Merrick peered around the corner to see that the mephit was still holding back the other golem. The mephit was performing better than Merrick thought it would. He had imagined the minor elemental would be holding the golem in some form of physical hold.
Instead, the golem was trying to swerve above, below, or around the mephit and Merrick's summoned creature was easily batting it back with its dust claws. Even if the golem managed to slip past, the mephit shifted into a cloud of dust and rushed along a strong breeze to get back in front of the golem only to force it back again.
The mephit could easily hold its own, however it was just as clear that the mephit was not able to permanently deal with the golem. There were several notifications that he had been ignoring. Now that he had a moment to breathe, Merrick read through them.
Elemental Damage (Lightning) has left you with Nerve Damage (Right Hand)
Nerve Damage: The affected body part has lost 50% usability.This status can only be cured by a Priest-level spell or through excessive Rest. Repeated use of an unknown spell has unlocked Arcane Blast.Arcane Blast: Quick, low powered spell that requires no Incantation to cast.
Elemental Damage (Fire) has left you with Severe Burns.
Severe Burns: Movement restricted due to damage.Strength is reduced by 75% until this effect has been removed. This status can only be cured by a Priest-level spell or through excessive Rest.
Merrick swiped away the notifications. His right hand was unreliable, his overall strength was dropped to a quarter, and there was no immediate solution for either status.
The dust mephit would need to do all of the heavy lifting for him until he could deal with them. His minor elemental minion was at an even match for the remaining golem. That gave Merrick time to think, but it also raised a concern. These golems were the first creatures that he came into contact with in the game. If his mephit was not able to take care of this on its own, he had little chance of making it further in his current state.
Though, from what Merrick had learned so far of this game, not everything was easily quantified. There was room for flexibility. By that logic, Merrick figured that if he was able to summon an elemental, he should be able to enhance it even if he did not explicitly know a spell.
The forums that he had read through said that magic was much more complicated that simply selecting a target and launching a spell like in other VR-based RPGs. It was all about motive and ability. Merrick fell back on the two skills that granted him the Arcane Blast spell.
He knew that some language existed that would give greater effect to his Incantations. However, Merrick did not know them. Even the words that he had uttered for the lightning bolt spell just looked like sigils and glyphs that his brain knew how to pronounce even if he did not understand them.
Instead of calling on the latent energy like before, now Merrick focused on the dust scattered around the room. He pictured a slightly sharper and faster version of the dust mephit in his mind. The energy hovered around him as a cloud of dust. "Accept this blessing to aid your fight."
As Merrick spoke the Incantation, the cloud turned into a stream that connected him to the dust mephit. Peering around the corner, Merrick watched as the dust settled over the elemental like a set of armor. The golem fell to the ground, cut into pieces by the dust mephit's magically enhanced claws.
Unsure of what his mephit would do now that the golem was down, Merrick ordered it to guard the door to his cell. He needed a second to think before proceeding and he did not want the dust mephit to go kite some more enemies. As the mephit settled into its guarding position, Merrick laid down on his mattress.
He had been expecting some kind of notification but the one that he received was not as good as he hoped.
Resting has commenced. Negative effects will be stepped down in six hour increments until they are fully removed. The current negative effects will take twelve days to remove fully.
That was too long. The game boasted a time conversion of 4:1 but even then, he could not spend the next three full days logged in to receive the expedited recovery. Instead, he would need to find another way.
The vials from his Starter Gear were the next thing he tried. He had no way of knowing what type of potion they were, but there was little chance it would do anything worse than what he was already suffering. As soon as he drank the first vial, Merrick felt a surge of energy. There was no system notification and he did not receive any healing from the potion.
From the comfort of the mattress in his cell, Merrick opened up the Knowledge Archive. The same two categories, Constructs and Magic, stared back at him. Merrick selected the Constructs page and there was only a single entry within it.
---
Sentry Golem
A common low-level golem used primarily for guarding persons, places, or things. They are powered by a magic crystal that serves as their core. They can either be commanded by a mid-level magic class or by engraving commands into their core. Like most golems, they exist in a state of rest until a triggering condition is met.
The Sentry Golems used by the Elemental Cage are equipped with two prongs that can release energy in the form of a heat ray. They are also equipped with a small information core that houses additional protocols, allowing for command by a non-magical class.
---
After the entry, there was a picture of the first sentry golem that Merrick had run across as it was powering up. There was also a picture of the last sentry golem fighting against his mephit.
It was mostly basic information, most of which he had already been aware of. He had been hoping for some insight as to their weaknesses. The note about their cores, and these specific sentry golems' information core, was helpful at least. If he wanted to know more, he would need to do as the moderator on the forum suggested and explore the world of the game more.
There was little else he could think to do to better his current situation from within his cell. The Knowledge Archive's Magic probably only contained similar information, facts he had come to realize for reference later, and nothing game-shattering.
After getting up from the mattress, he drank the remaining vial. There was another surge of energy, but no more information. Just like any game, Merrick knew what he needed to find.
Loot; Hopefully a healing potion.
Unable to climb in his current condition, Merrick decided to go toward the door he had already destroyed. The mephit followed at his side and stood guard while Merrick inspected what remained of the golems. There were a few pieces of electrified metal from the first one that Merrick encountered but nothing that seemed helpful. It seemed like his initial magical attack had destroyed both the magic crystal at its core and the small information core that the Knowledge Archive entry had mentioned.
The other golem, the one that had been cut by the dust mephit's claws, was in better shape but was not any more helpful. When Merrick boosted the mephit's attack power, he had not given it any orders to change its attack method. So the flurry of claws that the mephit had been using to hold back the golem, suddenly turned into a hail of razors that cut it to pieces.
In those violent strikes, the golem's core had shattered. As Merrick picked up the pieces, he could feel the arcane energy slipping from the crystal. He had no way to harness or capture it, as he was, so he simply felt it slip through his fingertips. Once the energy was gone, Merrick sifted through the pieces.
There were two colors of crystal, one was a deep purple and the other was clear but had silver veins. The purple crystal had been larger, based on the number of shards, so Merrick figured that was the main core while the smaller, clear crystal had been the information core.
As everything had been thoroughly destroyed, there was no obvious loot left behind so Merrick moved on to the door. As soon as he pushed the remnants out of the way, he realized his mistake.
The room was not empty. Sitting at a desk, there was an actual guard activating another sentry golem. The guard was wearing a dark colored uniform that consisted of a gray jumpsuit, a blackened chest plate, a matching helmet, and metallic gloves that lit up with arcane energy. Tendrils of energy were shifting between the gloves and the golem.
Merrick silently ordered his mephit to attack, expecting the guard to focus on activating the golem. Instead, the energy stopped flowing from the gloves to the gauntlet and the guard shot up from their seat. A wand appeared in the guard's hand before Merrick could react.
Merrick ordered the mephit to take away the wand. Partially because it was the first piece of gear he had seen in the prison since finding his own Starter Gear, but also because of the danger it represented.
If his history with magic in video games was anything to be relied upon, a wand was a dangerous tool. They came in all shapes, sizes, and power levels. They could either enhance the user's magic or it could house any number of spells.
The best outcome would be to take the wand for himself, but Merrick knew that at least for now he needed to get it out of the guard's hand. Before the mephit could cross the distance, however, the wand light up and a spell was released. No light or beam shot outward.
Instead Merrick simply knew that he had been hit by something. There was a notification ready to explain what it was, but before he could read it, Merrick had to deal with the enemy in front of him.
The dust mephit successfully knocked the wand from the guard's hand and they were now struggling for control of it. Perfect timing for another lightning bolt. Merrick raised his hand, focused the energy, and released the spell. There was no bolt of lightning, no backlash, and the guard continued to scramble after their wand.
Instead, Merrick felt a searing pain wrap around his mind. An urgent notification flashed red in front of his eyes.
NOTICE -- Arcane Binding was upgraded to Arcane Lock. Further use of spells could permanently remove the skill Arcane Control.
Arcane Lock: An advanced ward that stops spellcasters from using Incantations. Any Incantation-based spells are nullified, all other spells have a 50% chance of failure. Arcane Lock can become Arcane Seal after repeated failures to control arcane energy while under this effect.
Merrick looked at the notification that he had ignored earlier.
You have been afflicted with an Arcane Binding.
Arcane Binding: A warding spell designed to hinder spellcasters. Every time a spell is cast while under Arcane Binding, there is a 50% chance of the spell failing, the spellcaster suffering mental damage, and the status being upgraded to Arcane Lock.
Without his ability to cast spells, he would not be able to escape. The system had also notified him earlier that penalties could be inflicted post-death based on how bad they were. Merrick could not risk dying now.
There was a chance that he could let off a spell solely using Arcane Control without suffering any more status effects. Arcane Blast was his only hope in this encounter. Merrick ordered his elemental to retreat behind him and leave the wand behind.
Rather than using the energy around him, Merrick focused on the energy that had been welling up inside of him since drinking those potions. He might not know their exact effect but he could guess. He released the blast of energy just as the guard retrieved their wand from where the mephit had knocked it last.
Spell failed due to Arcane Lock.
The guard turned the wand on Merrick. This time the wand glowed a deep blue and Merrick's vision started to fade.
Arcane Lock has been replaced with Arcane Slumber.
Dust Mephit has been returned to their native plane.
Consciousness has been lost, returning to Starting Position.