Brax logged back into the game. As Lucan walked outside of his house, he found a guest on the front patio.
"Why didn't you tell me you were a Hand of Raze?" Silent Night asked the moment he walked out.
"Uh, didn't I?"
"…"
"No, you didn't."
"Oh, well, your harsh and abrupt manor caused me to overlook it." Lucan said while shrugging his shoulder and walking down the steps to the street.
"Where are you going?" She scolded while following after him.
"I need to collect just under 15,000 experience to buy a spell I am saving for. A couple days in the fields should do it." Lucan answered while pulling the farming tools out of the shed.
"What kind of Lord is out farming in the fields?" Silent night whined.
"The kind who needs experience and likes to be left alone." He said while throwing the hoe into the soil, beginning his work.
Silent Night quietly watched him for 5 minutes before she opened her mouth again.
"Everything I read about Raze online says he specializes in shadow magic and mental magic. Is that right?"
"Among other things." Lucan replied. He could tell she wanted to ask something else.
"Is it possible for someone to acquire shadow mana through Raze?" She finally asked.
"Sure, take the 'Spell Weaver' companion class. That's what I did."
Silent Night looked as if she wanted to keep asking questions but didn't. After a few minutes she disappeared when she logged out.
Lucan was happy to work the fields in peace. He had great hopes of making a level 25 wand this evening. He quietly worked while refining the design in his mind. Woodworking, like all the trades mainly relied on recipes. It was incredibly difficult to create something without the recipe, not impossible but difficult. Once you had a recipe the interface would show you where to use the proper tools and acted as a safeguard so you wouldn't make any great mistakes.
Lucan had been learning from the large degree of freedom in his magic casting and was starting to make minor adjustments in his woodworking. He was trying new things and not following the interfaces guide. He hoped maybe he could learn a new skill, or he might stumble onto a variant of one of the recipes he had.
"Master?" Lucan called out telepathically to Raze.
"What is it?" Raze answered.
"Is it possible for someone to learn how to use shadow mana without taking the 'Spell Weaver' class?"
"It is possible, an appropriate vessel would be needed. Not just anyone can control shadow mana. But if the right conditions were met and you injected them with pure shadow mana it could be possible for a mana core to form. Why do you ask?"
Lucan proceeded to tell Raze about Silent Night and her questions.
"Do what you like, it doesn't matter to me. I will be going." Raze left and Lucan could feel the transmission end.
The first time Lucan contacted Raze directly he was extremely hesitant. He knew Raze put on a pleasant face but he wouldn't do anything for anybody unless there was something in it for him. Lucan decided to start with a report about ethereal mana, but it was very difficult to investigate. Like mental mana, it was invisible to the naked eye and Lucan didn't have any visual abilities besides night vision.
Raze didn't mind and encourage Lucan to raise his level. Every time Lucan made contact, Raze was never curt or dismissive, he always answered Lucan's questions without grief. It seemed silly to not take advantage of such a great source of knowledge. Now Lucan contacted Raze once or twice every day in game.
When Lucan finished his work in the field and began cleaning up Silent Night logged back in.
She walked straight up to Lucan and blocked his path. "I have done my research." She let him know. "I have found out it is crazy expensive to become a Spell Weaver, virtually impossible. But I feel you didn't lie to me. I believe you must have given up over a hundred levels to lower the cost and gain experience to spend. Raze liked your dedication and made you his Hand and now you are raising your level in an area that has no gear for you. Thus, you are forced to wear your home goods." She then stared at Lucan waiting for a response.
"I appreciate that you have done your research and are correct. Let me tell you why I appreciate Raze. Everything is as simple as black and white. You pay, you get power. You need help, you make a deal. There is no fuss, it is simple and straight forward. So, if you have a point, get to it." Lucan said before walking past her to go put the tools away.
Silent Night huffed and followed Lucan to his porch. Lucan took a seat while Silent Night stood at the top of the four stairs leading from the patio to the street.
"Alright, I want your help. I am on a race change quest to become a shadow elf. I have completed all the steps to become a shadow elf except gaining shadow mana. Once I do that, my race will change from human to shadow elf. I spent weeks in the game figuring out how to get to the shadow realm and now I am before one of Raze's highest ranking warlocks, in the domain of shadows. With your connections you should be able to find a way to do this. If you can't… If you can't, I don't know what else to do."
Lucan let the moment hang in the air while he poured water from his canteen into a glass.
"It's difficult but not impossible." He replied.
"Really! How?"
Lucan motioned for her to take a seat.
"I remember my master mentioning that it is possible for a proper vessel to solidify my shadow mana into a shadow mana nucleus. But it is an experimental procedure that doesn't have a high chance of success."
"That's it. I have to try. What will it take?"
"The basic requirement to try is that your first become my acolyte. Like Raze, I ask nothing of my followers, if they want something from me, they will have to pay. 12,000 Experience. But I don't know why I should go through the effort and give you the honor."
Silent Night stayed quiet for a moment and thought. "I can give you my recommendation, my recommendation to the Assassin's Guild."
"Assassin's Guild? Never heard of them."
"That's the point. It is an unregistered guild created by NPCs that hosts all the advantages of a player ran guild. The point of the group is to complete high-risk contracts. It is the best place to get gear of all levels, especially if you are looking for leather armor with the intelligence stat. I am aware of how hard it can be to find."
He thought for a moment. "Okay, I like it. Let's make an official pact. Do we have a deal?" Lucan said stretching out his hand.
"Deal." She said while shaking his hand.
Lucan activated the Pact Magic ability to make the verbal handshake deal magically enforced.
[You have gained an acolyte.]
"Now I am about to start making a new wand, and I am sure you would rather me use a wand that matches my level, so take some time to read up on your new class and keep to yourself." Lucan said while pulling out his woodworking tools.
An hour later Lucan had completed his wand. His variation to the recipe only led to a loss in durability. He still didn't understand the reason behind the structure of the wand.
"It looks like you have finished."
"Yes, I finished."
"I must say, I thought this companion class would be useless but there are several good spells and abilities available."
"The freedom is great but it comes at a cost." Lucan said. "When I buy more spells and abilities, they will open up new channels of purchase for you."
"What are the requirements to summoning magic blades?"
Lucan turned his new wand into Night Whisper while she stared at it excitedly. "You must first upgrade from acolyte to Magic Blade Assassin."
"That's crazy expensive, there is no way I could afford that without dropping several levels."
"There are a few ways to make it easier. If Raze ever has a quest for you, you can probably ask for it as a reward. Or if you earn my trust you can become one of my direct warlocks. Then you can make pacts on my behalf and claim 10% of the experience spent by those who you sign on. Then it becomes more manageable. Also, if you own a real magic blade, you can unlock the class while its equipped, but you can't buy any transformation magic."
"So, you're telling me I need luck, or I can join a pyramid scheme and maybe afford it."
"Ha, yeah, pretty much. Or you could put off leveling for a little while and grind out the experience."
"Yeah right. I am not going to stop leveling for three months just to be able to pay even more to summon magical blades. Enough chit chat, try the procedure."
"That will be 12,000 experience. I want to be paid up front. If you don't want to work in the field for 3 days I can take it from your current level."
"Fine, do it."
Lucan set the Experience drain ability to 12,000. When Silent Night confirmed the experience was transferred.