Stumbling Up: A Loser's Guide to Progression - Chapter 24: Measuring Contest

The three of us floated in the incorporeal ether of the portal. Tandy and Leo were sucked forward to an exit gate, but I was drawn in a different direction. Richard’s thread tugged me somewhere else.

With no fanfare, I appeared tucked behind a large bookcase, an unwilling audience to an argument.

I won! Richard mentally shouted as he sat on a crumbling marble bookstand.

A glowing orb spun before him. The blue orb spun faster with tinges of red, seemingly annoyed at Richard. I could sympathize.

I floated, tucked behind shelves in the oldest library I'd ever seen. Rows upon rows of books and scrolls, all covered in an eon of dust.

[You cheated.]

I soundlessly gasped in my incorporeal form. The orb was the system?

I cheated?! Richard's voice raised in fake outrage, Me?! You're the one who pulled me out of my team's [Trial Dungeon] run as they attempted to take on an overpowered boss. You have no right to accuse me of cheating.

The orb soundlessly spun.

Richard's eye tentacles stretched forward, glaring.

[I hate you.]

The feeling is mutual.

The orb turned back to a mollifying green.

[A compromise. You stay here. Help in holding the Ursine Wall. Your [Cole Thornfield] and his friends get [Adventurer] status.]

How is that a compromise? My team gets what they earned, and I'm stuck here with you? I notice you didn't mention Meredeath either. No deal. What do you give up in that 'compromise'? Richard shook his tentacles.

Look around you, idiot. I can't stall it forever. Richard's voice was the smallest earworm, meant only for me.

I jumped. Richard knew I was here. I started to look around.

The library was something hard to conceive. Row upon row of shelves filled with books took up more space than probably all of Woodsten. Giant columns held up fragile arches made of marble. The stone had medal filagree twining along the joints in intricate weaves. Even in my non-physical state, I could see that they thrummed with power.

The roof was full of holes where parts of the framework had fallen in from age, from attack. I could see the holes still covered by a glimmering magical shield that flashed every few moments as though defending against an attack.

Looking at the shelves near me, I started to look at the books.

Many were in languages I didn't understand. In letters I'd never seen before.

[What do you propose?]

The system's voice boomed in the library. Much louder than the mundane notifications I received in my everyday life.

I moved along the shelves quickly, floating along the ground. Incorporeal had advantages, as I didn't disturb the dust.

Richard was giving some reply I couldn't hear, but I finally reached a section I could read.

Basic Magical Weaves, The Anatomy of Dragons, Methodologies for Removing Corruption, A Proposed System for Progression, Magic for Magi, Magic for Warriors, A Merit Proposal for Division of Power.

The list went on, and my research was interrupted by the system's booming reply.

[Absolutely not. Do you know how much power that would take? The barrier would be down within a month!]

Richard was muttering some response. I didn't know what he wanted me to see.

I tried to pull out a book, but my hand passed right through, which was probably good. I wasn't sure these tomes would survive getting pulled out of their centuries-long resting place.

A mental tug pulled me on. There was something here I needed to see.

Desks were set up against the far wall. Well away from the spinning orb that controlled my world. I went to investigate them. The desks were probably once the height of opulence. The fact that they were even standing was a testament to their original quality.

Now, however, they looked wormy and fragile. Two, I could see, were collapsed under their weight. The other eight against this inner wall looked a breath away from joining their kin. One of the desks, however, was not only the most stable-looking but also had two books open on top of it.

One of the books had an obvious slug-induced slime trail on it.

On Immortality and Death by Magus Reaver.

Everything in me burned to turn the page. If I could just, my hand passed straight through the pages. The book was open to just the title page. My hand passed uselessly through the page over and over. Not even Richard's slime stuck to my fingers.

A spark went off in my head. I triggered [Minor Slime Manipulation], willing the slime to turn the page over.

It shifted, and the pages shifted in a goopy slurp that would cause most librarians to cry.

There are seven classifications that contain the skill [Immortality]. Please see the attending chapters for details on each:

Chapter 1: Veil Walker

Chapter 2: Lich

Chapter 3: Remnant

Chapter 4: Ascendant

Chapter 5: Flicker

Chapter 6: Fanged Banana Slugs

Chapter 7: Cursed

What the hell? Fanged Banana Slugs were an Immortal class? The pages were handwritten. This one had a significant amount of slime on it. I wondered if Richard had forged it.

Before flipping to Chapter 6, I read the rest of the page.

Equally, four classifications contain the skill [Manipulate Death], and three that contain the skill [Dodge Death]. All of these classes and skills are closely related to [Immortality] and thus a subject of this book:

Chapter 8: Hollow Heart

Chapter 9: Scythe

Chapter 10: Last Vestige

Chapter 11: Death Warden

Chapter 12: Death Dodger

Chapter 13: Slip Soul

Chapter 14: Oathless

I flipped the page, eager to learn about [Immortality], dealing death, or the truth about fanged banana slugs.

The pages flipped in a slurp of slime. My shaky control over [Minor Slime Manipulation] caused a chunk of pages to stick together.

Chapter 12: Death Dodger

Oh for fuck's sake. The pages wouldn't turn to any other chapter, no matter how hard I tried. Resigned, I started reading.

Death Dodger is unique in the classification of powers. Initially theorized, it has only been attempted by a few willing to admit, and even fewer have professed attaining a deep understanding of the classifications. This book has few details due to these limitations.

I rolled my ghostly eyes. Of course, it doesn't have any helpful information on the class.

Those who attain Dead Dodger generally stumble upon their greatness. These individuals are slippery in history's annals, not cheating death through force but through the subtle manipulation of events. They sit in the shadows, testing system integrity, slipping through loopholes, and challenging the odds of fate.

The most famous to pursue the Death Dodger power classification was Leara Flamecraft. While known primarily for her mastery of flamecraft, Leara alternatively pursued the higher levels of death magic. It is rumored that she attained high levels due to her successful pursuit of her primary class. It is well known that flamecraft is not for the weak of heart.

Individuals in this power classification can attain a mastery of death, becoming inappropriately immortal through conventional and magical means. Variations of power enable odd acts of salvation, healing, evasion, trickery, and paradigm-shifting leaps in logic. Beware, individuals who attain this classification can be power brokers and breakers.

The text continued on the next page, but no effort could make it flip.

I didn't know what to think of this. Richard attained knowledge. Was he suggesting that he was a [Death Dodger]? Or that I should become one? Was this an elaborate prank that showed me that [Fanged Banana Slugs] were listed under [Immortality]?

No joke was above my little slug.

The other book, A Discussion on Power Dynamics, presented an argument for power management, establishing a system to distribute skills and control magical classes. I leaned in.

This author does not intend to take a side in the Great Debate, but to describe a system in which power is shared by merit and equality if it is decided that such a system is necessary to protect the realm.

First, the governing body will establish those skills and classes with a mundane quality. Those progression markers in which the peasants shall excel are insignificant to the greater struggle and are unlikely to cause further imbalance to the Great Scale. These classes and skills shall be open to all, and will breed a satisfaction in the populace that will do better than any debate at squashing ambition.

For those that seek greater power, the [Trials of a Hero] should suffice in weeding out the rubbish…

I continued scanning the text as a notification triggered.

[Quest Granted: [Trials of a Hero: Heart]

Congratulations on taking the first step to higher power. Enter the Trial at the Library of Alta. Beware, this trial is not for the faint of heart. Completing this trial will grant you access to the second of three Trials of a Hero and the class [Provisional Hero]. Failing the trial may result in death. No time limit given for this quest.]

Great, another insurmountable trial just as I finished the first one. At least this one didn’t have a time limit. The last line on the page was a head-scratcher.

These trials will ensure that magic, true power, is kept safe for those who will use it wisely.

I had never heard of the Library of Alta. My mind spun at the idea of ancient and powerful classes and skills. The age before, when legends walked and some of the greatest wonders were built.

[It is settled. You are making a mistake, but my opinion has never stopped you.]

The system’s shouting interrupted my reading. This time, Richard's voice was louder, fuller. A mental echo reached my ears.

I have faith in my team. They are the key we've been lacking. They will stand against the tide, and it will break.

The system laughed. Dust flew up as the library vibrated.

[You have become so small with small ideas. I will let you go only because I have realized you are no longer worthy. The years have eroded your power.]

The years have eroded your soul! Richard shouted back, throwing his mental weight into the argument.

[I bind you to them. The wall cracks. Corruption has taken a Guardian. If your team has such promise, they will have no problem with this challenge.]

A system message appeared in my notifications:

[Quest Granted: [Clean the Corruption]

The great barrier is failing. A Guardian of the Ursine Wall has been corrupted. Defeat the [Corrupted Guardian]. Reward: [Adventurer] specific [Enchanted Item].]

And Meredeath?

[[Meredith Steele] is not part of this bargain.] The system finally said. [But she is not yet claimed.]

But…

[Begone!]

And we were.