Evil Sorcerer System 8 (Patreon)

"Did you hear? They're finally reopening the gates of Lamford after the sorcerer scare!" Aia said to me the following morning.

"Oh? So they've given up on searching for them?" I asked.

Aia nodded. "Which means we can finally go shopping! I've saved up so much cured meat and hide that we'll probably spend the whole day selling it. But we desperately need furniture for our new house. We can get started on that today."

I was quiet for a moment. "We can have one of the builders shop for us. I'll just give them some extra money to pick up anything you like."

Aia nudged my arm. "You've already spent a fortune and a half on me. I won't have you throwing away the rest of your funds. Remember, from here on we have to earn our money the hard way. Let's not waste it."

I tried to think of a good excuse not to go into town. But seeing Aia's smiling face, I couldn't deny her.

"What if we see the Archcleric?" I asked in concern.

"That old fool? So what? He doesn't own me. Especially after he abandoned Jandon and me out here in the middle of nowhere. He could have at least set us up with somewhere to live. Instead he kicked us out of his city and left us to scratch out a living on our own. As far as I'm concerned, walking in now and again to stir up the old whispers is the least of the vengeance I'm owed," Aia said fiercely.

Her eyes were firm, and refusing her now would only invite questions.

I sighed, realizing resistance was futile. "Alright, we'll go."

Soon we were off. I was pushing along a newly purchased cart full of dried meat and animal hides. We entered Lamford, and the guard looked me up and down.

"It'll be a copper each, and a silver for the cart of goods," the guard said.

I paid the man, and we made our way in. We set up our cart in the city square.

"I'll sell our stuff. You go look around for anything we'll need for the house." Aia gestured toward the shops.

I left her at the stand and walked over to where woodworkers were selling their local wares. I talked to a few of them about getting some chairs and a dining table made and got rough prices on both.

I also heard the local gossip, of which there was plenty. A good deal of it concerned the recent sorcerer scare.

"I hear the Archcleric knows it isn't just one sorcerer, it's a whole coven of them!" said one townsman.

"I heard two of the guards died trying to chase them down," said another.

"My son is in the guard, and he says they know the sorcerers are holed up in the graveyard. But the Archcleric knows taking them out is going to be a battle. So they're waiting for reinforcements before they go to clear them out," said a third, this time a heavyset woman with flour dusting her apron.

My eyebrows rose, especially at the last claim.

"Is that so? More men are coming to Lamford?" I asked the flour-speckled woman.

"That's right. And not just soldiers. Knights. Real Knights of the Order of the Golden Sword! I hear there might even be a paladin among them. But you didn't hear a word of it from me!" The woman held a finger over her lips.

"My lips are sealed," I replied, returning the gesture.

I finished shopping hastily, then had Aia sell off the rest of our goods at a discount before leaving Lamford. Staying in the city any longer than we had to was just asking for trouble, if the rumor I'd just heard had any truth to it at all.

"Okay, okay, we're out of the city. Will you tell me what's going on? What's the rush?" Aia asked.

I patted her shoulder. "Nothing. I... just think there's some trouble coming our way. We should stay out of Lamford for a while, if at all possible."

Aia stared at me, then settled on squeezing my arm and leaning into me.

"If you say so, then that's what we'll do. I know you have your secrets. Just know I trust you. And I hope that someday you can trust me too."

I placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, but troubled thoughts were already running through my mind. How much longer could I keep my sorcerer life a secret?

***

In the end, I just decided to put the issue out of my mind for a while longer.

Maybe I'd tell Aia that I was a sorcerer, or maybe I'd find a way to leave that life behind me entirely. Truthfully, I was tempted to do exactly that. Just not quite yet. I was making too much progress to quit now.

By the time I had finished crafting the mana channels throughout my body, I had given Master Theragrim and his students two more lessons. He was starting to get the hang of things and had summoned a few skeletons on his own.

"Congratulations. It seems you have mastered the spell," I said late one evening as we finished what was likely my final lesson.

"I wouldn't say mastered it. But I understand it enough for it to work, and I can refine the spell from here," Master Theragrim replied. Though his words were spoken casually, I could sense the excitement in his tone. He was practically cackling with glee as his very first skeletal soldier crawled from its grave and armed itself.

Clearly, it wouldn't be long now before Master Theragrim's plan to build an undead army came to pass.

Admittedly, I was a little excited for this development as well. If Master Theragrim succeeded in kicking the Order of the Golden Sword out of the region, then it would be much safer to tell Aia and Jandon that I was a sorcerer. I might even be able to use some of my spells openly to improve their lives.

I spoke my next words carefully.

"Just don't take too long to summon your army. I was in Lamford the other day and heard a troubling rumor. One that said the city guards know right where you are, and that the Order of the Golden Sword might be coming here in force to deal with you."

"Hmm... interesting, but peasant rumors are often just that. Besides, even if it were true, I will soon have an unrivaled army of undead! Any who dare question the might of Sorcerer King Theragrim will join my horde!" Master Theragrim cackled maniacally.

I gave a thin-lipped smile. Master Theragrim hadn't been doing the local stereotypes about evil sorcerers any favors lately. He'd been getting worse the closer he got to building his undead horde.

I waved goodbye, turned invisible, and slipped off into the night. It was already late, and Aia was no doubt wondering where I was tonight. She always got worried on the nights I stayed out late to teach the sorcerers.

I decided not to waste much more thought on a crazy old man when I had a beautiful woman waiting for me back at home. I could only hope Master Theragrim would stay true to his original vision and not stray too far into unsavory methods.

While turning over future moral quandaries in my head, I remembered why I was doing all this. I looked at the points total from the last two lessons combined.

Quests Completed! +17,000 evil points.

It was a truly enormous number of points, and once I spent them, my power level would skyrocket. I was taking things slow, since I was starting to run into another problem. I didn't have the reflexes or training to use all these abilities effectively.

When I only had Fireball, Dark Bolt, and Hex of Slowness, it was easy to choose what to use. The Hex slowed things down, Dark Bolt shot small things discreetly, and Fireball blasted big things indiscreetly.

I could load myself up with spells to conjure lightning, energy beams, curses, and a half-dozen more hexes. But that didn't mean I'd be able to use them. Despite my time in this world, I hadn't had any real combat training other than what I'd taught myself.

I ended up settling on replacing many of my best spells with more powerful equivalents. That way, I would simply be better at everything I'd already proven worked. It would be a good starting point.

Purchased Introduction to Sorcerer Combat. -3,000 evil points.
Purchased Greater Teleport. -2,000 evil points.
Purchased Mage Armor. -2,000 evil points.
Purchased Death Ray. -2,500 evil points.
Purchased Greater Invisibility. -2,000 evil points.
Purchased Hex of Binding. -2,000 evil points.
Purchased Arcane Blade. -2,000 evil points.
Purchased Summon Skeletal Knight. -2,500 evil points.

The following day, I started reading the book I'd purchased, Introduction to Sorcerer Combat. It was expensive as far as points went, but I suspected all books purchased from the System would be. The book itself was a little disappointing. I finished it in a single day, and it referenced a lot of dueling etiquette that was useless to me.

Still, it was helpful to know that some sort of defensive shield or counterspell was considered mandatory in magical combat. I wasn't sure I could deal with Master Theragrim using what I'd learned, but the knowledge would at least make it difficult for him and his apprentices to turn on me. It would also help if the Order of the Golden Sword ever came for me.

I wasn't just worried for myself, though. I was worried for Aia and Jandon, which was where the last spell came into play.

Summon Skeletal Knight was a direct upgrade to my Skeletal Soldier spell. I'd hoped to swipe some of the corpses Master Theragrim and his apprentices were working with for my own purposes, but they were camped among the old graves and would have seen me if I tried anything.

To make matters worse, Summon Skeletal Knight required a top-quality corpse from someone who had been knighted in life. There were corpses in the graveyard that fit the bill, but I couldn't get to them.

Thankfully, I knew where to find at least one dead knight. So I went deep into the forest, to where I'd buried the knight and the squire who'd attacked me.

"Sir Arthic, rise and wield your blade again in my name," I commanded while looming above the overturned soil.

The dirt I'd hastily shoveled over the corpse churned and writhed. In a few minutes, a hand thrust up through the mud and soil, and the body hauled itself out of the grave.

I took a step back, surprised by the strength the newly summoned undead was already displaying. The Skeletal Soldiers I had been summoning while teaching Master Theragrim and the others were like puppets on strings. They could just barely swing a weapon, and their power lay more in their numbers and lack of fear than in their strength. A human soldier would overpower them one-on-one.

But the Skeletal Knight I'd just summoned was in another league. The shadowy sinew wrapped around its bones was thick enough that it looked like a dark haze, roughly the vague outline of a living person's body. The misty darkness gave the skeleton an eerie look and a sense of far greater power.

"Use your sword on that tree," I said, pointing.

The Skeletal Knight plodded along. It wasn't quite as nimble as a living person, but when it slammed its blade against the trunk and sank a hand's breadth deep, I realized it was likely stronger.

"Your mission is to patrol these woods. There is a hut back there, and you are to let no one approach it with hostile intent. Three people are always to be allowed through unharmed: me, a brown-haired woman, and her son. And if you see the brown-haired woman coming your way, hide yourself before she spots you."

The skeleton groaned in reply. It wasn't much of a confirmation, but such commands should have been within the capabilities of a Skeletal Soldier. A more powerful undead would hopefully have no problem with them.

I would sort out the details later. For now, Aia and Jandon at least had a hidden guardian. If it was ever killed, I would know it was time to take them away from here.

Total points: 7,410

<Note:> A bit of a shorter timeskip chapter again. There might be a way to combine this chapter with the last one. Either that or add another narrative that can be progressed here. But that can wait for a final version. For now, the chapter is necessary to build up for important stuff that is happening.