Chapter 21 PAM Upgrade
The crowd finally parted after a little bit of time. After they had done so, the minister turned toward Daneel and said, "I know what happened to your father. The present king has too much of a soft spot for his immediate family, and I simply do not have the power to oppose him directly. I have tried many times to offer your family monetary help, but your father never agreed because he knows that there is always someone watching. I remember that his friends who sent him food or tried to employ him or your mother were almost beaten to death! Alas, I couldn't stop it. At least this way, he won't have to regret anything. Don't mistake my words, you earned it all by yourself. My son told me you were a good kid, and I believe him now."
"Dad, you didn't believe me before!", came the voice from behind as Elanev walked up the steps toward them.
Patting Daneel on the shoulder, he said, "Well done! Excellent planning and execution! You might just have talent for the government. My old man wishes I did, but I'm only interested in getting stronger."
Daneel was shocked, to say the least. This man was actually Elanev's father?!
He couldn't be blamed for not even thinking of the possibility, though. Elanev had glossy black hair while the minister's was a glorious gold.
"|Sigh| I told you many times that the best way to get justice is to enter the government and climb up the ranks. If only you listened to me. Anyway, let's not keep our young friend. Ponvec, could you please drop him off at his home.", he said into the air.
A man in black robes with his face covered appeared out of thin air beside the minister. It was as if he had walked through an invisible door in mid-air.
"Yes, your excellency", he said, kneeling, before turning toward Daneel and grabbing his hand.
The two vanished instantly while the father and son continued arguing as if this were very normal.
Daneel found himself in a dizzying space. Right as the man had grabbed him, he felt as if he had walked through a drizzle of cold rain. Only, he wasn't wet.
They were standing in an endless space, with vivid colors swirling all around. Daneel looked down and wished he hadn't. They were standing in mid air, and even under them was the void, terrifying in its endless depth.
"Stay calm kid. It's just an interim teleportation area. The young master said you might possibly have a mageroot. Do you want a short explanation about how they work?", he asked in a calm voice.
Fighting hard to keep the contents of his stomach down, Daneel said, "Yes, please."
"Mageroots are what let us mages have a connection with nature. Located in one's head, they are what let us establish the resonance required with nature in order to control it to do our bidding. What have you seen mages do so far?", he asked abruptly.
"One made a prison of water. Another flew in the air and sent people flying with just a wave of her hand.", Daneel answered.
"Quite advanced applications of magic. Mages make such feats possible by using the energy stored inside their Mageroots to establish a connection and then resonate and coax the nature around them to do their bidding. Thus, a suitable environment can enhance a mage's power by a large degree. The more the complexity of the things you want to be done, the more the energy and comprehension of those things is required. Always remember this: it is easier to flow along the stream rather than against it. You will understand why when you start learning magic.
"One last thing, nature doesn't mean just the elements. You must have seen Viuda, that brat. She can make use of Gravity magic. My specialty is Space magic. When you advance in levels, you can get much more comfortable with the magic that you focus on, allowing you to cast spells in it's domain with little effort. My space specialty lets me stay hidden at a location in a different dimension and also travel from one location to another in a set radius around me. It just so happens that this radius is the size of the Capital of Lanthanor. Now tell me, where do you have to go?"
"The slums.", said Daneel.
"Right on. Close your eyes if you don't want to puke your guts out."
Daneel complied. Again, he felt a sensation like he took a cold shower.
"Take care kid. I'll be looking at your performance in the NMAL examinations."
Daneel heard this voice in his ear but when he opened his eyes, there was no one around him.
Walking home, reflected on everything that had happened today. He had finally gained a windfall of EXP and he had also experienced Space Magic. It set alight a fire in him to pursue the path of the mage.
"System, upgrade PAM-1 and begin development of the technique to make the pseudo mageroot.", he said, with a stoic look in his face.
He had just reached home and his mother had opened the door to see who it was.
[PAM-1 upgraded to PAM-2.
Remaining EXP: 550.
Development of Pseudo-Mageroot technique begun.
Estimated time till completion: 48 hours]
Hearing this made Daneel smile broadly. He leaped into his house, hugging his mother tight, feeling her warmth spread over him.
As he sat down with his parents and started recounting everything that happened in training, the development of a technique that would change the world was under way.