Tyrants of Earth - The Legend of Artigan

The looks, the mannerisms, it had him all thrown off. Nearly every aspect of [Witch] Grettfield reminded him of the Witch Tyrant. The only difference was where Grettfield had green hair and wore a luxurious black robe.

Ryan tried to speak casually to the rest of his team.

“Hey guys, why don’t you all wait outside?”

Barry pretended he missed the tone, continuing to act casually instead. Both his friends, however, weren’t quite as subtle.

Grettfield's gaze intensified. “Curious that you would be so wary in San Kingsgrove. For all its raucous adventurers, this is still considered one of the safest cities in the world.”

“I just forgot about lesson one, that’s all.”

She didn’t even miss a beat. “Would you mind elucidating on that lesson?”

That was when Ryan heard the scratching of a signature behind him. He turned around to see Milock had just finished signed his name into the book. When Ryan stared uncomprehendingly at such a stupid move, Milock just shrugged.

“She’s a [Witch], hospitality and class rules. If she’s strong it matters more, right.”

Clara looked like she was deciding between calling Milock on his reckless tendency to sign contracts and signing it herself. In the end, she stared at [Witch] Grettfield for a few seconds, then shrugged at him.

“You’re being overprotective again.”

Then Clara signed her name on the guestbook too. Her eyes scanning through the registry, pausing for a moment, then shrugging and hopping off.

Grettfield’s eyes twinkled as she watched Clara, then signalled both of them to a door down the hall.

“Down there are more of my mundane curios. Do not enter the rooms with the purple signage without my presence. As always, feel free to divest yourselves of the refreshments.”

Milo and Clara turned to them and then bolted off. Eager to check out [Witch] Grettfield’s shop and try her snacks.

Grettfield then turned to Barry and Ryan.

“I notice neither of you are willing to sign your names. I would recommend it, I do pride myself by being one of the fairest [Witches] around. I am certain you would not like to see the other side of the [Witch] that lies within my class.”

Suddenly, she started to loom over them both, the shadows growing darker, the bell on the door rapidly chiming on its own, the wind picking up, even though they were in an enclosed space.

Both Barry and Ryan were unimpressed. [Witch] Grettfield didn’t even use her aura on them. It was all just parlor magic tricks.

She just chuckled. “Well, it seems I do have interesting guests. If you wish to meet with me without signing, I welcome it all the same.”

Grettfield turned around, looked behind her and gave both of them a little wink. Then she walked forwards, heels clacking on the ground.

Ryan looked to Barry. “You good?”

“Don’t like her.”

“Same.”

Both of them were thinking the same thing. [Witch] Grettfield had definitely modeled herself after the Witch Tyrant and knew her well enough to copy her actual, real mannerisms. Not the dragonshit act that the Tyrant displayed publicly.

Barry flicked his head towards the door that Milo and Clara had rushed off to. “I’ll go keep the two idiots under control. I don’t trust myself to deal with someone like that the way I am now.”

“Good to know that you know you’re being an asshole. You should go sign the guestbook.”

“No point, I’ve already insulted her.”

“Fair enough.”

The rules stated that Grettfield would treat them with respect as long as they did the same. Barry opening his mouth and saying that he didn’t like her might have constituted a violation in the rules.

Ryan stepped forward, deeper into a [Witch’s] den. He was weaker than in The Realm by a fair amount, though it wouldn’t really matter against a dragonslayer. Any one of them could squish him where he stood.

Nothing he wasn’t familiar with.

For some reason he felt a thrill go down his spine. Witch Grettfield wouldn’t hurt him or his friends, no, she was a [Witch], she wanted a different kind of confrontation.

He opened the room she had walked into… only to find out it wasn’t a room at all. It was more of a fancy, bright greenhouse.

A sparkling glass roof, bright crystals emanating mana, and [Witch] Grettfield was in the center of the room kneeling, tending to some plants.

The [Witch] turned her head and tilted it slightly, observing him in curiosity.

“You expected a challenge? Why?”

“Uh, you made it seem that way?”

“But you can tell I’m a dragonslayer, can you not?”

Ryan, to his credit, didn’t miss a beat. “You’re a dragonslayer?!”

He was pretty sure it didn’t work. Somehow the conversation had barely started, and he was already on the backfoot.

Grettfield simply chuckled. “You’ll need to work on masking your emotions if you want to lie to a true [Witch]. I am curious though, how could you tell I was a dragonslayer?”

She knew he knew. Stupid [Witches] and their ability to sense emotions. That was something he still had no idea how to counter.

“You’re awfully combative for a modern day adventurer. I do wonder what experiences you’ve gone through to make you so wary of me. I do have a sterling reputation you know. I must say, it offends me.”

Ryan cricked his neck. This was a dragonslayer tier [Witch], someone with far more years and experience on him. Not only that, he had willingly walked into her den. He had indeed messed up his approach, it was time to fix that.

Ryan took a step forward, then, to Grettfield’s surprise, he bowed. A natural, cocky performer’s bow.

“Apologies, oh great hidden [Witch] of San Kingsgrove. I had come here with a request and forgot myself for a moment. If I might mention, your abode is truly delightful and is one of, if not the nicest abodes I have ever been invited to.”

When Ryan looked back up, [Witch] Grettfield’s look of genuine delight told him it had been the right move. She had modeled herself after the Witch Tyrant, it would be no question that she would also enjoy the same dramatic flair.

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Her laughter was higher, more [Witch]-like. “Naturally. Oh so many others simply rush through and forget to appreciate what’s in their midst. I had started to lose hope for the younger generations.”

“Have no fear. For change in the world may only be a single viral video away.”

The [Witch] sighed. “If only it were that simple.”

“Indeed.”

The silence lingered, perhaps both were now uncertain of the person in front of them. Ryan decided to offer his part first. He explained exactly why he figured out she was a dragonslayer tier [Witch].

“Other [Mages] instinctively stray away from my arm and the mana it produces. Only a dragonslayer tier [Witch] could possibly see it as a simple passing interest.”

Walking past a couple [Mages] on the way here had solidified the point to him. [Mages] would shuffle away or simply refused to look at his arm. Hell, even Vedslaw had instinctively reacted away from his arm. That guy wasn’t even a [Mage]. Just a mana heavy [Ranger].

Grettfield pondered on that answer for a moment.

“You have not been in the presence of many [Witches], have you?”

Ryan opened his mouth to object, but then realized she was right. The only [Witch] he’d actually met was the Witch Tyrant. Gamielle was a pure [Mage] and not a [Witch].

“You may be right.”

Grettfield’s eyes twinkled in amusement. “Then a small lesson may be in order. While your arm does indeed rankle at the more magical aspects of my class, a true [Witch’s] curiosity would by far outweigh their apprehension.”

That made Ryan concerned. Did that mean [Arcane Saboteur] wasn’t as much of a counter to [Witches] as he thought it was? Or was it dependent on the type of [Witch]? Either way, that was something to think about for later.

For now he realized one simple fact. “So, uh, all of this was an unfortunate misunderstanding.”

“A delightful one, but yes, it seems so.” [Witch] Grettfield chuckled, going back to more standard speech. “But while you’re here, why don’t you take a seat and tell me your tale? I would truly love to hear the tale of how someone like you came about in this modern era of adventurers.”

Ryan turned to the chair that had appeared beside him, he considered it for a moment, then shook his head.

“Apologies, but I would rather my story stay private for now.”

“Truly? Even if I were to swear upon secrecy and to offer my services for free?”

While that sounded like a nice deal, he still had to decline. His secrets were worth far more than anything he could want from her.

Grettfield clicked her tongue. “I understand. Well, if you are here to get help fixing your arm, then I suggest you bring it here so I can make a better assessment.”

Ryan shuffled a little. “I was hoping to just buy mana wrappings for trainee [Mages].”

“You lie once again. Is it truly that much worse dealing with an ascended [Witch] as opposed to a ninth realm one?”

Damned [Witches] and their ability to read emotions. The plan had been to see if Grettfield could offer a more practical solution to his leaking arm. Her being a dragonslayer and acting so similar to the Witch Tyrant made her too difficult to trust.

Ryan decided to play it straight. No point trying to trick his way out when she could literally read his emotions.

“Well, people can change their minds. I’ll take some mana wrappings instead.”

They were often used for [Mages] with new mana cores and lacking levels in [Mana Manipulation] to control it.

The [Witch] tsked. “Your magical knowledge is lacking if you think standard mana siphon wraps will last longer than a few minutes on that arm of yours.”

“Wait, really?”

“Your mana corrodes magical structures. I fear that even some of the more sturdy enchantments would not last long before being converted to volatile mana. In that regard, your mana is truly quite unique, I shudder at how much risk you must have taken to create it.”

Ryan thought back to when he’d shoved a volatile golem core into his shoulder. She was probably right in that it had been a little risky.

He eyed [Witch] Grettfield, “What if I told you how I designed my arm, would that help pay for a custom solution?”

“I’m less interested in the creation of a [Mage] killing weapon. I’d rather learn of the why of it than the how.”

Meaning she was more interested in him telling her his story than the actual process of creating his arm. [Witch] Grettfield had some really messed up priorities.

“Well, how much is your custom solution going to cost?”

Grettfield thought about it for a moment. “I have threads from manaburn silkworms that may work nicely. You would have to wring them out every couple of weeks but it would be the best solution I can think of. For entertaining me, I can offer you them for eighty five thousand.”

That was way too cheap. Wait a second…

“You’re talking about Realmcoins. Eighty five thousand realmcoin.”

“Naturally. I’m also quite happy to accept deposits from anonymous accounts too.”

Eighty-five million. Slightly less, since the exchange rate had dropped. He raised a finger, tone slightly higher than usual. “Do you have any cheaper solutions?”

“Ah.” Grettfield said. Realizing she had come upon what must have been a really poor customer for her. “The solution I would use is to drain your mana using inert mana crystals with thick crystalline matrices. I believe you would need to fill a finger sized crystal every other day. Then you would have to find a way to dispose of them safely.”

“How much would crystals like those cost?”

“I believe market rates are currently fifty realmcoins at the moment. Though finding a consistent supplier would be a task all on its own."

At his current net worth, he’d run out of money in less than a hundred days.

At this point, Ryan was half-debating about telling her his story for those mana wraps. It felt like this [Witch] Grettfield was slowly guessing all of his secrets anyway.

“I could take it on credit.” Grettfield offered.

“Nope. No offense, but I’d rather not owe a [Witch] anything.”

“A wise decision.” She considered it for a moment. “I do have another solution.”

Of course she did. Ryan had no doubt she had been planning for this exact moment. Unfortunately, he truly didn’t know enough about high realm mana stuff to know where the conversation was being led towards.

“I am willing to provide you the crystals, provided the crystals are delivered back to me.”

So that’s what she wanted. “I don’t know how comfortable I am giving crystals filled with volatile mana to a dragonslayer tier [Witch].”

Grettfield smirked. “No less than those that I will be using them on, no doubt.”

Ryan blinked. Then he laughed. For some reason, that comment helped convince him more than anything else.

“Fine, as long as you don’t spread it around and start blowing up cities, you have yourself a deal.”

[Witch] Grettfield laughed. “Please, I am quite capable of doing that with or without your brand of mana, thank you very much.”

She stood up, brushed her robes off and walked towards him. She pulled out a fingernail sized blue crystal and dropped it on his hand.

“A test.”

Ryan tried to divert all of his mana to the crystal. That was when they both realized a problem. He really had pitiful control over his own mana. While a good amount of it did go into the crystal, his circulatory structure had exits all over his arm. It meant that there wasn’t a neat enough flow into the crystal to drain his core properly.

Grettfield’s stare was intense. “Hmm, here.”

Ryan received another crystal, this one looked a lot more sturdy and fit in his palm. There was something in the sphere itself that he could focus on. A spell?

All of a sudden his mana rushed down his arm and into the orb. As if it was pulling his mana in. It flooded the orb, glowing a bright blue. The orb started to crack—and [Witch] Grettfield snatched the orb back from his hand and used a skill he didn’t recognize to repair the crystal in realtime.

She pursed her lips.

Ryan was still shaken by how much his mana had reacted, it was like when he used the Trial skill, [Arcane Volatility]. Wait, is that how I should be practicing my mana control?

Another question he shelved in the back of his mind. He focused back on the spell that had been hidden in the orb first.

“What was that?”

“A training siphon crystal given to elven children with too much mana in their bodies. I did not expect that your mana would seek the spell structure so voraciously. I will have to work on tougher crystals.”

Grettfield pulled the orb closer to her eyes.

“Yes, this will do nicely.”

“Could I ask what you’re going to use it for?”

“Wards against other [Witches].”

“What? Really?”

“A story for a story, I’m afraid.”

She had stirred his interest and he had stirred hers. She was still trying to exchange stories. Both of them stared at each other for a good moment. Both of them knew something about each other, but were unable to confirm exactly what it was.

Grettfield spoke before he even made up his mind. “A third rejection will bring ill tidings. Let us leave it at that.”

Ryan couldn’t help himself. Going up against a dragonslayer tier [Witch] that could read his emotions and predicted his thoughts, really rubbed him the wrong way.

“Being able to read emotions is a dragonshit skill. How is anyone supposed to contest that without overwhelming force?”

[Witch] Grettfield stared at him for a moment. As if trying to understand him more than she really had. Apparently he passed a test because she smiled.

“Indeed. For someone that wears their emotions so brightly on their chest, [Witches] are indeed a natural counter.”

He deflated. He remembered how simply trying to think about solutions to the Witch Tyrant’s skills had triggered a reaction from her. That was a problem he still had no solutions for.

But for some reason Grettfield shared her solution. “But such skills work both ways. What you may think of as an insurmountable strength can quickly turn into the greatest weakness that only someone like you could exploit.”

Ryan frowned trying to make sense of that comment.

“I’m sorry, could you clarify that just a little bit further?”

“I think I’ve done enough in betraying my fellow [Witches] today.”

Grettfield then looked to the door. “Besides, your friends are causing chaos in my shop. You might want to check up on them, before they break something you cannot afford.”