eFate: An MMO Story Chapter 13: System Assistance

True to her word, Calyn quickly set herself to the task of teaching them each how to create a fishing line, bait the hook, and cook the fish they caught using their lines. Afterwards she was replaced by a brand new instructor who taught them the basics of herb identification, another who taught them how to perform basic metallurgy, and one who taught them the common etiquette of the world of Nasvencia. From each instructor they also gained new items, a small pack full of survival gear from Calyn, a few herbs that could heal minor wounds, and a bronze knife, useless in battle but good for gutting fish and other small tasks. As they finished the class on etiquette, their instructor brought them down from the hill towards the large stone tower that could be seen towering over the rest of the village. It was here that they were greeted once again by Calyn, who quickly signalled for silence.

"Behind these doors is the only true mage in the village. It is he who will be teaching you all how to use basic magic. A quick warning though, anyone who does not treat the mage with the respect he deserves will quickly find themselves tossed out. You have all learned the basics of etiquette so I expect you to treat him as best you can." She said in that lilting melodic voice of hers that almost seemed to lull you to sleep. Shaking his head to snap out of it, Eric followed Calyn inside and up the narrow stone steps of the tower.

Once at the top they were greeted by a pair of large wooden doors. As Calyn moved to open the doors, time seemed to stop. Not metaphorically, but literally. (Describe more) Straining to find the cause of the disturbance, Eric almost jumped out of his skin when Eleanor appeared in front of him.

"Eleanor?" he asked incredulously.

"Yup!" She responded happily.

"What are you doing here?" Eric asked, wondering if any of the other players could see their own faeries.

"Well it's time for you to choose if you'd like to keep system assistance on, or turn it off for greater freedom." Eleanor explained.

"System assistance?" Eric asked in a puzzled tone.

"Yup, did you notice how it seemed you instinctively knew how to fire a bow or use a spear?"

"Well yeah, but I was kind of hoping that was just my natural talent," Eric responded with a wry smile.

"It might have been, but with system assistance on, everyone gets access to that sort of natural talent. It helps you quickly improve and level up your proficiencies, but you give up a lot of freedom for discovering new skills as you're forced to learn how to use these weapons and movements without understanding why. It will also be difficult for you to advance your proficiencies past the expert stage"

Eric nodded, "So it's like being powerleveled but losing out on being able to do prerequisite quests?"

"Something like that. You can still create skills and advance your proficiencies if you choose to use system assistance, it will just be more difficult for you to do so as skill creation requires creativity and understanding of how combat works past the basic skills stage. However, many of the beta testers were able to create very powerful skills using system assistance, and many of those who opted not to use it fell behind as combat is an inherently difficult task. Also just because you do not use system assistance does not mean that you will find skill creation easy. It just removes one of the constraints." Eleanor explained.

Eric pondered, "Can I turn system assistance back on at a later time if I decide I want to use it?"

"Of course, but constantly switching between the two isn't recommended. You'll want to try and stick to one or the other. But yes, you may switch whenever you like."

"In that case, I'll turn system assistance off for now." Eric decided.

"Alright, please notify me if you would ever like to re-enable it. You can summon me by saying 'Eleanor, please come to my aid'," Eleanor told him with a smile, bowing slightly before disappearing in a twirl of sparkling lights.

Looking around, Eric noticed that while time still seemed to be stopped for Calyn and the world itself, the other players were moving and appeared to be talking to an invisible entity. While he could not hear their voices, he assumed that they must be having the same conversation he'd just had. A few players had already finished, notably Astrid, Thomas, an older woman who'd excelled at etiquette, a swarthy black haired teen who'd gone all out in the sword training session, and a quiet middle aged man who had managed to gain praise from Calyn for his skill with the fishing line.

After another minute the last of the players emerged from their conversation with their faerie. As they took stock of their surroundings time once again took hold of the world and Calyn finished stepping forwards to knock on the door.

Boom. Boom. Boom. She gave the door three hard knocks before stepping back and waiting respectfully in front. After a long moment, the door swung open to reveal a large circular room. Light streaming in from large windows on the sides of the tower formed sunbeams, illuminating the dust swirling in the air currents kicked up in the doors' wake. A door on the far side of the room led out to a balcony where a short man in a voluminous robe stood, gazing out at the brook.

As the recruits walked towards the center of the room, the mage turned and stood on the balcony, awaiting their approach. As he gazed at the mage and what lay beyond, with a jolt Eric suddenly realized why the brook didn't disappear into the horizon, and why Firin had said that they would need to learn to fly if they wanted to leave without training. The land they were on was actually a floating island, hovering above the clouds. The brook flowed brightly through the middle of the village, its waters sparkling in the sunlight, unhindered by the clouds flowing below. As it reached the edge of the village it simply flowed off, creating a tiny waterfall to pierce the clouds below.

'I guess this really is a fantasy world', Eric thought as he stared dumbfounded past the mage.

"Ahem." The mage cleared his throat, breaking the silence that had taken hold of the recruits from the moment Calyn had knocked on the door.

"My name is Arthal Moors, Mage of Cloudview Tower. This is Cloudview Tower, it is here that I have been tasked with the impossible job of teaching you the basics of magic, the very foundation of the secrets and forms of the multiverse! All in under an hour. With that in mind I do not mind if you ask questions. However, do keep in mind that I do not subscribe to the theory that there are no stupid questions. Stupid questions are very real, and I have found they tend to originate from those who do not think themselves to be shall we say, less gifted mentally. Now I have no tolerance for either the dumb, nor their questions. Is that clear?" Arthal, stared out at the players, his piercing gaze seeming to challenge them to tell him otherwise. Despite his small stature, the power emanating from his body surpassed that of even Firin, causing several players to unconsciously gulp and take a step backwards.

Seeing that no one was speaking up Arthal continued, "Now the study of magic is the most complex and rich subject in Nasvencia. The knowledge of hundreds of generations of mages of all races, creeds, and even planes has come together to form the current schools of magic. These schools comprise such magical disciplines as elemental magic, gravity, climate, light, darkness, and even divine magic. None of you," he whirled and spoke sternly towards them, "Shall be learning from any of those schools of magic today. Today we shall be learning the most basic and elementary school of magic, the school that is the foundation of all magics. The school of arcane!"

With a flourish Arthal threw his hands upwards, a small stick clasped in his left hand suddenly emitting a brilliant glow. As the gathered players watched, a field of brilliantly twinkling stars burst forth from his wand. Glowing a brilliant violet with white starlight gleaming from their centers, the stars twinkled softly as they settled into the air just above their heads. The soft starlight casting hazy shadows behind the gathered players.

Chapter end