Age of Gods - A VRMMO Story

With the blueprint finished and saved, Thomas felt completely mentally drained. He couldn't even focus enough to practice his 'Transmutation' and 'All Seeing Eyes' before he flopped down on his bed and immediately fell asleep. He didn't even need to activate his 'Serenity' ability to help him drift off.

The following morning he was awoken by loud banging on his cabin door. Yawning, Thomas rolled out of his bed and shuffled to the door while still half asleep. When he opened it he was greeted by a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Jessup, "Good mornin'! Get yourself ready. We're pulling up to Ulvstad and will be disembarking in about an hour."

Thomas yawned loudly and looked at Jessup with bleary eyes, "Got it."

Jessup chuckled then took his leave to go about his work. Thomas closed the door to his cabin and began to stretch. The bed in the cabin was comfortable enough but had nothing on his bed back at the academy. He slowly stretched his muscles and let out soft groans as they loosened up. After stretching he felt revived. He double checked that the blueprint for his Peace Maker was still saved. Once he saw it was safe and sound, he made his way out of the cabin and up to the deck of the ship.

He stood off to the side while the crew scrambled around and prepared the crates that were going to be offloaded. Even though Ulvstad wasn't their main destination they were still preparing almost a quarter of the ship's cargo for offloading. Considering the ship was a full-sized galleon, that was a large amount of cargo. By the time the crew had finished prepping the first boat sent from the docks for the cargo arrived. Thomas got to enjoy the sight of the crew working like a well-oiled machine as they used a crane to lower the cargo onto the waiting boats.

While Thomas waited, a man and woman came out of the cabin area of the ship and joined him. A quick check told Thomas that they were both locals. He exchanged polite greetings with them and then continued to wait in silence. Jessup noticed Thomas and the couple waiting and came over to them, "After another load or two we'll get the three of you into the city."

The three of them waited and watched as crate after crate was expertly offloaded from the ship onto the small boats and ferried to the city. It really was a rather impressive sight and showed the professionalism of the crew. Professionalism was something Thomas could appreciate. After a few loads were removed, Jessup once more approached the three passengers to lead them to their boat.

After climbing down a rope ladder and situating themselves, the loaded boat was paddled toward the docks of Ulvstad. Thomas looked at the approaching city and smiled to himself. It had only been about two weeks since he left but somehow it felt like he was coming home after a long absence.

When the boat arrived at the dock, Thomas and the other two passengers were directed to get off first. It would be dangerous to unload the cargo with people in the way. After stepping onto the dock Thomas stretched and took in a deep breath. He slowly exhaled then smiled broadly. He really felt like he was home and it felt great. Since it was still early in the day, he immediately started walking down the main boulevard of the city towards Hekrin's shop.

The familiar sights, smells, and sounds drove the feeling of 'home' even deeper making Thomas's smile grow wider. As he walked he spotted 'The Swans Nest' and determined that he would be staying there for sure while he stayed in Ulvstad. He continued to walk, passing by 'Hyde's Hides' and 'Rock's Armory' as well as the other places he'd worked to gain his Magitech Engineering skill. The level of nostalgia was unreal but comforting.

It didn't take him very long to arrive in front of Hekrin's unnamed store. Thomas opened the door and stepped into the shop to be greeted by the familiar sight of Hekrin sitting behind the counter doing nothing. Seeing the grumpy bearded dwarf brought a wave of emotions that Thomas felt was unwarranted.

Hearing the door open, Hekrin looked up and upon seeing Thomas he frowned before shouting, "Took ya long enough kid! What were ya doin'? Takin' a vacation?!"

Thomas laughed and yelled back, "What are you talking about you old goat! It takes four days just for the round trip!"

Hekrin frowned and yelled back, "What? You can't fly yet? I'm shocked! I figured you'd be there for a couple of days then learn how to fly your ass back here!"

Hekrin tried, and failed, to maintain the frown before he started laughing. Thomas joined in with a laugh of his own while making his way to the counter, "I might learn fast but even then I don't have the mana for a flight that long!"

Hekrin chuckled and nodded, "I know kid, I know. Still, with how fast ya learned the other professions and Magitech, I expected ya to be back a week ago. It's nice ta see you can't do everything instantly. So how'd your lessons go? I assume since you're back you did what I said?"

Thomas nodded as he replied, "I got Fire, Earth, Water, Wind, and Metal all up to rank twenty-five."

Hekrin stroked his beard and nodded, "The elements of life and metal eh? Not bad kid. What elements do ya have an affinity for?"

Thomas smirked, "All of them."

Hekrin's beady black eyes widened a bit as he asked, "Seriously?"

After Thomas nodded, Hekrin let out a sigh and shook his head, "Damn otherworlders are crazy." He continued to stroke his beard as he asked, "If that's the case kid, why did you focus on those five elements?"

Thomas leaned on the counter as he narrated the majority of his experience at the academy. He started from the beginning and when Hekrin heard about his letter being activated at the examination he clicked his tongue but said nothing. Thomas narrated his story but kept out the parts that he needed to keep secret. Thomas liked Hekrin but was unsure if he could trust Hekrin with the secret of his changed race. The prejudice against Unholy magic was firmly ingrained in society and Hekrin might react negatively. Thomas simply couldn't risk that.

When Thomas finished his story, Hekrin nodded in approval as he said, "You might not realize it kid, but you had an excellent teacher. Getting the elements of life to combine takes a lot of effort if you don't do it early on. There's nothing wrong with not doing it, but there's also no reason not to do it. Sadly, many teachers simply focus on teaching only the elements they have an affinity with and only accept students with a similar set of affinities. So 'Elemental Magic [Life]' means ya go those four up to rank twenty-five. Why did ya choose metal for the fifth?"

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Thomas shrugged his shoulders as he answered, "At first I used it just because it was fun. The more I used it though, the more useful I found it to be. Creating weapons out of thin air made diving into the dungeon a nice experience. I also figure I can use it to take useful tools on the fly if I find there's something I need but don't have on hand."

Hekrin nodded in approval, "Not bad kid. You met my expectations. You ready to learn the final lesson on Magitech Engineering?"