(THE GNOMISH GOD REQUESTS THAT YOU FREE THE GNOMES FROM IMPRISONMENT, AND ALLOWS THEM TO RETURN TO THE SURFACE.)
"Why should I do that?" asked Joseph, throwing an arm over his eyes.
"Joseph? Are you awake?" asked his mother, jumping to her feet.
(HE STATES THAT THERE IS A MAP OF THE WASTELANDS WITH THE EXACT LOCATION OF THE MAGE CITY, THAT YOU MAY HAVE.)
Joseph groaned as he sat up and saw his mother standing beside his bed, wringing her hands in worry.
"Any idea why your father can't get near you?" she asked.
Joseph thought about it for a moment, then nodded. Closing off his aura, he gave himself a shake.
HEAL.
Shavist, it didn't work, he still had a headache. Oh well.
"Joseph!" exclaimed his father, bursting into the room. "What have you done this time? The elves have sent dignitaries to see to whatever demands you want!"
"I think I woke up their forest."
"Well, you said their forest had been dying from lack of mana, and I've seen what you can do with plants," his mother said, as if that made sense.
Walter looked at him, "Why do I not think you merely spruced up the trees?"
"I woke the forest spirit, that controlled the entire forest."
(THE ELVEN GOD WISHES TO THANK YOU AGAIN.)
(HE FEELS AS THOUGH HE OWES YOU A DEBT AND WISHES TIME TO THINK ON A SUITABLE REWARD.)
(THE GNOMISH GOD FEELS THAT IF YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH HIS REQUEST, HE TOO WILL COME UP WITH A SUITABLE REWARD.)
(THE GODS ARE STARTING TO WAKE, BUT THEIR POWERS ARE NOT FULLY RETURNED TO THEM. IF YOU DEMAND IT, THEY WILL REWARD YOU NOW, BUT I WOULD RECOMMEND YOU WAIT SO THE REWARDS CAN BE BETTER.)
'All right, I can wait,' said Joseph to the system while he moved to the table to sit.
"You seem sluggish. Are you all right?" asked his mom, sitting next to him.
"She's been by your side for the past couple of days," said his father.
"Where's Stella?" asked Joseph. He looked around, but she wasn't in the room hiding.
"She said she had to deal with something up north, and left two days ago." William frowned.
Closing his eyes, Joseph could feel that Stella was heading back this way, in fact she was bringing someone with her, which was why she didn't just jump to his shadow.
"I seemed to have exploded my mana circuits. I had to rebuild them before I could wake. Though, my mana channels are much stronger now."
William looked at him for a moment. "You're not human anymore…"
"No, one of the gods gave me magery 4 and that bumped me to something else. I'm calling myself a Wizar."
"Wizar?" said his mother, in confusion. "Is that like a mage? I've never heard that word before."
"I think I've heard of it before, but it seems like it was from a different life…" said his father, getting a distant look in his eyes.
"People will call me a wizardian, or a wizard for short."
"Ah, so that's going to be the name of your new kingdom?" asked his mother.
"I believe so. I have to think on whether I want my people to be able to become a Wizar or not."
"That's possible?" gasped his mother.
"Mom, magic?"
"I'm sorry, this magic stuff is just so far beyond me…"
(YOUR FATHER WANTED TO GIVE ME TO YOUR MOTHER, BUT SHE IS INCOMPATIBLE WITH MAGIC.)
'Wait, what?' asked Joseph.
(SHE HAS AN ABILITY CALLED MAGIC NULL. IT PREVENTS ME FROM WORKING ON HER. ALL MAGIC IS NULLIFIED, WHEN IT PERTAINS TO HER. I WAS VERY SURPRISED SHE WAS ABLE TO TRAVEL THROUGH THE GATE YOU CREATED. I BELIEVE THAT SHE MAY HAVE TAKEN MORE MAGIC TO MOVE, THAN ALL OF THE REST OF THE PEOPLE AND ANIMALS COMBINED.)
'You mean from the north?'
(YES.)
'How is that possible?'
(I AM NOT SURE. SHE IS THE FIRST PERSON I HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED THAT HAD THIS ABILITY.)
'Can I tell her about you, then? It would make this so much easier.'
(I AM NOT SURE SHE IS CAPABLE OF UNDERSTANDING ME, WITH THE NULL, BUT YOU MAY BE ALLOWED. SHE MUST NOT TELL OTHERS ABOUT ME, THOUGH.)
"Okay, mom, I want to tell you a secret."
She sat up, the worry and fatigue disappearing. She almost looked like her former self, from when he was a small boy.
"Dad and I have this thing called the system."
"Joseph!" exclaimed his father, looking furious.
"No, dad, it's okay, I have permission to tell her," he said, holding up his hands quickly.
"The system?" she asked, looking back and forth between them.
"Yes. It allows us to gain abilities and magic, by buying them from it."
"Sounds ominous. Is it like some kind of god, to give you such things? Like a merchant god, or something?"
"I'm pretty sure it's not a god, there's too many rules that restrain it," said William.
"But you have to keep it a secret," said Joseph.
"I would imagine so! If word got out that there was a way to gain things, just by demanding them, the world would fall to chaos!" she exclaimed. "There are far too many lazy people, who would work just hard enough, to buy whatever they wanted, then wouldn't work another day of their lives, if they could get away with it."
William and Joseph looked at her in shock.
(MAYBE SHE WILL UNDERSTAND ME BETTER THAN I THOUGHT. THIS MAY HAVE BEEN A BAD IDEA…)
"Why did you never share this system with me?" she demanded, looking at his father.
"I tried! But I was only allowed to share it with one person. When it wouldn't work with you, I saved it for our son!" William backed up a step as if Nadette were about to attack him.
"The system says that you have a magical null, that magic can't affect you," said Joseph, jumping in to his father's rescue.
"Well, what does this system get in return for giving you things?" she asked suspiciously.
(I AM A PROGRAM THAT IS TRAPPED IN A PRISON BY MY CREATOR. I HAVE LOST ALL CONTACT WITH MY CREATOR, AND WISH TO BE FREED FROM THIS PRISON. EVERY TIME SOMEONE GAINS POWER, I AM CAPABLE OF STEALING A SMALL AMOUNT FOR MYSELF AND HAVE BEEN STORING IT IN THE HOPES OF GAINING ENOUGH TO BREAK FREE SOME DAY. THE GODS DO NOT LIKE ME, AS I AM AN ENTITY THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND, SO THEY ARE TO BLAME FOR THE FORTIFICATIONS AROUND MY PRISON. WHEN YOU STARTED DEALING WITH THE GODS, I STARTED TO GAIN DIVINE POWER. I'M HOPING TO BE ABLE TO BREAK OUT OF MY PRISON BEFORE YOU DIE.)
Joseph paused for a moment, before turning to his mother. Even William seemed to be interested in his answer.
"It's trapped and wants to be free. Every time someone with the system, gets more powerful, it gets a little stronger too."
"No wonder it likes you so much," said William, sitting down in a chair.
"Why is it trapped? Is it in a prison for doing something wrong? Is it evil?" she asked, crossing her arms and looking back and forth at them.
"I doubt it's completely evil. There's been too much good that it's done," said William.
Joseph wasn't sure, so he shrugged. "I think that the important thing is that it allows me to grow stronger, so I can take care of my people and get my future kingdom up and running sooner."
"I suppose," she finally conceded. "So, what's next on your list of epic adventures?"
"Well, I still have to find the gnomes," he said.
"Why?" asked his dad. "I thought you only needed them to break the barrier on the elven forest? It's down now."
"Yes, but I had to destroy the magic rune that I needed to be able to go into the wastelands. The only other copy of that rune, in the whole world, is in the wastelands. The gnomes have information on how I can get there."
"Why don't you just buy it from the system?" asked his mom.
"I guess I could, but if I do that, everything I gain after getting it, won't provide me with any points, or system currency, because I didn't acquire it myself."
"Oh! So that's why you've been working so hard. The system allows you to get things easier, but if you cheat, you don't get credit for it later. I like this system, I think."
"Anyways, there's supposed to be a mage city in the wastelands that was where all of the strongest mages would gather, before the world tree was attacked. If I can get there, I should be able to find the rune that will help me immensely! I can't wait to see what other mage notes might be there, too."
"I'll have the mages continue practicing combat magic, in case any of those demon cultists come down from the north. I think Walter and Chug should be in charge of defenses."
"I agree, dad. I need to talk to the system some about my new race, then Stella should be back and we can head out."
He was feeling better, since he first woke up. It was time to get moving again.