McGaron sat in the cafeteria eating a steak while reading on his tablet when he heard someone place their plate on the table he was at. Looking up from his plate, he saw Natasha across from him with a plate filled with pasta. "Hey, Theo! How's it going?" She waved at him.
"Hey Natasha," he greeted back. "Not much, just taking advantage of how quiet the cafeteria is to look over my portion of the test data while I eat." She nodded, glancing around the room, which was mostly empty except for other staff members and students, who had somehow already triggered their Tracker's recall function.
"Yeah, I can never get used to how quiet it gets around exam time. It really hammers in how hard our students must be working right now."
"Apparently not hard enough in some instances," McGaron grumbled while glancing around at the few students in the cafeteria. "It hasn't even been an entire day. How the hell did they fail the Survival Test already?" He growled to himself.
"Come now, Theo," Said Natasha in a placating tone. "It's a bit too early to say that. Who knows, maybe an unforeseen situation had occurred that forced their Trackers to activate the recall function early."
"We both know that isn't likely. If something like that were to happen, we would be immediately called in to help deal with the situation or at least be notified so we can be ready to be deployed if needed. No," he shook his head. "They're here because they somehow made a big enough fuck up that they had to be booted out of the Rift despite barely a full day passing since the beginning of the test. If that doesn't qualify as a failing score for this test, then nothing besides murdering another fellow student will."
"Fair enough," Natasha relented. "Scoring for this test isn't part of my division, so I can't say much about that. However, while we are on the subject of the students' scores, how is your group of students doing?" She asked, hoping to change the topic. McGaron noticed what she was trying to do but decided to drop the previous topic and move on to the new one.
"I can't really say much so far due to how early in the test it is and how little data we have so far. But if you ask me, my students are doing incredibly so far," He answered, a hint of pride clear in his voice.
"That's wonderful to hear!" She beamed, happy to hear the positive news. "Did anything particularly noteworthy happen?"
"Hmm," McGaron gave it some thought. "Only two noteworthy events come to mind." Natasha's eyes widen in intrigue.
"Oooo, do tell." She asked, leaning slightly closer so she wouldn't miss any juicy info.
"Hmm, you know Elizabeth?'
"Mr.Fairborne's daughter? The one in my Advanced Enchanting Class?" He nodded.
"Yup, the first noteworthy event involves her."
"Well, go on, you already piqued my interest, so don't keep me in suspense."
"Well, she somehow became the leader of one of the largest parties seen in the recorded history of the test."
"Really?" He nodded.
"Yup, she is currently in charge of a party comprising five different groups. The Last time I checked, she was leading thirty other students of various skill sets. This includes a fair amount of Enchanted, Alchemists, and a good mix of dedicated fighters. If I recall correctly, she is only beaten by two other students. Alinca, nine years ago, who led a thirty-eight-student party and Neiro, fifteen years ago, who led a forty-one-student party." Natasha let out an impressed whistle.
"Those are big names to be compared to. Hopefully that doesn't put too much pressure on the poor girl once the test is over." McGaron waved her concern away.
"Eh, I'm sure she'll be fine. Do you really think she wasn't trained to handle the pressure that would be placed on her once she takes over the family businesses? And if it does become too much, I doubt her father wouldn't intervene before things spiral out of control." Nastasa nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I can see how that might pique some of the others' interest. So who was at the center of the second noteworthy event?"
"Seraphina."
" Seraphina Gracefield?"
"That's the one."
"The shy kid that Fredric was praising in the last teacher meeting?" He nodded. "Don't get me wrong, I've seen her work, and it's quite impressive, but I can't really imagine what she could have possibly done in the test that's the same level as a first year leading a twenty-four-student party."
"She tamed a fungal monster, more specifically, a Territory Boss."
"She tamed a Territory Boss?" McGaron did a so-so gesture.
"Eh, technically not due to the lack of any bonds between her and the monster. However, the monster started showing changes in its behaviour, typically seen in tamed monsters."
"Are you sure it's a fungal monster and not a more intelligent one? Maybe one that might be able to ignore their inherent aggression?"
"Seraphina was sent to the Fungal Forest, so I'm certain." He gave her a moment for the info to set in fully. There hasn't been any recorded instance of an intelligent fungal monster, nor a non-fungal monster, naturally appearing in the Fungal Forest.
'Maybe a different type of monster?' Natasha thought to herself. 'One that seems like a fungal monster but isn't on closer inspection?' She dismissed that idea. 'No, Theo said it was a Territory Boss, and it's tough to mistake those for a different type of monster due to how strongly tied they are to their Rift of origin.' "How intelligent was the monster?" She eventually asked when she couldn't think of any logical explanation.
"From the info I was given, I'd say at most as intelligent as a decently bred dog, and even then, that might be giving the monster a bit too much credit. Though you never know, that might change depending on what the people over at the monster research division manage to find."
"You mentioned changes in its behaviour, can you elaborate on what you mean?"
"The monster started showing signs of protectiveness towards Sera, especially against monsters from outside of its territory and along with it exhibited little to no aggression towards her. It was also observed ordering its Mycelium Spreaders and Guardians to gather various mushrooms from within and outside its territory for Sera to collect, with a strong emphasis on mushrooms that she had shown an interest in. Though that did end up being almost any mushroom they bring her." Natasha was initially confused as to why Sera would have such a strong interest in mushrooms despite being in a Rift filled with them, but then remembered that the girl was an Alchemist in training.
"Any mushrooms of note?" She asked, mostly out of curiosity.
"Yup," he nodded. "They gave her a Gilded King Crown mushroom."
"Gilded King Crown?" She racked her brain, trying to remember if she had heard that name before, but got nothing.
"Yeah, I didn't know what that was either," McGaron added when he saw her confused expression. "When I asked one of the instructors in the Alchemist division, they went into a long lecture about the mushroom. They covered everything from the mushrooms' life cycle to ideal growth, to their apparently many uses."
"Anything that might explain why it's so valuable?"
"Eh, I kinda zoned out near the beginning, but from what little I did manage to catch. Apparently, the Gilded King Crown can substitute for any mushroom that might be required in any potion recipe. Something about a pound of it being equivalent to five pounds of the mushroom it's being substituted for." Natasha let out an impressed whistle.
"Yeah, I can see how that can be a big deal for Alchimists." McGaron shrugged. He didn't see the appeal of the item, but figured only those in a craft like Natasha would understand. "Do we have any prior recordings of this happening?" He shook his head.
"No, this wouldn't be such a big deal if it were. For all we know, this never happened before."
"Is the academy planning to do anything about this?"
"Currently, no. The headmaster himself gave an order not to interfere and let the test play out as normal." Natasha let out a soft chuckle.
"I'm sure the people in the monster research division weren't happy to hear that." McGaron chuckled as well.
"They were devastated. Last time I was over there, a few of them were huddling together, praying that Sera's monster would survive the test so they could swoop in and do their thing with it."
"Do you think it would?" He shrugged.
"Eh, you can never be sure what will happen in a Rift, only hope for the best and prepare for the worst." She nodded in agreement.
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"How about Alex?" It took McGaron a moment to process her question.
"Why do you ask? Did something happen to him?" A thought came to mind. "Is someone trying to raise a fuss because his tracker detected interference? Because they better not, Alex's runes are perfectly within the test's rules. Any argument they are trying to use this time is baseless, idiotic and clearly biased." Natasha let out a soft chuckle before shaking her head.
"No, nothing like that. So far, it seems like he's choosing to forgo using his bypass rune despite him technically being allowed to use it. Hard to tell if he's doing this because he doesn't need to so far, or if he's trying to avoid any scrutiny from the others. However, I'm surprised you're so supportive of him using it. I thought you didn't want him to rely on that kind of reckless fight style?" He gave her a quick nod.
"And you'll be right, but there is a difference between him relying on it as his main fighting style and using it as a tool to win a fight. We're teaching these kids how to navigate the Rifts as best as they can, and monsters aren't going to care what's fair or not when they're trying to kill you. I personally think it's our duty as their teachers to help them make the most of any advantage they can. Placing too many restrictions on the students can only be harmful to them in the long run. For example, if Alex can never make use of his regeneration, how would he know his limits? How can he know which attacks he can survive and which ones would be too much for him if he's punished for using his regeneration?" Natasha nodded in agreement.
"Hmm, I'm curious, have you made any progress with getting Alex to use a less, what did you call it? Ah, less suicidal fighting style? Because of my interaction with him, Alex strikes me as a kid who would break under force before bending."
"Some, he's starting to dodge or block attacks instead of tanking them more than he used to. You'll be surprised how open he is to change, and unlike some of my students, he actually listens to my criticism. However, despite how willing he is to heed my advice, Alex still tends to rely on his regeneration in a fight, especially during the heat of battle."
"Well, from what I can gather, at least he's improving, and little progress is better than none." McGaron nodded in agreement.
"Couldn't agree with you more." He let out a tired sigh. "I just wish I could do more, especially with all the close calls I've witnessed with him." He slightly grinned as a thought popped into his mind. "And Marigold definitely isn't making things any easier." McGaron chuckled.
"Hmm? What do you mean by that?" Natasha asked, her interest thoroughly piqued. "I don't recognize the name, though, given the context, I'm guessing she is a student of yours? Maybe a friend of Alex?" He nodded before elaborating.
"You know Atlas?"
"Who wouldn't know him in this line of work?"
"Well, she's his daughter." Natasha blankly stared at him as she connected the dots in her head.
"Oh, is it true he looks down on spellcasters?" McGaron did a so-so gesture with his hand
"Eh, he isn't as bad as how the media tends to portray him. And it doesn't help that his wife, Aurelia, shares similar views."
"I think I can see where you're going with this. I'm guessing, like her parents, Marigold also looks down on spellcasters?"
"A bit, though her friendship with Alex and, to a lesser extent, her friendship with Crystal had lessened her prejudice against spellcasters. Sadly, this comes at the cost of her actively encouraging Alex's reckless fighting style. On the bright side, the two of them have improved remarkably due to their regular sparing sessions. Marigold is even trying to learn spellcasting on her own." Natasha raised her brow in surprise. From what she heard so far, that should be almost impossible.
"Really? What spurred this on? Was it Alex?" She asked after giving her question some thought.
"Not fully, but he did play a big role. You see, the main reason is that she hit a wall in my combat class and some of the Rifts."
"Is she having trouble with range enemies?" He nodded. It wasn't hard for Natasha to figure out what Marigold was lacking from what little she knew about her.
"More specifically, enemies she can't rush down. While she can do little against those who can attack her from out of her reach, she also has trouble catching enemies who are faster than her. Her original plan was to carry rocks or other consumables she could throw at her foe before Alex suggested she learns some spells instead to make use of the Mana she rarely uses."
"I'm astonished she entertained that idea, let alone agreed."
"My thoughts exactly, though I guess she did have other incentives to learning magic."
"I've figured, from what you've been telling me so far."
"So far, she's been focusing on memorizing the Boost spell and a bit of Mend Wound." She nodded, seeing the practicality of the two spells.
"Boost increases her already high strength, and Mend Wound will allow her to continue fighting for longer. However, I don't see how these two can fix her range problem, regardless of how highly Alex recommends them."
"Because directly they don't. Currently, she isn't focusing on fixing her weak points but instead increasing her already impressive strength. She is trying to combine the use of the two spells with the coating techniques, specifically the one that can be used to boost her strength and temporarily accelerate her natural healing process. You can think of her following a similar path to her father, Atlas, but with the added use of Mana."
"How's her progress going?"
"Her spells require her full attention, making it difficult to use them in a fight. On the few occasions she did successfully cast one of the spells, they quickly fizzled out due to her inexperience with optimizing her Mana. She is better with coating, and I give her a few weeks before she can reliably use them in short bursts in battle."
"Why did she choose to become a Mage? I would have thought being a Mana Weaver would be more of her ally." He chuckled.
"You would think that, and that was my assumption as well." He took his tablet out of his bag beside him and showed Natasha Marigorld's profile.
"Ah, I see. Not the most graceful or dexterous person out there, is she?" McGaron shook his head.
"No, and no matter how hard Alex tries to teach her Mana weaving, she just can't seem to get the hang of it."
"What about enchanting? She definitely has the strength for it."
"Yeah, she has the strength, but definitely not the patience. She tends to rush her work, resulting in her either breaking what she is trying to enchant or messing up the enchantment she is attempting to apply. It doesn't help that she keeps breaking the enchantment tools that the school lends out. It got to the point where she had to borrow tools from Alex so she could continue practicing. In the end, she gave up on becoming an Enchanter in favour of trying to become a Mage." Natasha nodded.
"Well, I think we got a bit off topic. You told me Alex was improving, how so?" Swiping through his tablet, McGaron brought up Alex's profile and handed it to her.
"He's using his more ranged options like Flame Lash and Icicle Spear, as they're meant to be used for, instead of using the two spells as melee weapons." He elaborated while Natasha read over the profile. "As I mentioned earlier, Alex is also blocking and dodging attacks more instead of tanking them with his body. Due to this, he has more Mana to work with because he doesn't need to funnel a majority of his Mana to maintain his healing spells."
"Interesting," Natasha muttered out loud while she continued looking down at his tablet.
"What?" She flipped the tablet and handed it back to McGaron. Taking it from her, he looked at what caught Natasha's interest. "Recorded spell use? What's so interesting about this?"
"You don't see it?" He shook his head. "Take a closer look, and you'll notice that Alex is only using Base spells." He furrowed his brow and reread the data once more.
"No, that can't be right." He muttered softly to himself. Even if Alex wasn't the most skilled spellcaster in his class, he definitely isn't at a point that would require him to rely on Base spells instead of more common and superior spell creation. "Damn," he swore under his breath. "How could I have never noticed this?"
"Hey, don't beat yourself too much over this. Even someone like me would have missed this detail if I didn't have the data right in front of my eyes. It also helped that I've been tasked with monitoring his Tracker in case something goes wrong. So I had more data to work with, and it doesn't help that you're not a spell caster yourself." McGaron let out a defeated sigh.
"No matter the excuse, as his teacher, it's my job to notice these kinds of things." He let out another sigh. "My main problem is that I can't think of any reason someone as skilled as Alex would do this?" He gave Alex's profile one more look over. "Hmm, maybe he does it to preserve Mana?" McGaron guessed after he considered everything he knew about Alex and the available data. "Running out of Mana is and seems to continue to be his biggest weakness." Natasha shook her head.
"Unlikely, mostly because the base version of some spells, like Flame, requires more Mana to use compared to casting them from scratch. If his Mana issue were the reason, he would use a mix of base spells and casting spells from scratch. Instead, he seems to be set on only using base spells regardless of whether it's beneficial for him or not." McGaron let out a deep sigh.
"Well then, I have no idea why he does. I'll see if I can ask him about it once the exams are over. I can only hope this habit of his doesn't result in too much trouble for him, especially with his tendency to chew through his Mana reserves. How about you, Natasha? You met with him quite frequently. Have you noticed anything that might give us a hint on why he only uses base spells?"
"Hmm," she tapped her chin as she thought about his question. "Now that you mentioned it, his habit of only using base versions of spells isn't limited to spells he weaved."
"Really?" She nodded.
"Yeah. Now that I think back on it, when Alex enchants a spell onto an object, he always uses the base version of the enchantment. Even for the more obscure enchantment needed for some of his assignments, he always somehow knows and uses the base version of the required spell. Which is quite impressive now that I'm giving it more thought."
"How so? I figured it wouldn't be much different from how he only cast base spells."
"Normally, you would be right. However, I've seen the assignments given in his class. Some of them weren't designed with the students knowing the base spell for the required enchantment. In fact, when I asked Alex's enchanting teacher, Erik, he told me he designed the assignments using enchantments with no base spells, so his students would have to figure out how to implement the desired effect onto the object from scratch. He admitted that he was quite shocked to learn that the enchantments he thought had no base version did in fact have one."
"Huh, I bet that must have stung, being one-upped by a student." Natasha softly chuckled at his comment.
"Not really, in fact, Erik was ecstatic every time he thought he had finally found an enchantment without a base spell, only to be proven wrong. Erik loves to learn, and he sees being proven wrong as just another opportunity to learn something new. He even started seeing finding an enchantment that Alex doesn't know the base spell of as a personal project, which he hopes to accomplish by the end of the year." McGaron's facial expression grew more serious as he continued to listen.
"Hmm, that's good and all, but is he making sure this newfound obsession isn't interfering with his ability to teach his students?" Natasha chuckled and waved his concern away.
"You have nothing to worry about. I've worked with Erik for years and have even spoken with some of his students; he knows when to keep things professional and not let his personal desire get in the way of properly teaching his students. He ensures that he chooses enchantments for his students that they reasonably should be able to create. While he tries to select enhancements that he can't find base versions of, if he can't, he asks Alex if he can assign him a harder enhancement without a base version he knows of for extra credit, while the rest of the class gets the easier assignment. More often than not, Alex agrees to do the hard assignment for the extra credit."
"Any signs of him potentially forcing Alex to accept the harder work?"
"You don't have to worry about that. Erik isn't the type of person who would do that. Even if he was, do you really think Alex would stay quiet in this situation?" McGaron could only grumble in agreement to her question.
"I'll trust in your judgment until I can get to know Erik better. Anything else you noticed about Alex that is noticeable, or I should be worried about?" She shook her head.
"None that I can think of right now. However, something interesting was picked up recently."
"Anything to be concerned about?"
"It shouldn't be. The issue is that there appear to be unusual readings emanating from the Vibrant Jungle. We're currently investigating what could have happened, but so far we haven't found anything that warrants pausing the exam. Though the readings themselves are noteworthy, you see..." The duo spent the rest of lunch talking back and forth about their respective students before needing to part ways to continue their work.
REALMS Printable Premade Character Sheets
Character #91
Elizabeth Fairborn
Realm of Origin: ____ --- Current Realm: _______
Player Name: ___________
Party Members:
Current Chapter [ ]
Health:[ ] --- Stamina:[ ] --- Mana:[ ] --- Trait Limit: [ / ]
Traits: Sharp Eye (6), Nimble Fingers(3), Ambidextrous(2), Great Memory(2), Accurate Shot(4), Leadership(6)
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Additional Information:
Player Name: ___________ | Age:___ | Height:___ | Weight:___ | Eyes:___ | Skin:___ | Hair:___ |
]
- Daughter and heir to Aldric Fairborn
- Perfect 20/20 vision
- Desperate for her father's approval and isn't aware that she already has it.
- Note: Players can forgo multi-classing as an Enchanter or Marksman. In that case, it is recommended to swap her starting Traits depending on which class you want to focus on.
evolver, a case of custom bullets, Enchanter's tools.
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Known Spells/Techniques: