The Dive: Birth of a Wordsmith (10 page)

No, I needed something
new. Something only for me. The problem was that everything I thought
of, there was already an example for it. Lightning storm, lava fonts,
whirlpools, earthquakes, even gravity and void magic. When I asked
Luc, he told me that when he took the test, his creation was a
diamond golem. Of course something like that is beyond me, simply
because I don’t have the resources for it.

As I studied the history
of the college, I began to realize that in the last few years, that
has been the trend. Rather than a spectacular magic, people have been
submitting spells that had some large requirement to achieve. Since
it’s a spell you can only do under specific circumstances, of
course it wouldn’t be something that’s been used before.

What I needed… was
impossible. I spent the entire day in the library, and the only
result I could find was that nothing I’d be capable of casting
would be new. I even tried selecting runes at random and referencing
them. Who knew that there was a spell for the runes ‘A’
‘Yellow’ ‘That’. Apparently, all it did was
turn the user’s eyes yellow, but still.

The energy I had gotten
from talking with Denise was slowly draining away. The only bright
side was, with all the studying I did, I earned three more levels in
Magical Knowledge. Maybe if I get enough levels in that, I’ll
get an answer?

I pulled out my journal as
I walked, and at the corner of my awareness I could hear other
players complaining. Most of them had thought it would be awesome to
be a mage.

“
I can’t
believe I died three times trying to cast that spell. My stats took a
big hit!”

“
Yeah, it’ll
be easier just picking a fighting class.”

“
Maybe we should try
holy magic?”

“
Are you kidding?
The requirements for that are even worse. It’s not a matter of
effort. From what my friend told me, you have to actually believe.”

“
So, the only way to
grab holy skills is to join religion? That’s lame.”

I shook my head as I
passed them, shutting out their voices. They were still thinking of
this as a game… And maybe that’s it?
Don’t
think of this as a quest. Think of this as proving your abilities.
You’ve already done what nobody else has, so just take that
next step.

What can I do that nobody
else has.. Something from my world to bring into this one..

I spent an entire week
trying to puzzle it out. My last week of tuition. I gained several
levels of Magical Knowledge with all the studying I did, but I was no
closer to an answer. Against all odds, it was Denise that gave me the
clue I needed.

“
Why don’t you
just use some of the magic you use to get here?” She asked
innocently, after I had all but given up. “I know you said that
you can’t use your magic here, but maybe you could imitate it?
Surely that’s something that’s never been done!”

I smiled to her, wanting
to tell her that there was no way I could use magic to enter a game
within a game.
But maybe I can? I don’t
need to enter another game. Just make one. Something that only I can
do. A scholar and mage of another world…

“
That’s it!”
I grinned widely to her and gave her the biggest kiss I could manage,
leaving her red and panting afterwards, and wondering just what she’d
said to earn that. “There is something I can do, and I don’t
know why I didn’t see it!” Of course I knew why. There
wasn’t a rune for what I wanted. I had to really create
something new.

Denise was still smiling
dumbly, seeming to be in shock from the sudden display of affection,
but nodded as if she understood. I immediately sent a Message to Luc
to ask him if it was possible, and the response I got was a gasp.

“
Absolutely not!
It’s been centuries since a new rune was created! You wouldn’t
even know where to begin!”

“
But it has been
done before! The runes didn’t just spring into being, did they?
They were invented, one by one. That means it can happen again!”
And with that, I ended the call before he could respond.

I knew what I wanted to do
now. The question was only how. In learning earth magic, I had to
understand the nature of stone. To do this, I’d have to
understand the nature of a rune, give life to idea.

Although I had told Denise
I’d mind the store, I was wrapped up in my books, and she
didn’t seem to mind. If anything, she was happy. I wasn’t
exactly sure why, but whenever she saw me hard at work, her smiled
brightened the room.

I knew what I wanted to
make. But how do you visualize an idea without form. Give shape to
the shapeless? I could base it on similar runes, but I wanted this to
be mine. Something created of my will, birthed by my efforts. And so,
I started, spending every waking moment in The Dive, and even most of
my time in the real world, working on that single rune.

On the fifth day of the
fourth week, I had what I wanted, and had tested it successfully. I
still needed the 200 gild tuition in order to enter the college to
take the test, but Denise was more than happy to pay it when I told
her I was ready.

At this point, the guards
didn’t even acknowledge my presence when I entered, as if
either I belonged or I was too far beneath their notice to care
about. But that didn’t matter. I walked with a purpose to Luc’s
office. The short man jumped visibly when I opened the door and said
with a grin on my face. “I’m ready for my test.”

The color drained from his
face as he understood the implications of my words. “Are…
are you sure? There’s no going back.”

“
I’m sure.
Call whoever you need to, where do I need to go?”

“
You’re an
earth mage… so the cavern we trained at would be okay.”

I nodded and made my way
towards the underground cavern, smiling as I remembered that this was
the real start of my journey. If not for Luc, I’d have never
gone this path, and might never have done this.

It took nearly half an
hour, but eventually six figures descended the spiral stairs. I
recognized Thurgrim with his shiny head, my petite teacher from my
first week, and of course Luc. The other three were likely also
graduated mages. One was a buxom woman with round spectacles and dark
red hair. One was a man in his early forties, balding and overweight.
The last one was rather unusual, a brute of a mage. He was just over
six foot, and had the build of a warrior.

“
Apprentice Jin. We
have been informed that you wish to undergo your Final Test. Is this
true?” Thurgrim asked me, raising an eyebrow.

“
It is, sir. I
believe I have something suitable for it.”

He nodded to me, “Then
by all means, proceed.”

I nodded to him, taking a
step back. I was prepared for criticism, because I knew that this
wouldn’t look like anything special at first.

“
Guardians of the
earth, answer my call and become my shield. Wall of Clay!” I
brought my hand forward, and a wall of stone rose up, three meters
high and six inches thick.

I could hear Luc cough
behind me, and he sounded nervous. Then, the brute spoke up. “Is
this it? This is a beginner spell, nothing new.”

“
I’m not done
yet.” I told him, focusing on my new rune.

“
Become! Stone
skin!” The wall of stone collapsed towards me, and every
instinct told me to run. But I had tested this, I knew it could work.
The stone wrapped around me, becoming a shielded layer against my
skin.

“
One more time..
Become! Earth Freedom!” This time, rather than wait for
something to happen, I simply walked out of my stone shell, leaving a
statue of me behind.

Luc and Thurgrim, the only
two that seemed to realize what I’d done, were wide-eyed and
open-mouthed. The other four just looked as though I had cast three
basic earth spells. “So?”

Thurgrim sputtered a bit
to the brute that questioned it. “He… he used a rune
I’ve never seen before.”

Luc chimed in. “Nobody’s
ever seen it before.” He looked at me. “Is that the rune
you made?”

When I nodded, the
redheaded woman scoffed. “You don’t just create new
runes. Obviously he cast three different spells to pretend to have a
new ability.”

Thurgrim took a step
forward, adjusting his glasses and looking at her. With his back to
me I couldn’t see what look he gave her, but she went quiet.
“Are you questioning my eyes? He turned one spell into three
different ones.” Thurgrim turned around to look at me. “I
don’t know how you did it, son. But you’ve certainly
created something unique. You called that spell Become, right? May I
see the runes you used?”

I nodded, grabbing my
journal and opening it to the last page. In the end, the rune was
simple, a swirling pattern within a cross. “I call it rewrite.”

“
Yes, yes. I’ve
never seen it before. It doesn’t even resemble similar runes.”
He closed my journal and handed it back to me. “On behalf of
this college, I congratulate you on passing the Final Test.” He
held up one hand, and a book appeared in it, with arcane markings on
both covers. Now that my Magical Knowledge has advanced, I could
decipher the markings to be various runes of protection. When he held
the book out to me, I wasn’t quite sure what to do.

“
This is your
grimoire now. Proof that you have become one of the mages. No longer
are you an apprentice.”

I nodded slowly, and held
my hand out shakily to take the book.
My own
spellbook? What.. what does that mean?

My answer came as soon as
I grasped the tome.

As the messages appeared
one after another, I felt a smile tugging on my lips. “Thank
you sir. It has been an honor to learn from all of you.” And
with that, I left the college, a grin plastered on my lips. I didn’t
even think about the grimoire until I was almost to the inn.
It
registered as equipment… that means it has stats, right?

Opening my inventory
window, I frowned a bit at the gild amount, which still listed 10.
Since I had been getting my allowance from Denise, and not running
around doing quests I hadn’t earned any money. In my inventory,
there was a packed lunch of good quality--I thought that was funny--,
a well-used journal, and Jin’s Grimoire. When I selected the
grimoire, it gave me another window.

Message!

“
Denise, you there?”

She must have heard the
excitement in my voice, because she answered right away. “You
passed!” She didn’t even have to ask, she just shouted it
out and laughed happily.

“
I did. You are now
talking to an official Mage.”

Her laugh was enough that
I could hear it from around the corner, even without the spell. “Oh,
I knew you could do it! Now hurry home, you hear?”

“
I’m almost
there. You really never doubted I’d pass, did you?”

She didn’t answer
for a while, so I thought she was hesitating. When I opened the door
to the inn, I was rewarded with a flying tackle that made several
customers stare. “Not for a second.” Her voice whispered
in my ear as she hugged me tight.

When she dragged me back
to her apartment, sheer force of will wasn’t enough to keep our
clothes on this time.