have to slap you if you didn’t,” John said.

Tasha sat back down and folded her hands on her lap. “Like you did for me, I support your decision, Wyn. Is that all we need, then?”

“I think so,” Marcy said. “I have a good feeling about our group. You all have strong upgrades!”

The group talked and ate and drink for a few more minutes, celebrating their success so far. Wyn grabbed his parchment and happily placed it back into his jacket. Their group had a plan to move forward and Wyn felt confident about going forward. A large weight settled in his chest from Lucy and her threat, though, keeping him from feeling completely hopeful.

“Wyn?” Tasha asked. “Do you want a drink to celebrate?”

Wyn looked up and noticed everyone else was holding a cup to toast. He quickly grabbed one and filled it with water.

“Something’s wrong,” Marcy said. “I can tell. What is it?”

Wyn held his cup and hesitated. He’d already told them about his debt long ago, and he didn’t feel comfortable delaying it anymore. He proceeded to tell them about Lucy meeting him in the hospital wing and what she said. He told them that he had the rest of the week to make up 9000 gold crowns and that she threatened him and his sister if he couldn’t come up with it.

They all set their cups down, the mood to toast gone. Silence lingered only for a few seconds but for Wyn it was far too long.

“Fuck her,” John said. “The Assembly, too. We’ll help you get that money in time.”

“How?” Wyn asked. “I’m not even halfway there. I still need about 6000 crowns. And a large chunk of what I have was from Cal.”

“That’s actually doable,” Daniel said.

The others looked at him. Wyn just shook his head.

“Don’t give me false hope, Daniel,” Wyn said. “Please.”

“I’m not. You should make about 200 to 250 gold on the sixth floor. And it’s always a bit easier than the fourth floor. If you all pool your money together you’d make a thousand gold each clear, not to mention whatever items you found and sold.”

“I can’t ask you all to do that,” Wyn said. “You each have your own reasons for being here, and that’s far too much money to just give to me.”

“How have you not understood it yet?” Tasha asked. “Is your head really that thick? We’re a team. Friends, even. If any of us were in your position would you hesitate to offer?”

Wyn opened his mouth to speak but stopped. She was absolutely right.

“That’s what I thought,” Tasha said. “Then it’s settled. We will climb the sixth floor twice a day and pool our winnings to make sure you can make that payment.”

The other three didn’t question her or make light of the situation at all. They simply raised their cups once more, and Daniel quickly joined them.

Wyn raised his cup just as he was fighting the urge to prevent a tear from forming. He’d never experienced such compassion or selflessness. There was no way he’d ever forget their gesture or offer, and he made a personal vow to make it up to them one way or another.

“Alright,” Wyn said. “Let’s do it.”