Damien felt incredibly conflicted. He had just been presented with a huge opportunity that could greatly backfire. In front of him was Varn, he originally didn’t recognize the kobold since he is a very minor character at this stage in the storyline.
But all that changes when he finally advances his Wild magic to B grade in a few years' time. After that, he leaves the Mage Tower and manages to survive crossing the Kazimir mountains. After a month-long journey, he reaches his home. Upon witnessing his entire clan being slaughtered by an army of Werewolves he loses control over his mana. Varn’s untamed and powerful Wild affinity overtook his body and forcefully evolved it into a dragon. However, unlike a normal dragon, he was far smaller, weaker, and without intelligence.
In five years' time, near the end of the storyline. Varn is considered a mid-ranked boss that the players are expected to kill. Now Damien has only read about wild magic on the wiki and even he didn’t know what ‘gazing beyond the veil of the world’ means.
So Damien pondered on that sentence, what could ‘beyond the world’ mean? Would showing Varn that this used to be a game world that has become reality help him advance? How could he make Varn believe that this is indeed a fake world? Maybe showing him images of future events?
Now obviously he wouldn’t show him everything, in fact Damien planned to only show him a few key events that he couldn’t stop anyways. There are some set events that will occur no matter what, and then there are some plot points that the player can work to avoid.
For example, a set plot point is Prince August seizing the throne. He is made deliberately overpowered and given an absurd amount of support within the kingdom before the game’s storyline even starts.
Despite being given a year, Damien still wasn’t certain that stopping Prince August's ascension was possible. But if he was given a few years to gather power, Damien was certain he could take the throne, either through Princess Emilia, or by taking it himself.
Damien rubbed his chin in thought, “First I need to reach Archmage level in personal strength, preferably having multiple schools of magic in the A grade. In the process, I also need to get the Mage Tower under control. Taking over this kingdom and becoming an enemy of the Mage Tower means stabilizing my power within the kingdom would be impossible.”
“After that, I need powerful allies and ideally an army. Blackthorn village within my Dukedom could be a good starting point for that. I now have a B grade rune engraver, if I can equip an entire village with runic equipment they could become an elite strike force.”
Damien then looked at both Varn and Fay, “Finally I need some powerful allies to rely on. If Fay can fully unlock her elemental magic she will become one of the most powerful mages on the continent. But even an A grade elemental mage will stand no chance against the Dean of Kassinki’s university. For that, I need an S grade existence, a Dragon for example.”
Damien debated for a second and decided to take the risk. He would show Varn some knowledge that nobody in this world should know. Ideally, it will advance both his wild magic and make him more loyal towards Damien as he will understand his future goals.
The worst case is Varn doesn’t advance and somehow escapes with this knowledge, Damien wasn’t worried about this outcome. If Varn tried to escape he would hunt him down till the end of the continent if he had to.
Over telepathy, Damien showed Varn many things. First, he showed him visions of Varn, through many different perspectives. He then showed the ascension of Prince August, how the Prince was a human supremacist and slaughtered the people of his own kingdom to raise an undead army. He then showed him the war with the vampires, how Prince August led his undead army to the Kazimir mountains and finally exterminated every last vampire.
But the visions didn’t stop there. Damien also showed him what he would become if he allowed his Wild magic to take control, a mindless weak dragon that killed everything in sight, and finally, Damien ended with a vision of Werewolves massacring the kobolds.
Unsurprisingly, Varn’s mind collapsed, refusing to believe what it had seen, yet also couldn’t deny its possibility.
After a minute Varn stood up with a complicated expression. He turned to Damien and asked through the telepathic connection, “Can we save them?”
Damien nodded and said out loud, “Of course. But that depends on your decision here. Become my disciple and enter a soul contract with me, and I will help you. Refuse my offer and I will hunt you down till the edge of the world.”
Everyone had a shocked expression, what kind of ridiculous demand is this? Was there really a need for a soul contract for advancing someone to B grade?
Varn didn’t even spend a moment thinking. He had just witnessed things only a God could know. He wanted to believe it was all fake, but what if it was real? Could he really turn down this opportunity to become a real dragon and defend his people?
Varn placed a hand on his chest and said through the connection, “If you promise to save my people and treat me well, then I agree.”
Damien showed no change in expression but was jumping for joy inside. He had just got himself a potential dragon as a slave. Signing a soul contract gave the owner complete control over your life and death. Damien had to take this step, if Varn turned on him once he evolved, Damien would be powerless to stand up against a Dragon.
Damien put his hand on Varn’s head, feeling Varn removing the defences around his sea of consciousness, Damien entered. In the middle of the sea was a glowing white orb, representing Varn’s soul. Damien floated over in an astral form and cast a spell, “ᛋᛟᚢᛚ ᛒᛁᚾᛞ (Soul Bind)” golden chains shot out of Damien's hands and surrounded the soul.
Returning back to reality, Damien could feel a constant link with Varn’s soul. He could detect his general direction, his emotional state, search through his memories and even tighten the chains to either bring pain or kill him at any time.
Saying every word very slowly and carefully, Varn proclaimed, “Apprenthice Mage Varn greeths Masther Damien.”
Damien smiled, “I accept Varn as my disciple.”
Master Grey clapped from the side, “Ho ho, well done. Come Varn, let's check your status!”
Putting his paws on the stone:
[Varn Yddryr]
[Kobold]
Schools of magic:
[Wild Magic (B)]
Primordial Mana Manipulation [C] - “Manipulate the raw and untamed mana around and inside you.”
Chaos Vortex [D] - “Creates a swirling ball of wild affinity mana that destroys other mana on contact. Can be thrown.”
Chaos Zone [F] - “Creates a domain of wild mana around the caster, reduces the effectiveness of incoming spells and enhances wild mana spells.”
Master Grey showed a beaming smile, he had watched this little kobold struggle to advance in wild magic for the past thirty years. Master Grey tried to help him many times but since there are few coherent records that detail how to advance in wild magic, it became a difficult process.
Master Grey looked towards Damien with a newfound greed. Whatever knowledge he possessed was truly unfathomable and he refused to let it go. Turning towards Amaltheia, she seemed to have a similar idea. Without exchanging words, the two ancient mages agreed to not let this mage escape to other mage towers.
Master Grey cleared his throat and spoked towards Damien, “Haha Master Damien sure is talented, considering you now have two disciples, this old man will consider your contribution towards the tower as sufficient.”
“Three.” Damien said while pointing towards Fay who had finally gotten over her shock from earlier and was curiously looking around, not sure who all these people are.
“Oh yes, even better! With three disciples you are definitely an official Master Mage.” Master Grey added with a smile, “Come, let this old man show you a good place to live…”
Damien gave Master Grey a smile. He knew the old man’s worries, that he would leave for a more prosperous Mage Tower, but he had too many things to deal with here in Kassinki to leave. Of course, he won’t tell Master Grey this as he will receive fewer benefits.
“What about me?” Akna demanded with her hands crossed below her breasts, trying to look intimidating with a cold gaze.
Master Grey was about to send her away with his magic but Damien stopped him.
“What about you?” Damien asked with a sneer, “I don’t need a talentless retard as a disciple, go play Princess with someone else.”
“How dare-”
“Silence. I have no need for an ungrateful and prideful waste. I have important matters to deal with and cannot and will not spend the time and effort raising an ungrateful disciple. You look down on me for being a vampire, yet beg me to become your master?”
“Send her away.” Damien said while dismissively waving at her. Akna wore a twisted expression as she glared at Master Grey, “My father will be hearing about this-” with a wave of his hand Master Grey teleported Akna away, refusing to listen to her anymore.
“Sorry about that Master Damien.” Master Grey apologised, Damien waved him off, “No need, I do not fear some worthless Yaeldrin clan. Bunch of spineless cowards they are.”
Master Grey chuckled and continued leading them to a residence within the upper realm. Floating down, they came to the border between the middle and upper realm. Floating on a small island of black stone was a European style castle with white walls.
Inside were many fully furnished rooms that served various purposes. Master Grey gave them a tour, Damien was impressed. He expected to live on a floating platform in the middle realm, seeing Master Grey’s sincerity showed their expectations of him, and their desire to chain him to this place.
After saying his goodbye, both Master Grey and Archmage Amaltheia left for their own residences.
Damien looked at his small group of followers, “You guys will live here from now on, pick a room and another room for studying. Get some good rest, we will be leaving tomorrow morning to inspect my new Dukedom.”
Damien felt incredibly conflicted. He had just been presented with a huge opportunity that could greatly backfire. In front of him was Varn, he originally didn’t recognize the kobold since he is a very minor character at this stage in the storyline.
But all that changes when he finally advances his Wild magic to B grade in a few years' time. After that, he leaves the Mage Tower and manages to survive crossing the Kazimir mountains. After a month-long journey, he reaches his home. Upon witnessing his entire clan being slaughtered by an army of Werewolves he loses control over his mana. Varn’s untamed and powerful Wild affinity overtook his body and forcefully evolved it into a dragon. However, unlike a normal dragon, he was far smaller, weaker, and without intelligence.
In five years' time, near the end of the storyline. Varn is considered a mid-ranked boss that the players are expected to kill. Now Damien has only read about wild magic on the wiki and even he didn’t know what ‘gazing beyond the veil of the world’ means.
So Damien pondered on that sentence, what could ‘beyond the world’ mean? Would showing Varn that this used to be a game world that has become reality help him advance? How could he make Varn believe that this is indeed a fake world? Maybe showing him images of future events?
Now obviously he wouldn’t show him everything, in fact Damien planned to only show him a few key events that he couldn’t stop anyways. There are some set events that will occur no matter what, and then there are some plot points that the player can work to avoid.
For example, a set plot point is Prince August seizing the throne. He is made deliberately overpowered and given an absurd amount of support within the kingdom before the game’s storyline even starts.
Despite being given a year, Damien still wasn’t certain that stopping Prince August's ascension was possible. But if he was given a few years to gather power, Damien was certain he could take the throne, either through Princess Emilia, or by taking it himself.
Damien rubbed his chin in thought, “First I need to reach Archmage level in personal strength, preferably having multiple schools of magic in the A grade. In the process, I also need to get the Mage Tower under control. Taking over this kingdom and becoming an enemy of the Mage Tower means stabilizing my power within the kingdom would be impossible.”
“After that, I need powerful allies and ideally an army. Blackthorn village within my Dukedom could be a good starting point for that. I now have a B grade rune engraver, if I can equip an entire village with runic equipment they could become an elite strike force.”
Damien then looked at both Varn and Fay, “Finally I need some powerful allies to rely on. If Fay can fully unlock her elemental magic she will become one of the most powerful mages on the continent. But even an A grade elemental mage will stand no chance against the Dean of Kassinki’s university. For that, I need an S grade existence, a Dragon for example.”
Damien debated for a second and decided to take the risk. He would show Varn some knowledge that nobody in this world should know. Ideally, it will advance both his wild magic and make him more loyal towards Damien as he will understand his future goals.
The worst case is Varn doesn’t advance and somehow escapes with this knowledge, Damien wasn’t worried about this outcome. If Varn tried to escape he would hunt him down till the end of the continent if he had to.
Over telepathy, Damien showed Varn many things. First, he showed him visions of Varn, through many different perspectives. He then showed the ascension of Prince August, how the Prince was a human supremacist and slaughtered the people of his own kingdom to raise an undead army. He then showed him the war with the vampires, how Prince August led his undead army to the Kazimir mountains and finally exterminated every last vampire.
But the visions didn’t stop there. Damien also showed him what he would become if he allowed his Wild magic to take control, a mindless weak dragon that killed everything in sight, and finally, Damien ended with a vision of Werewolves massacring the kobolds.
Unsurprisingly, Varn’s mind collapsed, refusing to believe what it had seen, yet also couldn’t deny its possibility.
After a minute Varn stood up with a complicated expression. He turned to Damien and asked through the telepathic connection, “Can we save them?”
Damien nodded and said out loud, “Of course. But that depends on your decision here. Become my disciple and enter a soul contract with me, and I will help you. Refuse my offer and I will hunt you down till the edge of the world.”
Everyone had a shocked expression, what kind of ridiculous demand is this? Was there really a need for a soul contract for advancing someone to B grade?
Varn didn’t even spend a moment thinking. He had just witnessed things only a God could know. He wanted to believe it was all fake, but what if it was real? Could he really turn down this opportunity to become a real dragon and defend his people?
Varn placed a hand on his chest and said through the connection, “If you promise to save my people and treat me well, then I agree.”
Damien showed no change in expression but was jumping for joy inside. He had just got himself a potential dragon as a slave. Signing a soul contract gave the owner complete control over your life and death. Damien had to take this step, if Varn turned on him once he evolved, Damien would be powerless to stand up against a Dragon.
Damien put his hand on Varn’s head, feeling Varn removing the defences around his sea of consciousness, Damien entered. In the middle of the sea was a glowing white orb, representing Varn’s soul. Damien floated over in an astral form and cast a spell, “ᛋᛟᚢᛚ ᛒᛁᚾᛞ (Soul Bind)” golden chains shot out of Damien's hands and surrounded the soul.
Returning back to reality, Damien could feel a constant link with Varn’s soul. He could detect his general direction, his emotional state, search through his memories and even tighten the chains to either bring pain or kill him at any time.
Saying every word very slowly and carefully, Varn proclaimed, “Apprenthice Mage Varn greeths Masther Damien.”
Damien smiled, “I accept Varn as my disciple.”
Master Grey clapped from the side, “Ho ho, well done. Come Varn, let's check your status!”
Putting his paws on the stone:
[Varn Yddryr]
[Kobold]
Schools of magic:
[Wild Magic (B)]
Primordial Mana Manipulation [C] - “Manipulate the raw and untamed mana around and inside you.”
Chaos Vortex [D] - “Creates a swirling ball of wild affinity mana that destroys other mana on contact. Can be thrown.”
Chaos Zone [F] - “Creates a domain of wild mana around the caster, reduces the effectiveness of incoming spells and enhances wild mana spells.”
Master Grey showed a beaming smile, he had watched this little kobold struggle to advance in wild magic for the past thirty years. Master Grey tried to help him many times but since there are few coherent records that detail how to advance in wild magic, it became a difficult process.
Master Grey looked towards Damien with a newfound greed. Whatever knowledge he possessed was truly unfathomable and he refused to let it go. Turning towards Amaltheia, she seemed to have a similar idea. Without exchanging words, the two ancient mages agreed to not let this mage escape to other mage towers.
Master Grey cleared his throat and spoked towards Damien, “Haha Master Damien sure is talented, considering you now have two disciples, this old man will consider your contribution towards the tower as sufficient.”
“Three.” Damien said while pointing towards Fay who had finally gotten over her shock from earlier and was curiously looking around, not sure who all these people are.
“Oh yes, even better! With three disciples you are definitely an official Master Mage.” Master Grey added with a smile, “Come, let this old man show you a good place to live…”
Damien gave Master Grey a smile. He knew the old man’s worries, that he would leave for a more prosperous Mage Tower, but he had too many things to deal with here in Kassinki to leave. Of course, he won’t tell Master Grey this as he will receive fewer benefits.
“What about me?” Akna demanded with her hands crossed below her breasts, trying to look intimidating with a cold gaze.
Master Grey was about to send her away with his magic but Damien stopped him.
“What about you?” Damien asked with a sneer, “I don’t need a talentless retard as a disciple, go play Princess with someone else.”
“How dare-”
“Silence. I have no need for an ungrateful and prideful waste. I have important matters to deal with and cannot and will not spend the time and effort raising an ungrateful disciple. You look down on me for being a vampire, yet beg me to become your master?”
“Send her away.” Damien said while dismissively waving at her. Akna wore a twisted expression as she glared at Master Grey, “My father will be hearing about this-” with a wave of his hand Master Grey teleported Akna away, refusing to listen to her anymore.
“Sorry about that Master Damien.” Master Grey apologised, Damien waved him off, “No need, I do not fear some worthless Yaeldrin clan. Bunch of spineless cowards they are.”
Master Grey chuckled and continued leading them to a residence within the upper realm. Floating down, they came to the border between the middle and upper realm. Floating on a small island of black stone was a European style castle with white walls.
Inside were many fully furnished rooms that served various purposes. Master Grey gave them a tour, Damien was impressed. He expected to live on a floating platform in the middle realm, seeing Master Grey’s sincerity showed their expectations of him, and their desire to chain him to this place.
After saying his goodbye, both Master Grey and Archmage Amaltheia left for their own residences.
Damien looked at his small group of followers, “You guys will live here from now on, pick a room and another room for studying. Get some good rest, we will be leaving tomorrow morning to inspect my new Dukedom.”
