Following the pendulum for another couple of city blocks, I came to a shaded park. I don’t think I’ve been here before. I wonder if the dense foliage was here before or after the reversion. No way the city would let it get this wild. The crystal soon brought me to a stone wall.
“That’s weird. The stone is pointing towards the wall but I don’t see a way around it.”
Mroah? Grendel mewed inquisitively. Maybe he can help. Looping the strap of the bag around so that it faced my stomach, I slowly put Grendel back into his harness. Holding tightly onto his leash I sat him down in the grass so that he could get acquainted with his surroundings. I watched as he sniffed around the wall.
Bending down to better examine the stones, “Maybe it's like a magic entrance?”
POP.
“Huh?” Peering back down at where Grendel had been sniffing, all that was left was his leash. It was brought taut against one of the stones below. Placing my hand on the stone I slowly pressed it forward. Before I knew what was happening I was transported.
HISSS. Mroah! Grendel mewed furiously before finding his leash now extended to its full length once again.
“Where are we?” I asked myself, looking around. It appeared as though we had been transported to the other side of the stone wall. Entrenched in a circular courtyard of stone and trees. There was a stillness to the air. It only seemed to be broken up by subtle changes in the breeze as it whispered through the cracks in the stone around us.
Taking a step forward, the ground began to rumble slightly. I watched as boulders rolled together, meeting and culminating in the middle of the courtyard until they formed what I could only guess was a type of golem. This is the tutorial, right? I didn’t end up in some secret dungeon or anything did I? My heart began to pound hard in my chest. Taking a couple of quick breaths it slowly began to calm.
The golem loomed over me. It was strangely skinny if you could even call it that. Its tall demeanor reminded me of the gangly male young adults I used to see in my college classes. Their nutrition lacking anything besides chicken nuggets and ketchup. It’s just staring at me… Its brightly glowing eyes only seemed to dim the more I stared into them.
“Hello?” I spoke.
The golem made a grinding sound as it squatted down to meet me at eye level. “Hello,” it spoke back, in a familiarly robotic tone.
“Are you the tutorial guardian?” I asked, remembering what Ben had said about his class assignment.
“Yes… I am,” the giant golem seemed to breathe life into every word.
Tapping my pocket where the pendulum lay I said, “I hope I’m in the right place. This dowser brought me here. I need to complete the mage tutorial.”
“No,” as it spoke, the golem turned away from me, its stones grinding against one another once more.
“No? What do you mean no? A-am I in the wrong place?” I ran around to face the golem once more. Meeting its gaze, it began to shift again. “Answer me!”
“Do you contain knowledge?” It stopped for a moment. Peering down at me, it waited patiently for an answer.
What does it mean, do I contain knowledge? I have a brain, don’t I? Is it a puzzle or does this guy just really hate his job…? Then it hit me. The dowser! Maybe that’s what it wants. Pulling out the pendulum from my pocket, I quickly presented it to the golem.
“Is this what you want?” I asked hopefully.
“That will do,” he spoke, his long arm bending towards me. I could see a small hole in the palm of his rocky grasp. Placing the pendulum inside, the crystal began to glow. Behind me, some items began to appear. It was as if they were being pulled from some other dimension nestled in the floor itself. What appeared before me was a staff, a crystal orb, and a book. Perplexed, I examined each item more closely.
[Yule’s staff of wisdom] A staff crafted by the monk scholar Yule. Its original purpose was to be a training weapon for those following his tutelage. Provides a sense of calm in the heat of battle, allowing for calm decision-making. Acts as a basic focus for most spellwork, especially close-range spells.
[Humm’s Orb of Certainty] An orb created atop a lonely mountaintop. Humm used such an item to gaze into the uncertainty of the future. May provide glimpses into possible future events, however uncertain. Acts as a basic focus for most spellwork, especially for utility and support-based skills.
[Gelm’s Spellbook of Earth] A spellbook written by a mediocre wizard. Gelm was accustomed to many different Earth spells. Provides a damage bonus when using spells learned through the book, as well as higher experience points when performing said spells. Acts as a basic focus for most spellwork, especially for long-range skills.
Huh, so each has its own advantages and disadvantages. I’m definitely not the support type, so I guess the Orb’s a no-go, but the other two… It might actually be better to get the staff so at least I know I can hit stuff with it. Hopefully, they’ll go into how to cast magic, but if I’m all out of mana or whatever I’d rather have a big stick to wave around than a book. Also, Earth magic? I don’t even know what kind of magic I can use, but earth magic sounds pretty lame. I’m also not much for long-range attacks. If the other night was any indicator, I prefer close combat. Stepping towards the staff, the other two items seemed to descend back into whatever oblivion they had come out of. Grasping the staff in my hands, it felt lighter than I thought it was going to be. The staff was a bit taller than I was but seemed to weigh barely anything.
“Staffff huh…” The golem spoke. With a wave of its boulder-like hand, a few training golems appeared, compiling themselves from the rocks around them. “You know class?” it asked.
“Losing grammar are we?” I mumbled to myself. “If you’re asking about this whole being a mage thing, no, not really. I’ve never really had much luck with macros.”
“Mac-ros?”
“Nevermind. Is there a book or guide I can read? Like an explanation of my class?”
“Here,” the golem outstretched its hand once more. This time, the pendulum I had implanted in it began to glow. Its hand landed gently on my head. With a poof of my hair, the light engulfed me.
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