A Relatively Powerful Mage

Despite Imri’s precarious position, none of Chixel dared approach, as they quickly noticed the dead guards and the strange weapon Imri held. None dared risk the life of the exalted one, just as Imri had hoped. The prison break had turned into a hostage situation, and eventually, the commander approached him, weapons stowed.

“Are you in charge?” Imri asked in the Chixel language, surprising the commander.

“How does one know this language, human?” the commander said in a tone that was more of a demand than a question.

“This new species makes excellent hosts, especially this one,” Imri said.

“Azala,” The commander hissed. Imri noticed many of the Chixel tensed at this remark. “This one will slaughter this Azala,” they threatened.

“Then you would be responsible for the death of an Exalted, and I would teleport away before your blow landed,” Imri lied, his mana being entirely spent.

“Then why hasn’t this one already done so?” the commander asked.

“As I said, this new species makes great hosts. I was not lying when I said that,” Imri said.

“This one would trade the life of an Exalted for some lowly humans?” the commander asked skeptically.

“As you can see, they are far more capable than they appear. A group of human hosts could easily wipe out a pathetic army ten times this size. The hive shall expand and take control of this world with these new hosts,” Imri said.

“And that strange wand?” the commander asked, but Imri ignored the question.

“Do we have a deal, the humans, in exchange for your Exalted?” Imri asked.

“This one would never make a deal with a parasite,” The commander hissed. It was only thanks to Imri’s high willpower that he could maintain his composure, doing his best to affect nonchalance at the Chixel’s proclamation.

“The hive will be disappointed, but not nearly as much as your priests,” Imri said as he waved the gun in a flourish before slowly creeping his finger toward the trigger.

“Wait, this one is certain these ones can come to an arrangement,” the lead Chixel shouted, his desperation again crossing the species divide.

“We demand all of the human hosts; nothing less is acceptable.”

“Surely half…” the commander started to say, but Imri quickly cut him off.

“This is not a negotiation. I know you would trade many more humans for your Exalted. Do not take my generosity for weakness,” Imri said. The commander eventually relented, though he had been looking to save face by somewhat salvaging the situation. Imri had the winning hand, and he knew it. “Give us our hosts, and we will free your Exalted,” Imri demanded when the conversation shifted to the logistics of enacting the exchange.

“This one was not hatched yesterday; the prisoners stay here until the Exalted is safe,” the commander insisted. Imri felt certain they would remain firm on this point, from what he had learned the Azala weren’t exactly known for cooperation or honesty. He was already pushing believability simply by enacting this plan.

“Escort half of our hosts back towards the city. There is a group of drones and a champion who will accept this exchange. Once we have the hosts, I will release your Exalted, and you will give us the rest of the hosts. If you attempt anything at this point, your forces will be divided, and I think it likely my unit could easily wipe you out,” Imri explained.

“What is to stop that from happening anyway?” the commander asked, clearly distraught knowing more humans were presumably Azala.

“The hive is prioritizing these human hosts. While we would likely win in a confrontation, I doubt we could do so without losing some of our desired hosts.”

“I also require a particular host to be in the first group, the human leader known as Emelia,” Imri said, doing his best to make the request seem like something insignificant that had almost slipped his mind. In truth, it was essential to his plan. While having Emelia safe would put his mind at ease, he also needed her bond to know when the exchange had been made. This was essential for keeping the ruse up, as a true Azala would be psychically linked with their hive.

“Why does that one matter?” the commander asked, though he seemed more curious than suspicious. Imri pretended to consider the question before telling the Chixel.

“She has a rare class with some unique abilities,” Imri said, telling the truth when a good lie hadn’t come to mind. The Chixel seemed to consider the statement and then bobbed its tail in assent.

The Chixel weren’t thrilled with those terms, and neither was Imri. If they decided to betray them after he released Rhesk, at least Emelia would be safe. With half the camp armed, it was also possible that they could save the other half. The one most at risk was himself, and he hoped his mana would recharge enough to cast a short Boundless Step.

He felt a mix of confusion and relief through the bond as the first group contacted Zhaire’s group. Imri waited a few moments to confirm there wasn’t any duplicity before hardening his resolve. He shoved the exalted Chixel towards the gathered guards while moving to get away, his gun still aimed at the very important Chixel. Several of the nearby guards quickly interposed themselves between Imri and the exalted one, rendering his threat ineffective. Imri quickly retreated, not waiting to see if the Chixel would honor their word. Fortunately, it didn’t appear they were interested in another confrontation with the mage of unknown means and weapons.

Imri quickly made his way back to Emelia's location. When he saw her, he very nearly abandoned his Azala persona to embrace her. Instead, he used his willpower to restrain himself, settling for the wash of positive emotions that coursed through their bond.

Imri had another dilemma on his hands. The Chixel had honored their agreement and released all their prisoners. His dilemma was that they hadn’t bothered to escort the second group of people or even try to get the first group of Chixel back. The commander had essentially sacrificed them. Imri suspected they had only released the second group of prisoners to prevent pursuit. The dilemma was what to do with his new Chixel prisoners.

His first decision was easy; two group members were Zathri, the enchanter, and Thrisk, the alchemist. While he didn't entirely trust them anymore, they could be useful sources of information and were at least less radical than the other. Imri would have them in a similar role to the one they had been in before but with enhanced supervision. The fact that these two were in the group escorting prisoners further reinforced Imri’s notion that this group had been sent to be sacrificed. The other four captured Chixel were less obvious. On the one hand, Imri wanted them to set an example for how this conflict should be treated, following codes of conduct for wartime before the integration. On the other hand, the Chixel didn’t follow this code, doing the one thing that would likely be less humane than torture, and Imri doubted his example would change that.

When he spoke with Zhaire and those in his group, they quickly advocated for their execution, some of them going as far as calling dibs on some of the cores. While Imri reluctantly agreed, he felt some measure of disgust. He only went along with it because there wasn’t a good alternative. They certainly didn’t have the resources to maintain a prison. Simply releasing them was also out of the question; doing so would result in Imri’s ruse being discovered.

Zhaire took on the role of executioner, efficiently beheading each of the four Chixel with one cut each from his massive greatsword. The entire camp watched in grim silence. Most seemed relieved as some measure of vengeance was enacted for their poor treatment. Even Emelia had little empathy for her tormentors, though Imri could feel through the bond that she took no pleasure from the act either. It was simply something that had to be done.

With the ruse no longer needed, Imri rushed over to Emelia. He held her tightly, as if he didn’t use all his strength, she would somehow slip away. She returned the gesture in equal measure, and despite the physical discomfort from squeezing, the emotional euphoria vastly overpowered any physical sense. The embrace continued for several minutes, neither wanting to be the first to relinquish their grip. Eventually, the matter was decided as Zhaire told them to stop acting like teenagers, though his tone was more teasing than serious. They broke apart and joined the rest of the camp as they began the hike. As they walked, Imri turned his attention to several notifications he had ignored.

Spell Rank Up Rank Improvement Effect Improvement

Time Dilation F to E 2.5% increase in the spell's mana efficiency

Boundless Step F to E 2.5% increase in the spell's mana efficiency

Quest Updated Progress

Class Rank Up E to D Learn new time or space spells 1/5, time or space spells ranked Up 2/5

Quest Completed Progress Reward

Rescue Captive Rescue Captive 34/34 XP, Savior 3 Achievement

New Achievement Gained Rank Primary Stats / Rank Description

Savior 3 .05% Achievement granted for rescuing those captured by the Chixel raiding party.

Imri Padar has reached Level 11 in Relativity Mage (1E)

Imri Padar has reach Level 11 in Primordial (1F)

Primary Stats Gained New Value

+2 Intelligence 150

+1 Willpower 133

Secondary Stats Gained

+7 MP 216

+8 Mana Efficiency 233

+8 Crafting Efficiency 238

Imri smiled broadly as he reviewed the flood of notifications. While the gains he had received were secondary to saving his people, he certainly wasn’t disappointed. His Time Dilation spell had been on the verge of ranking up because it was his most used and essential spell. He suspected it hadn’t ranked up previously due to having mostly repeatedly used it in the same way. His quick burst at a higher effect level had been just what was needed to push the advancement over the precipice. His Boundless Step spell ranking up so soon was a pleasant surprise, though he had used it heavily since acquiring it.

The achievement gain had been expected, though Imri hoped it would be slightly more effective. Still, it seemed the system still deemed a small Chixel raiding party insignificant in the grand scheme of the multiverse, likely only awarding any achievement due to the incredible difficulty of the task. He also learned that Zhaire and the rest of his party had received the Savior 1 title due to having minimal involvement in the rescue.

The entire camp quickly began their march back toward what had once been Minneapolis. No one wanted to be anywhere nearby when the Chixel returned, which might be sooner than they preferred. With the Chixel not having to escort prisoners, with the lone exceptions of Rhesk, Srez, and Ettes, they would undoubtedly make better time, likely reaching the Ulzo temple in a matter of a few hours. Imri wasn’t sure how many Chixel had congregated there, but the way Ettes had explained it made Imri certain there would be more than enough to form another raiding party, only this time to eradicate the troublesome humans. He hoped his ruse would spark a conflict between the Azala and the Chixel, but he doubted smarter minds wouldn’t be able to spot the discrepancies in his act.

Their group made steady progress, if somewhat slower than desired. The pace improved somewhat as the light of day made hiking through the treacherous stone jungle significantly easier. Imri was still far from the prime physique he had held in his college days, but he wasn’t the slowest one. Several of their members were middle-aged, and others had some degree of obesity. Still, no one was completely incapable; those who were hadn’t made it past the first days of the integration.

Imri continued to take advantage of the time to continue with a walking meditation. It wasn’t simply an efficient way to spend his time; he had always found it easier to enter a state of meditation when going for leisurely walks than sitting cross-legged on a yoga mat. The hike was more than a leisurely stroll, but his newly upgraded skill and the tranquility of knowing Emelia was safe made the state easy to achieve.

Emelia and Zhaire approached him when he wasn't meditating, hoping to understand their destination better. Zhaire had relented on his ambitions of reclaiming a section of the city and living as they had before the integration. He admitted on their frequent city raids that the Azala had steadily increased in activity. In the first few days they had been scouting the city's outskirts, most of the people they encountered were actual people. Conversely, in the days before the abduction, most people were Azala, and their numbers steadily increased. Despite this, Zhaire still wanted the camp to settle down near the city to continue raiding for supplies. Much of their effort had gone to waste, though he hoped their original camp remained unmolested. He hoped to reclaim as much of their supplies as possible before establishing a new camp.

Eventually, they settled on a plan. They would make their way around the city's outskirts, establishing a similar camp to their former on the opposite edge of the city, slightly further into the forest than the previous one. This slightly reduced the risk of the Azala discovering the camp and hopefully kept them well away from any potential Azala-Chixel conflict.

As night approached, the continuous march abated, and nearly everyone immediately fell asleep. Imri snuggled against Emelia, though his exhaustion overtook his desires. He couldn’t help but grin when he realized she was disappointed by this, her physical condition greater than his own and her desires no less strong.

The march resumed at first light, Zhaire playing the role of villainous taskmaster, forcing everyone who still struggled to get going with scathing remarks he had undoubtedly heard from his football coaches. However, the encouragement effectively spurred the stragglers, including Imri. They reached the remnants of their camp slightly after midday, and Imri was pleasantly surprised to find it intact. They took a break for lunch and regathered their supplies. Imri also left a message for Sylvi, explaining the approximate location of their new camp. Hopefully, she was progressing on her mission, and the second camp would be short-lived.

When they resumed their march, they looked like a group of experienced backpackers, except for a few people who awkwardly carried their belongings. Regaining their supplies was mostly a long-term boon, but in the short term, it slowed their pace. They needed to stop more frequently for breaks as people tired out faster while encumbered, during which time people greedily devoured power bars and water. As Imri was physically exhausted, he found it more difficult to meditate, though it was less pressing now that he had regained a good portion of his mana.

During the hike, he was also frequently approached by many people. Most just wanted to thank him for saving them from the Chixel, but others were curious about how he had managed it. While many knew, in general, what his class was, he felt uncomfortable delving into details on what he was capable of. He brushed off their inquiries, saying he had simply gotten lucky and scared the Chixel into surrendering their prisoners. Some accepted that, having heard the gunshots. However, others were less convinced but didn’t press the issue. He told Emelia, not wanting any secrets between them. With that sentiment, he approached the conversation they were about to have when they made camp the second night. Emelia was immediately aware of the serious nature of the conversation, and Imri doubted she even needed the bond to sense his apprehension.

“I have something to tell you,” he said in a hushed voice as he triple-checked that no one was eavesdropping.

“Whatever it is, you can tell me,” she said as she gently touched his shoulder to reassure him.

“It’s something I’m not entirely sure about myself, but I got something strange when I was integrated,” Imri said, struggling with each word.

“Is this related to how you just know things about the system?” she asked.

“That’s part of it, but not all of it. I don’t know how to say this,” Imri said, then paused before blurting out, “I’m not human.”

“You look and feel pretty human to me,” Emelia said, not at all phased by his revelation.

“I’m serious, I’m not human,” Imri repeated.

“I heard you fine the first time.”

“And you're ok with that?”

“What about you is not human?” she asked.

“On my character sheet, it tells me my heritage is Primordial. That gave me an ability that gives me an intuitive understanding of how the system works, a better Intelligence skill, and a faster progression of intelligence-based abilities. It’s also giving me more stats than a human.”

“I wasn’t asking you what stats and abilities it gave. Those are nice, but that doesn’t fundamentally change anything. Has anything fundamental about you changed?”

“Nothing that I’m aware of,” Imri said after a moment's consideration.

“Then don’t worry about it. Besides, it's a heritage, not a species. People just use them interchangeably because no one else has anything besides human.”

“And if I become some weird creature?” Imri asked.

“Then we’ll deal with that when it comes up. Now come to bed,” Emelia said, though neither of them intended to sleep. Imri felt a wave of relief as the weight of his secret was lifted. His worst fear had been that she would be repulsed by him, but that was clearly not the case.