“|Flame Dart|!”

“Shit!”

Michael’s eyes snapped open, looking for the urn. He had to destroy the urn. That golem was seconds away from punching himself and Erea to paste and… there was no urn. There was only a high ceiling.

Looking around, Michael recognized the familiar room. It was the infirmary. And that figure that he just shot wasn’t a minotaur, but…

“Are you insane?!” a man shouted, smoke coming from one end of his moustache.

The same man as last time, who had taken care of Michael after his encounter with the testing guardian. And he looked pissed.

Right, damage control.

“Please excuse me, sir. I was… I just survived an attack by multiple golems. My last conscious memory was of multiple opponents attacking me. I guess… I guess I’m just a little trigger happy right now.”

“I’ve been told of your encounter, though I don’t understand… ‘trigger happy’? Were traps involved?”

Shit, wrong idiom.

“Of a sort. Can I ask, is everyone else here? From the ones I went down there with?”

“You all came here for checkups and I had to treat…” he said, squinting his eyes “Mihli? I believe that was the Volpix’s name. Exhaustion and mana depletion. Quora, exhaustion and mana burn. Laen and Micah, mental shock. And… |Recall Patients|. Ah, the elf, Erea had superficial injuries. But Alexander had a most severe form of mana burn. It affected him physically. The second most wounded, after yourself.”

“Oh. Are they ok- alright now?” he asked, looking around.

“They’re long gone, lad.” The man laughed, seeing his search. “I can treat those things in a day. This is your third day. You’ve already missed Monday’s courses.”

“Again? But I didn’t even use that much magic.”

“Magic wasn’t the problem. Your injuries were of a physical nature. From what I understand, your act of bravery saved them, but the… minotaur? The golem attacking you still collided with yourself hard enough to break a number of bones, as well as traumatize the right side of your body.”

“Oh…”

“Yes. Now, why don’t you rest up. I’ll run a series of checks and then call someone to come for you while you drink those potions.” He said, gesturing to his night stand.

“Yes, sir. Thank you for taking care of me. And sorry for nearly frying you.”

The man laughed and waved it away, but he did treat Michael even kinder than before. He talked with him, as he had no other patient at the time. Michael learned a few new things. One was that the |Healer| Class existed. Another was that |Healer| wasn’t usually a magical Class, since Hector had that Class ‘integrated’ with his |Mage| one. He was now a |Magical Healer|. Oh, yeah, and that his name was Hector.

“It’s the basic transition, but boy was I happy.” He said. “I was already walking around with two Classes, so getting them merged was the highlight of that year.”

“I see. So, you now run this entire infirmary?”

“No, of course not. We have wings like this all over Gnosis. You just have to get hurt to see them.” He laughed.

They talked some more, until suddenly Hector stood up and told Michael that his designated carer had arrived. Which was both probably a Skill and also not something he would have ever called Micah. Nevertheless, he got up, added a couple of undrunk potions into his pouch and strolled out of his designated space.

“Huh. And to think only a couple of days ago you looked like a squashed meat pancake.”

“Alex?! I thought I’d be meeting Micah.”

“He’s already at the meeting.”

“What meeting?”

“We’re having the items we retrieved appraised.” He grinned. “What, you think we’d just walk away from all that empty-handed?”

Alex detailed what had happened and what will happen just now to a flabbergasted Michael. Apparently, the procedure for a team like his, after they completed an assignment, was to report to a Gnosis authority in charge with overseeing upper and lower levels. After they detailed everything that had happened, everything they learned and everything in general, an award would be calculated based on the number of threats they had ended and the information they provided.

After that, if they acquired any loot, they would then have it appraised. Alex told Michael of teams who tried to miss that last step and keep it all for their own, before blowing their own heads off with a dangerous wand. Apparently, Gnosis wasn’t shy about taking an artifact they didn’t think you could handle away from you, with good reason, but they also weren’t stingy about coin. At all.

So, while Michael had his ribs turned from fragments to whole, a designated |Enchanter|, probably, had the items inspected. It was tradition to present the items to the team that found them even if they weren’t going to get to keep them, so that was where they were going. And since Micah and Michael had been along for the ride, Micah had already been summoned and Alex had gone to retrieve Michael.

“You waited for me? Thanks. You could have just told me, you know?”

“Eh, it’s tradition. No worries. Besides, it was fun making everyone wait while you recovered. It’ll be good for their patience.”

Michael laughed, before a thought occurred to him.

“So, what happens to that room now? Did you ever find out what it was for?”

“That, Michael, is a much larger issue and happily not one that concerns me in the slightest. But it depends on the room. If it’s just a hallway that’s been cleared, a full mage comes after us, gives their approval and Gnosis either assigns that hallway a lower threat level or deems it safe for everyone.”

“Threat level?”

“You didn’t know about that?” he laughed. “You really should if you want to wander the academy. As for that room, yeah, apparently it was designed as an artifact testing room, but could be used for mage training too. A senior mage came back and said the minotaurs continued to increase in durability. He waited until they got to steel and crystal before leaving. ‘Analysis still undergoing’.”

“Right. But… why minotaurs?”

Alex glanced at him and looked like he refrained from laughing.

“If you had to guess, what race would you think the room maker was?”

“…that is so underwhelming. And narcissistic.”

“You said it. And here we are.”

They stopped in front of a closed door, one Michael though to be on the second level. It looked like a currently unused classroom and upon entering it he noticed that was exactly what it was. Only the Class was nicely illuminated, it had everyone here waiting for them and, oh yeah, there was a really freaky guy standing there.

Michael freezed, like he had just seen slender man in real life. Only… not? The man, if it was a man, looked like a creature made strictly of shadows, though the shadows floated, sometimes like ink in water, sometimes like smoke in air. It wore a robe with a very low hood, so his face was obstructed, but his hands were still visible. Overall, if he had met it alone in the hallways, Michael wasn’t sure he wouldn’t have attacked it.

Alex was greeting everyone and they were sending greetings his and Michael’s way too, which is why his silence was probably so noticeable. Noticeable enough for it to laugh.

“Never seen one of my kind before, child?” it rasped, sounding amused. “Not many have, outside of Gnosis. But you may fear me on your own time. You are late. All of you, be silent and observe. I will begin my presentation.”

That annoyed tone brought Michael back to reality. It sounded too much like a peeved college professor for him to be completely fearful of it. ‘Completely’ being the operational word here. Still, it gestured and Michael finally saw the objects laid out on a table in front of it.

Three wands. A staff. Three rings. An amulet. A circlet of silver. Four scrolls. Five potions. And a necklace.

Loot.

He looked around at the others and they were positively vibrating with joy.

“Two of these three wands are pre-Spelled. That means they are capable of firing a Spell even if their user isn’t. The Spells are |Firefly| and |Shockwave|. Somewhat fallen out of fashion, but then again, the wands are old. All three have internal mana reservoirs and all three naturally replenish their mana from the environment. Minimal durability enchantments on all three as well. Now, for the stave.”

Stave! Of course, that’s why it looked more Kung-Fu than Gandalf.

“Enchanted to be lightweight, for durability and a slight impact enchantment as well. Meaning it hits harder than it has any right too. But it is not solely a close range weapon. See this section here, at the center? The stave is capable of absorbing Spells. Extensive testing hasn’t been done, so we do not know the upper limit, though one must exist. As it absorbs them, this section will start to glow. Both ends can be used to discharge the Spell, at any given time. However, once the reservoir is completely full, a Spell must be discharged before a new one can be absorbed. It can be used for casting, though no better than a low-grade wand. Likely a side effect.”

Michael saw Alex and Erea share a look there, one which the elf seemed to have won. Likely deciding which of them would get the artifact.

“The rings are all enchanted for durability and anti-theft. Their primary enchantments are all different, however. This ring provides an external Mana Pool. Large enough for say… ten |Fire Orbs|. This one is a ring of |Movement|. If you are not familiar with the Spell, it resembles a combination of |Haste| and |Dexterity|, though the resemblance is not exact. The last ring is enchanted to give the user |Enhanced Strength|.”

Michael was now equally fascinated and worried about what artifacts they would get to actually keep.

“The amulet has the same lesser enchantments as the rings. Its primary role is to create a |Reflective Barrier|. It can be activated at will, coating the user with the Spell or it can activate reflexively. Useful. The circlet combines several medium enchantments in a uniform magical matrix. It suffices to say that the user will be able to see in all directions, not be disoriented by the new form of sight, be able to observe free flowing mana, magical resonance and auras and be able to pierce through illusions up to a certain level. Enchanted for lightweight, durability and amusingly enough, |Charm|. Somewhat of a vanity item.”

That only left the potions and the amulet. So far everything sounded powerful to Michael. He was curious about what was left.

“We have here five potions. Though the bottles look different, these two are actually the same type of potion, of the same quality. Only the taste may differ. They are Floating Potions. Once ingested, the user becomes lightweight enough to propel themselves through the air by jumping. Largely useless, outside flying races. This one is a Healing Potion, though very high grade. This is a Steelskin Potion. And the last is an Acidbreath Potion. It should also provide protection against acid, though only to the intensity of its primary effect.”

He… it then turned to the amulet.

“The last item is the most powerful. It provides a protective enchantment, as well as healing. The rest of its properties have been classified. That is all I will say on this artifact.”

…really? Then why say anything at all?

“Sir, we have recovered it.” Alex said. “Even if we do not get to keep it, perhaps just telling us in general terms about it is-“

“No.” it said, and its voice undulated oddly. “You will receive a reward for 250 gold coins for your assignment. The information was valuable, but the room itself has not been cleared.”

“But how could have we cleared it?” Erea said. “It was way above our Levels!”

“Then the experience in Leveling will suffice.” It archly said. “Regardless of your peril, that is all such an assignment merits, if completed only halfway. Now, for the artifacts. Gnosis will allow you to keep the following items: all three wands, the ring of |Movement|, the Steelskin Potion and the Acid Breath one.”

Silence followed for just a short second.

“That’s it?!” Erea snapped.

“Sir, may we please have the stave? Can we trade other artifacts for it?”

“Or the amulet?” Quora asked.

“No trading!” it said, now sounding majorly peeved. “That being said, the artifacts you have retrieved are considerable, in both quantity and quality. Gnosis will reimburse you an additional 700 gold coins. I trust that is acceptable.”

The silence that followed this time was considerably longer.

“…I mean… yeah… Yeah, that works.” Laen hazily said.

“I am so happy we almost got in trouble.” Micah whispered to Michael, having snuck up beside him.

Michael himself had no idea how much that actually meant, but it sure did sound like a lot.

“Good. Any additional items you deem unworthy will be purchased by the academy.” It said, picking up all the artifacts on its way of the room.

It turned, right as it was about to leave.

“Your reward will be provided once you choose which items to keep and who receives what. An accord must be reached. Discuss it among yourselves.” It said, and closed the door shut.

Michael would wonder, days after this, how for such a closely knit group of comrades, they went straight to arguing when it came to the spoils.