Just a Guy and a Gate to the Multiverse - Chapter 29 (Patreon)

Chapter 29 - Hermit

— Hadarac Desert, 8,000 AC —

As I finish the incantation in the Ancient Language, I feel a considerable drain on my energy reserves. If I had to rely only on my human energy reserves, I would have died while trying to cast this spell.

No wonder this is considered an advanced piece of magic, taught only to experienced spellcasters, even among the Elves. A rather powerful Elf like Arya was left exhausted and unable to move after casting that spell in the past. It is actually one of the first feats of magic we ever experienced in the Eragon book.

Fortunately, I am not just reliant on my own energy reserves. I quickly tap into the power of my Philosopher’s Stone, replenishing my energy with it.

I am so glad I visited the world of the Inheritance Cycle.

While I may lose the ability to use this brand of magic with the Ancient Language, I at least got a Philosopher’s Stone that always replenishes itself while also making my alchemy more powerful. I can use it to recharge my own stamina too, effectively making it impossible for me to run out. I have a few thousand people’s worth of stamina in my pocket, after all.

With the spell fully charged, the small pebble in my hands begins to glow and flash with light before it disappears. In the same moment, a few hundred meters in front of me, something explodes with a loud bang, sending out a shockwave while burning the sand around it into glass.

The pebble has been teleported to the location I aimed for.

“It’s not really fit for sending secret messages… or doing anything in secret,” I can’t help but sigh. “You would actually have to be careful not to harm whoever you want to teleport something to. Man, Eragon got lucky he didn’t get burned.”

This is exactly the teleportation spell Arya used to send Saphira’s egg to safety when she was ambushed by the Shade Durza. But calling it teleportation is a bit much, since it is a rather crude method.

It pretty much uses a shit ton of energy to rip a hole into space-time and teleport something away through raw force alone. No physics or anything else is involved beyond the idea that you can punch a hole into reality to connect two different places. No wonder this is such a rare skill.

I can also see why nobody uses it to teleport themselves or others. Beyond the massive energy requirements, which grow larger depending on what you want to teleport, this method of teleportation is pretty harmful.

Grabbing the pebble from its burned landing spot, I can make out several burn marks on it. A living being would experience several dangerous burns, so it is good that dragon eggs seem to be quite resilient.

At least it has the advantage that range does not matter for the energy cost, only the size of the object.

I don’t see myself using this spell often, except maybe to surprise my enemies. Like sending a bomb directly to them? It was actually my first try, but I learned the theory a while ago.

[ Space-Time Skill detected… ]

Ah, there it is. The actual reason why I learned this spell.

[ Incorporating Ability into existing Space-Time Skill: Multiversal Gate ]

[ Done. ]

[ Multiversal Gate Lvl. 5: This Skill allows the User to open a Gate from their current location to any place and time period in the Multiverse that the User can think of. At its current level, the Skill has several limitations. First, it has a cooldown of one year, and only six people can pass through. The User can now expand the size of the Gate up to a radius of 40 meters.

Sub-Skills:

Teleportation: You are a Jumper possessing the Ability to freely teleport according to your Body’s capabilities inside a Universe.

Rift-Transfer: Rip a Hole into Reality and send something through Space-Time to another place in that same Reality. ]

Rift-Transfer? A fitting name. Better than simply calling it Teleportation.

Once again, I feel my body and my knowledge of the spell change. Even a single spell relying on a magic power system has turned into an innate skill for me, using whatever energy I have in my body.

Most importantly, this entire process answers one of the most important questions I needed an answer to. Yes, spells or abilities that are only part of a greater skill or skillset count as upgrades too. So every Space-Time spell I learn will upgrade my Multiversal Gate skill.

They will even become innate abilities that are part of me, instead of individual power systems bound to a single universe.

That means it is worth going after the two other spells related to Space-Time that I know exist in this universe.

The only problem is how to get them… There is that Pocket Dimension spell, where someone can warp space to create an invisible pocket to store objects inside. At the very least, it would make an amazing inventory spell. Far more useful than an object teleportation spell that creates a loud and harmful explosion on the other end with every use.

It is one of the spells Eragon learns in the future. The problem is, it gets taught to him by the Eldunarí in the Vault of Souls. Sure, I know where the Vault is, but the only way to enter it is by revealing your true name at the entrance, which would give the Eldunarí the power to control me.

That is unacceptable.

Or I could wait until Eragon learns it himself and ask him. That should only be a few weeks to months away. But at that point in time, I am not so sure they would actually teach it to me. My future actions, with me learning the Name of Names soon and all the power I am gaining, could make them consider me another Galbatorix, even if I have no interest in ruling this world.

They are dragons, after all, and dragons are stubbornly hard to convince.

I still have another option. I could learn both spells from there. But that one is a huge gamble…

First, let’s check the upgrades.

[ Please Select one Upgrade for the Skill: Multiversal Gate

Expand Radius of the Skill by 1 Km.

Lessen the Cooldown if you teleport to previously visited Worlds to 6 Months.

Increase the person limit by 10. ]

No surprise there.

Hmm, the increase in person limit doubled. That isn’t bad, but for now, I need to take the increased radius.

The new understanding spreads through my body the moment I select that option, but not much changes.

At least that worked out.

So, should I take the gamble, or should I just experiment myself and hope I can actually come up with something? I know what those spells do, and I know they are possible.

But experiments always take so much time. Time I would prefer to invest in my body enhancement research and the other projects I am working on.

Right now, I am mostly focused on crafting enchanted items. I figured out that while I can’t use magic itself outside of this universe without a World Attunement, enchanted items should still work. All they need to be activated is energy, which I can provide thanks to my new Lifeforce Manipulation skill.

Placing spells onto items is a decent way to take some magic with me and add more trump cards to my arsenal. But it still takes considerable time to come up with what items I could need, and then create an enchantment that works properly.

Trying to develop two highly complex spells would take a lot of my time. I prefer to be efficient here. I have already spent a year in this world now. At most, I want to leave in half a year, when the cooldown of my World Attunement is down to just three years.

I would rather have more time in the next world than stay here longer, as long as I can reach my goals as fast as possible.

And getting that spell, which pretty much equals an inventory, would make my next steps considerably easier.

What should I do?

———

— Edur Ithindra, 8000 AC —

And…

I took the gamble.

Looking up at the half-ruined tower, I couldn’t help but feel nervous. The lower part of the tower was wide and ribbed, like the trunk of a tree. Then the structure narrowed and rose toward the sky for over thirty feet, ending in a sharp, jagged line. The upper half of the tower lay on the ground, shattered into innumerable fragments.

I knew I was in the right place.

Admittedly, there was a risk. Coming here cost four Mages belonging to the Varden their lives after the war. But I am pretty sure they did something really stupid.

After Nasuada became Queen once Galbatorix had fallen, she came up with the dumbass plan of keeping watch over Magic Users. Translated, she wanted to control them too. Just like Galbatorix, but she probably framed it more nicely.

It is a good thing Eragon kept the Name of Names limited to the Dragon Riders after Murtagh shared it with him at the end of the book, after defeating Galbatorix. Who knows what kind of idiocy Nasuada would have come up with otherwise?

I never liked her very much. She is too power-hungry and hypocritical for my taste. She is big on control and authority, along with the entire idea that she needs to be in charge, and even the only Dragon Rider needs to show that he is below her in command.

Admittedly, that comes from the fact that I just hate authority and people who think they are above me. I would be the first one trying to start a rebellion if someone tried to command me around.

Anyway, she sent four Spellcasters here because she learned from Eragon, who visited this place at some point in the near future, that a Magic User was living here. And he probably didn’t take it nicely. Those four Spellcasters never returned, and only their bodies were found, while the Magic User living here had vanished with all his belongings.

That is why I believe that as long as I don’t have any stupid ideas, I won’t be harmed here. In the worst-case scenario, I still have my Philosopher’s Stone to protect myself and the ability to teleport away from here instantly.

This entire ruin had once been an Elven outpost called Edur Ithindra before the fall of the Dragon Riders. Now it is nothing more than ruins, yet someone is still living there. As I approach a vegetable garden beside the remains of the tower, I spot an old man busy fixing a fence around the garden.

“Are you just going to stand around there, or will you hold the fence post for me?” the old man grumbles without looking up.

“Nice to meet you. I am Matt,” I greet him politely as I step beside him, grabbing the post to hold it steady.

“Tenga,” the man grunts as he begins to hammer the post into the ground.

He is exactly the man I have been looking for, and he seems sane so far. As sane as you can be if you are a few thousand years old. An immortal human, or at least a long-living one. I wonder how he accomplished that.

There was never much of an explanation about him. All we know is that he is a hermit, at least 1,200 years old since he was the one who developed that pocket space spell, and that he is the teacher of Angela.

Angela is a mysterious witch who plays some role in the books. She gave Eragon a prophecy about his future and is pretty powerful. I think I glimpsed her a few times on the battlefield at the Burning Plains. But I didn’t approach her. She is a bit too crazy and mysterious for my taste. A dangerous combination.

Well, this old man called Tenga is the same… even more dangerous, if I am honest. It is high risk, but maybe high reward.

We keep working on his fence in silence until we are done. I don’t bother asking why he isn’t using Magic to fix it. I am pretty certain that, at this point, he is like the Elves. An easy solution with Magic would take the fun out of the life of an immortal.

It is hard to comprehend at my age, but I get where they are coming from. Maybe one day, I will feel the same. I actually incorporated their wisdom into my own plans. While I am aiming for immortality, I still want to be able to die if I choose to.

Maybe it will be out of boredom, or maybe someone will actually manage to kill me. Either way, I want to keep that thrill. I especially don’t ever want to end up in a cursed immortal existence like Deadpool.

I take offense to that!

What was that? Uh, hello, is someone there? I can’t help but look around. Is someone messing with me?

I probably imagined it.

Once we are finished, I follow Tenga to the narrow door leading into the tower. Beyond it is a spacious kitchen and dining room. In the middle of the room, a circular staircase coils up to the second story. Books, scrolls, and sheaves of loose-bound vellum cover every available surface, including a good portion of the floor.

As if to show off his skill with magic, the old man points his hand at the branches piled in the fireplace. They burst into fire with a pop and crackle, without him muttering a single word in the Ancient Language.

What a show-off…

Using magic silently, especially without using the Ancient Language, even in your head, is something I have no doubt Tenga just did. It is also a practice discouraged by even the Elves. It is probably the most dangerous way to use magic.

Of course, I tried it before too. As if I would let some warnings stop me. But I didn’t manage to do it so casually. It usually takes me a lot of concentration, not a casual flick of my hand while entering a room.

“Sit down,” Tenga says before shoving a mug of steaming tea onto the table in front of my seat. “Now show it to me.”

“Uh, what? I am not sure what you are talking about, Tenga,” I say, confused. Sure, I have some things on me to bargain with him, but I haven’t mentioned anything about them yet. How can he even know? My mind is protected, not only partially by my skills, but also by my mental shields.

And I didn’t feel any intrusion.

“Your offering for apprenticeship! That’s what you are here for, aren’t you?” Tenga replies, as if I am wasting his time.

“How do you even know that?”

“I saw you coming months ago. Which is strange… usually, I see these things far earlier. But it is as if you didn’t exist a year ago. Quite intriguing, another question that needs answers. But I am already busy with another one.” He looks straight at me. “So, are you offering the books you believe will help me find my answers?”

Glancing at the man warily for a moment, I pull three books out of my bag.

“This one contains the study of the human body, including how it processes and produces energy…” I hold up a translated book on anatomy before grabbing the next one on biology. “…the secrets of trees and plants. And finally, fire, heat, lightning, and light.” A physics book.

Those are the topics mentioned in the Inheritance Cycle books, the ones he is trying to answer around this time.

Tenga studies the books for a moment, as if he is assessing the truth. “And what do you want to learn?”

“Magic and your perspective on it. Especially your Pocket Space spell, that time acceleration spell, and your method for casting magic silently,” I request quickly. There is probably a ton more he could teach me, but I want to make sure he teaches me the things I know for sure that he knows.

“We’ve got a deal, Apprentice.”

[ End of the Chapter ]