Bab 123: Chapter 121 Intermediate Mage Title
(OH, FOR THE LOVE OF…)
'Umm, system? What was that?' thought Joseph, waking up out of a deep sleep.
(SORRY WRONG CHANNEL.)
'Ok, but what was that?' He was awake now; the system didn't do this.
(SOME IDIOT IN ANOTHER REALM JUST SAVED UP AND TURNED IN 50 POINTS TO STEAL PANTIES FROM UP TO 30 FEET AWAY.)
'That's worth 50 points? Wait, how is that even an option?'
(HIS GOAL WAS TO BE THE GREATEST THIEF IN THE WORLD. THIS IS WHAT I HATE ABOUT HIGH SCHOOLERS.)
'So, why was it 50 points?'
(BECAUSE IT'S STUPID SO I OVERCHARGED HIM HOPING HE WOULD RECONSIDER. HE THINKS IT WAS A BARGAIN. HE COULD HAVE GOTTEN AN INVENTORY BAG LARGE ENOUGH TO STORE A TRAIN CAR FOR THAT MANY POINTS.)
'I'm sorry. I guess I hadn't considered you had your own circumstances.'
(YEAH, YOUR DAD WAS ABOVE NORMAL, BUT CONSIDERING HIS GIFTER WAS A TROLL, HE HAS DONE EXTREMELY WELL. YOU AND STELLA ARE FANTASTIC.)
'Thanks system.'
(OH, NOW WHAT? LISTEN CALL ME IF YOU NEED ME JOSEPH, I HAVE TO GO DEAL WITH THIS GUY WHO WANTS A MISSION TO LEARN THE LEAPING TIGER FLYING DRAGON KICK PALM STRIKE.)
Joseph shook his head. That was a ridiculous name. Rolling over, he went back to sleep.
XxxxX
(PROTECTION RUNE HAS REACHED INTERMEDIATE RANK.)
(ALL CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN MET TO RECEIVE THE INTERMEDIATE MAGE TITLE.)
(CHOOSE DISTANCE OR ANALYZE.)
'What's the difference?' asked Joseph, twirling his ink pen in his fingers.
(DISTANCE ALLOWS MAGIC TO BE DETECTED UP TO 20 FEET AWAY, INSTEAD OF 3 FEET. ANALYZE ALLOWS INSTANT UNDERSTANDING OF TYPE OF MAGIC AND WHAT RUNE IT USES IF THAT RUNE IS KNOWN.)
'Analyze then. I can normally see magic so understanding it faster seems more helpful.'
(YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED THE INTERMEDIATE MAGE TITLE.)
(SPECIALTY CHOSEN IS ANALYSIS.)
'Display requirements for next title.'
(ADVANCED MAGE: 2 OF 4 REQUIREMENTS MET.)
(YOU POSSESS THE INTERMEDIATE MAGE TITLE. YOU MUST POSSESS INTERMEDIATE THAUMATOLOGY, WHICH YOU HAVE IT AT ADVANCED. YOU DO NOT POSSESS ONE ADVANCED RUNE. YOU MUST KNOW AT LEAST THREE MODIFIED RUNES FOR EACH RUNE KNOWN.)
'Wait. That last one. Do you mean that if I learned fifteen spells for five runes, three of those runes at intermediate, and then one of those to advanced, I would become an Advanced mage? But I learned twenty runes, so I need to learn at least 3 spells from each, which is 60 spells?'
(YES.)
'That seems…'
(LOOK, YOU WERE INTENDING TO LEARN AT LEAST 3 SPELLS FROM EACH RUNE ANYWAY.)
'Well, yes.'
(THEN LOOK AT IT AS A BONUS.)
'Ok. Does every mage who gets to that level get that ability?'
(EVERY MAGE WHO REACHES THAT LEVEL, WILL GET SOME OF THE ABILITY, YES. I MAKE SURE YOU GET THE HIGHEST GRADE OF REWARD FOR NORMAL THINGS LIKE THIS THOUGH. ALSO, BECOMING AN ADVANCED MAGE WITH 5 RUNES, INSTEAD OF 20, IS NOT NEARLY AS POWERFUL LATER ON. YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK OR I WOULD HAVE MENTIONED SOMETHING. STAY GREEDY FOR EVERY SPELL. I APPROVE.)
For the rest of that morning, Joseph worked on textbooks. For the mages, there was a copy of every rune and modified rune he understood by this point, and the spell order to learn the rest. He had learned from either the system interface, or the runes themselves.
That was before lunch. After lunch he had Becky, and the rest of the future doctors, in the tent taking notes as fast as he could talk while he was drawing the diagrams to go with what he was teaching.
Joseph had to start with basic biology and move on to human anatomy. He stopped to stress frequently, that magical beings had more things going on that wasn't covered in just this, but he hadn't had a chance to fully understand even elven anatomy.
A couple of the new girls looked towards Stella. Her ears had started changing to match her ancient fey blood.
"Stella is no elf," he said.
Stella nodded with a chuckle.
His mom showed up when they didn't come by for supper, to see that he was still in the middle of teaching. Joseph waved, but kept going. She smiled and sat down with a kind of lost look on her face. It wasn't a really good idea to come into one of Joseph's lectures near the end. It didn't take long for her to get up and leave.
Despite his attempt to hurry and finish, it was still an hour before he was done. It was hard to finish when the girls were so interested in the subject matter. Stella was there to make sure that was all they were interested in. He was only eight, and she was making sure everyone knew that.
"Sorry I'm late. The girls were really interested, and I don't know how long it will be before I'm back, so I wanted to leave them enough to study."
His parents were quiet.
"Um. Should I have sent word ahead?" asked Joseph, getting the feeling he was in trouble, but not sure from what.
"Sit, Joseph," said his mother.
"Your mom has a few concerns," said his father, looking incredibly uncomfortable.
"Where did you learn all that? You've only been gone for a year! The stories I hear about you are so… much. The things you are teaching everyone isn't known by anyone. You didn't learn them from the tutors. The people from the kingdom have never learned these things. If you learned them from your father's tutors, then you wouldn't need to be the only one to teach them.
"Tell me what happened to my Joseph."
Joseph looked at her face. It was flushed, and for the first time in his life he could see tears threatening to fall because of him. That scared him.
"I can't, Mom. It's a secret. But I'm still your little boy! I promise! I just have to travel a lot and keep saving the world now." He tried to get her to understand, without giving the system away.
"Promise?" Her voice was soft and scared, like a child's.
"Uh huh. Always and forever. But when I become a king will I still have a bedtime?" he asked, trying to snap her out of her moment of weakness. It made his heart hurt.
"Wait, a king?" Her gaze lost its lost look and solidified into disbelief.
"Uh huh. I'm learning all this magic so that one day I can fix the wasteland and make it my kingdom. It's huge mom. I'll be the biggest king." He gave her his best smile, then realized it was the same smile he had given her, right before he left with his dad.
"Right." She hadn't missed that, as the hurt look returned to her face, before she quickly covered it with a mask.
"But I also have to fix the world tree. I think its related. But it's easier now that I'm 8. When I was just 7 it seemed a lot harder." He wanted to make sure he didn't surprise her again. She needed to know everything he planned.
"What's the world tree?"
"It's a giant tree that goes up past the sky and brings tons and tons of mana down for the world. But it got hurt a long time ago. So, I have to fix it."
"Why you?" Her face was hardening into anger.
"Um… do you promise to believe me if I tell you?"
"Of course."
He wasn't sure he believed her, but gave in and released his mana. She had never seen his magic aura before. He glowed.
"Because a god of magic gave me a mission to save the world tree and the power so that I could."
"That's disturbing. Who in their right mind would give a 7-year-old boy such a mission? That's ridiculous!" Her anger was hot enough, had Selena been there, she would have been impressed.
"Mom. I am more powerful than pretty much anything, short of a dragon. In a few years, it will only be dragons. Even Stella says I'm getting stronger." Joseph wasn't sure what all the gods were thinking with his mother calling them out of their mind.
"Well, I don't have to like it." She seemed to be pouting. At least she wasn't complaining about the gods anymore.
"Aren't you proud of me a little though. I'm trying really hard to make the world better. Like a hero in those stories you would read me at night." He watched her face like a hawk. The answer she would give was so important, it scared him.
"Of course, I'm proud of you." She smiled at him, seeming to give up on everything else he had told her, that was bothering her. At least for the moment.
He smiled. The relief was almost palpable. But then he saw that look in her eyes and he straightened in his chair.
"Now, why was that class only girls?"
"Uh…" He hadn't even thought about that! Even his second mind hadn't considered that! "Because only girls volunteered? Mom, are you thinking something bad about your only child?"
"Never."
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
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Sdrawkcab Ok, so my understanding of harem is that there are multiple females chasing after the male lead in a romantic way. I never intend for this story to go there. There will only be Stella as a female lead. When I saw that my story had acquired the harem tag, I was very confused.
So, your opinion, is that tag appropriate?
I also have no clue why I have the gay tag. There is absolutely nothing remotely like that, in my opinion as the author. Am I missing something?
Bab 124: Chapter 122 Planning For The Future
The next morning, Joseph bounced out of bed. He knew exactly what he wanted to make. Mages should have a weapon unique to them, so he was going to work on magical staves. He had to practice enchanting before he was able to give Stella her birthday present. Since the present was a secret, he had to figure out a way to get Stella to help him, without knowing.
"Making a magical staff, takes thirty mana, and I can only get nineteen," he said to her over breakfast. "I'm going to need you to help me make staves if that's okay?"
"Of course, Master Joseph."
It took an hour to enchant the first staff, as he had to meticulously carve the rune magically onto the staff. He had the rune at intermediate, so he knew what he was doing, but he wanted to make a lot of the staves, to get good at the rune, for Stella's present. At the end of the time, the mana was drawn into the circuit that was inscribed into the rune, rapidly out of him and Stella.
(You have successfully cast a spell of the Enchantment Rune for the first time. You have earned 3 Life Points.)
As he made the next three, he thought over her present. He wanted her to gain Resist Fire, but the only way he could gift her that ability, was if he tattooed the rune onto her. The spell would cost 800 mana, so her battery of 40 wouldn't work. He would have to ask his assistants and students to contribute, but he was nervous about it.
Joseph wasn't sure what she thought about tattoos. Many people had them, as it was a popular way to decorate themselves without costing too much. But he couldn't figure out how to bring up the subject without giving away his idea. It took an hour per hundred mana, so the tattoo would take eight hours. If he tried to do it by himself, without any help, it would take him over two years working eight hours a day.
Tekaun showed up about then, carrying a bundle of staves. "I brought the requested sticks. They should match the description you wished for."
"Thank you, Tekaun!" said Joseph, coming over to inspect them. They were exactly what he requested. Except one, it was more of a club. "Is this the one you wanted?" he asked.
"Yes. If I am to have a magical stick, to aid me with things, I would prefer it be able to hit things and not break."
He chuckled and said, "All right."
"I know it is a secret, so I will tell no one," she added, before turning to leave.
"Are you ready to go again, Stella?"
"I am just standing here, Master Joseph. It is not very taxing."
"Stella? How do you feel about tattoos?"
"Why?" she asked, suspiciously.
"Well. I was kind of thinking of giving you a magical tattoo."
"Why?"
"So, you would be harder to hurt?"
"If you want, I suppose it would be alright. I've honestly never thought about having tattoos before. I had them in my previous life as Sylva."
"I remember some of them, but not well. My vision was kind of fuzzy."
"Which magic were you thinking?" she asked as he started enchanting the staves again.
"I was going to surprise you, but I don't think you like surprises very much."
"I really don't. Surprises when I was very little, were never really good."
"I'm sorry for that," he said with a grimace.
"You couldn't have known. What were you going to do? Waddle down in your diaper to tell my mom to stop being a whore?"
"I could have asked my dad?" he started then stopped, shaking his head. "This is a stupid line of conversation. I'm sorry I brought it up."
"Master Joseph, you are welcome to give me a gift whenever you want. If you want to tattoo a magic protection on me, I have no problem with that. It will make it easier for me to be able to protect you."
"I really appreciate that, you know?"
"Good, because sometimes it's harder to do, than others."
He hung his head and they both started laughing.
"So, when do you think you will be ready to do the tattoo?" she asked.
"I'm not sure, it's going to take a hundred people donating mana for eight hours, and I need some powdered ruby for the ink. You'll get Resist Fire, which will make you strong enough to walk on the sun, before you died from other reasons than fire."
After a long day of enchanting the staves, he felt as if he knew what he was doing. All that was left was to go give out the presents. Stephan cried while Derek and Tekaun both took theirs reverently. It seemed a little too much for practice items, but he had wanted to give them something that was useful. The rest of the staves, he set back. He intended to hand them out to those he made teachers. With all of the mess of the elves, he was going to have to be gone a lot, so to keep them all studying and progressing, he wanted to announce teachers.
The next morning, he started working on a new spell. He wanted a spear head with a flame shooting out the back, like a rocket, to try and increase the missile range past 100 meters. He also was trying to get it to be able to penetrate hide armor.
By lunchtime, he wasn't having any luck. He could create the stone missile and hold it while he Shaped Earth to shape it, then Earth to Stone to change it from stone to metal. He could even use the Flame Jet to help launch it, but it was unstable and just tumbled end over end.
"Is everything alright?" asked Stella, as she brought lunch. The smell of cookies, fresh from the oven, immediately raised his spirits.
"I have several ideas, but it all basically boils down to the fact that my Earth Rune is still only basic. I need it to be intermediate, but it's not there yet. I can sense the other runes in the fog, but I can't see them. It's close to several other runes, but I can't quite make it out, and it's giving me a headache."
"Why don't you wait then?"
"Because I want a spell for sniping something farther away than it can shoot back."
"I'm OK with that."
"See? It's just not working. I can make some tiny tweaks to Stone Missile, but honestly, not enough to make it really worth much. Earth taught me one of the most optimized versions that was ever invented in any of the realms. That's the way this works."
"You talk like Earth is actually alive, Master Joseph."
"It is. They all are. I can talk to them and they talk back. I'll give it the rest of the day and if I make no progress, I'll just give up for now."
"How did you make your other spells?"
"Oh, well, mostly with just blind luck. Only Magma Missile was intentionally created. And I've been thinking about it for weeks. I also thought about using molten salt, of mixing Flame Jet and Sand Jet to make a molten glass shower, or Water Jet to make a scalding steam spray for areas that I can't afford to set on fire, but I'm not ready for those yet."
"Wow. I hadn't realized."
"If I put more effort into Water, I can also learn Acid spells, like Acid Jet, so mixing it would get you a jet made of acidic steam. But those are beyond my reach at the moment, too. Even if I could make them, they wouldn't be as strong as I could make them if I wait a bit. The first naming of a spell is important. I'm not sure I could explain exactly how, but I can feel that it is."
By suppertime, he still hadn't made much progress, so he decided to give it up for now. A lot was going on the next day, so he went to bed at a normal time, to have plenty of time to prepare the next morning.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA
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I played around with different formats for the system wording and naming runes, etc. Let me know if you like it this way, or if you preferred it the old way in all caps. If Webnovel had more options, this would be easier.
Thanks for reading!
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