God Magus Rising

[IronLung]

Alec Mason turned off his stream and sat back in his gaming chair. He gave a satisfied sigh before reaching for a can of energy drink – His eighth today. They'd provided much needed spikes of endorphins for the duration of his twelve-hour subathon.

And what a subathon it had been! His view counts were up. His subs kept flowing, and even during his two-hour sleep portion he'd had donations swarming his screen, flying passed his dozing head. Friends of his channel had popped by to wish him luck and contribute their own brands of madness to his endeavor, and as he downed the dregs of his energy drink he couldn't help but feel a sense that he'd earned some time off.

That is, of course, until the sun broke over his apartment windows and reminded him that he'd have to do it all again next morning.

He groaned as the thought took hold of him. Tomorrow was – of all things – a League day. He barely had the time or energy to stand up and flop down on his bed, let alone conquer the rift.

Instead, he distractedly browsed Discord, seeing congratulatory messages pop up all over the place – some of them coming from folk he hadn't heard from in ages. He had to admit, there was a special kind of joy in creating something people loved. Even if his mother had never supported him when he'd flunked college to do this, he hadn't been deterred. He was used to people underestimating him throughout his life.

The screeds of messages scrolling through his own Discord server were a reminder of just how much was expected of him:

-League still happening tomorrow?

-GG dude. But League when?

-Who needs sleep, right?

-There's no WAY he's gonna be ready for tomorrow…

Alec smiled as he wiped his mouth and replied with a swift tapping of his keyboard:

-AlecMasa never misses a stream. Catch you all tomorrow. Peace.

It was short, sweet, and to the point. And it was enough. The flood of heart emojis he got in response told him that.

But as he sat back and gazed about his cramped apartment, watching the first rays of sunlight spear through his blinds, he began to reflect that maybe after all there was something missing. These thoughts were often manifestations of his parents – his mother particularly – who had just never seen his ambitions eye-to-eye.

"You're going nowhere fast, boy," she'd tell him on those long nights when he'd first started his channel. Even though he could prove to her that he was making money – plenty of money – through this gig, still she just wouldn't accept that he had not only a means of steady income, but that he was monetizing his own personality.

Alec smiled at that. He didn't begrudge her. He didn't begrudge anyone. There were just some people who would never understand that you didn't have to bow to all the shit the career's advisors and colleges said you had to. If he had one 'message' he wanted to get across to people as a streamer, it was that.

After he topped the leaderboards, of course. He was a gaming channel first and foremost – always would be. He wasn't a prophet. People definitely didn't need more of them…

At this moment, his second monitor began buzzing like an angry wasp. A stout kick brought the machine back in line.

He held up his energy drink like a medieval king holding a goblet, and decided to toast his first ever anti-fan.

"To you, mom," he said aloud. "I'll try and keep tomorrow's stream PG for ya."

Again, the sound of buzzing battered his ears. This time though, his monitor had started flickering, lines of static disappearing and reappearing on its surface.

"Damn…" he mumbled as he hit the thing again. "Thing only lasted two months. I even did an ad for the company!"

After another stout kick, the monitor decided to restore his Discord chat.

Only this time, his eyes were struck by the neon message that was plastered there:

ALEC. MASON. HELP.

He stared at the message, stroking his grizzled chin at the words. They seemed almost robotic. It was probably Mia playing a joke. Her whole Vtuber persona was a cyborg catgirl, after all.

ALEC. MASON. HUMAN. CLASSLESS. OCCUPATION: TWITCH STREAMER.

"Oh, here we go," Alec sighed, hurriedly typing out a quick response to what he assumed was Mia playing a dumb prank.

-Mia, I've told you: if you wanna really make it as a Vtuber, you gotta show a little more ski-

"ALEC MASON!"

He jumped back in his seat, curiosity turning to the grim thought that, yup, the subathon had indeed driven him insane.

Because that was a voice he'd heard coming from his computer. A faint voice, sure, but one that spoke with authority.

"Alec Mason," the same voice said, typing out every word of its speech like a sentient text-to-speech device. "I have little time. You must come with me. Now."

"Right," Alex said, edging forward so he was looking right into the Discord message box that had seemed to have suddenly attained self-awareness. "Let's say I buy that the AI revolution is happening right now. What do you need me for?"

"A…I..?" the faint voice repeated, and with every new syllable it seemed to be getting that little bit fainter. Like it was…dying.

"I – I can explain," it said. "I am a God from a world far removed from your own. Or…perhaps on another plane? It is unclear even to me – dimensional travel was never my area of expertise."

Alec held up his hand and rolled his eyes. "I got it," he said. "You're from another reality. Maybe a parallel earth or something. In any case, you're a God. Cool. Nice to meet you. That doesn't explain why you're here."

Alec got the sense that the typing of this 'God' was becoming increasingly erratic as it responded.

"You are…remarkably unphazed," the God of Discord told him. "But in any case, yes, I am in need of…what would you call it? An…avatar? No – a…a champion! Yes! That's right! A champion. A champion to whom I can entrust my powers before – well, we can get to that part lat-"

Alec's tut of disapproval silenced the speaker.

"Listen, 'God'," he said. "I'm tired. I haven't had a shower in twelve hours, and I've got a League stream tomorrow. If you've got any chance of me buying this story you're spinning, you better spill the beans – why does a God need a champion? Aren't you supposed to be all-powerful or some shit?"

Again, Alec could sense that the voice's strength was waning as they spoke.

"Because…because I – we – are dying! Those damned Elves, thrice curse their ambitious souls, have all but destroyed us! I need the help of an outsider to set things right. Someone who knows what true magic really is."

"And what is that?" Alec asked, leaning forward with increasing interest.

The voice responded without any hesitation: "A way for every man to have a voice. A way for every man to create a thing of beauty. Surely…my intuition told me you were a mortal who could understand just how important such a thing is!"

Alec rocked back in his chair, admittedly considering this statement. His eyes found his Silver Youtube plaque in the corner of his room. Beside it were pictures of him meeting his fans at Twitchcon.

"…yeah," he said. "Yeah, I can understand that."

"So will you help me?"

Alec considered it while the typing of the 'God' entity kept on offering him more and more rewards.

"I will house all my power in you – grant you access to all the spells you would ever want. I was, well, I am the God of magic, after all!"

"But someone's clearly trying to kill you," Alec replied. "How do I know that as soon as you whisk me off to this world of yours, I won't be assassinated on the spot?"

"I will hide you! You will assume the body of a young man close to your own age. No one will dare look for me if I have bound myself to you – a mere mortal child."

"Hey!" Alec protested. "I'm nineteen, mate. Plus, you're the one that's asking this 'child' to help you out here. Least you could do is offer me a little incentive. Let me know what I'm getting into. For all I know, you could be the weakest God of your pantheon."

"Ah," the God's voice replied tetchily. "You wish to see exactly what powers you will wield? Behold!"

And before Alec could say another word, a list of stats flashed before his face:

[Basic Information]

Name: Alec Mason
Species: Human
LVL: 1
Class: Magus

[Core Stats]

Vitality: 20

Mana: 50

Willpower: 25

Speed: 25

Strength: 30

Prestige: 10

EXP to next LVL: 0/100

[Known Skills]

Planar Pockets, Universal Language Comprehension, Arcane Lore

Alec examined the stats, considering them and nodding approvingly at the format – these were (mostly) the classic RPG stats he was accustomed to. But there was still a niggling doubt in his mind.

"Pretty mid to be honest…" he said. "Level one? With a God's power, surely we can do better than that…"

"Oh, I – well, there are some things that are hard-coded in this world. To increase your starting level substantially would deplete the tiny mana reserves I have left and –"

Alec's finger hovered over his monitor off-button.

"I'm not feeling very persuaded here."

"Fine! I – I can't grant you higher level stats. But I can make things…simpler for you…for both of us. There is, well, there is one skill I can grant. If you have the stomach for it."

"I'm listening."

Now another screen popped up before Alec's eyes – one that glistened and fizzled as its summoner approached their grave:

New skill identified: Mana Siphon

Details: Using this skill, you can absorb mana directly from the bodies of your slain enemies.

Any mana absorbed will be added directly to your mana pool.

Acquire skill [Mana Siphon]?

A smile broke out on Alec's face.

"Now we're talking," he said.

"S-so does that mean-?" his Godly visitor asked, his voice now all but a hushed whisper in Alec's ear.

Alec sat back again as he considered this whole little chat.

"Well, unless I'm 100% crazy, what you're asking me to do is this: go to a fantasy world where I'll become a God's champion with an OP skill that lets me level faster than anyone else, and where I'll help you fix the problem with Elves messing with magic that's led to you becoming as weak as you are. That about it?"

The dying God barely squeaked: "Yes!"

And Alec, with only a half-glance at his Twitch chat, replied,"Well…it is a League day tomorrow. I guess I'm due a little vacation."

Before he'd even finished the sentence, another screen buzzed into view:

New Skill [Mana Siphon] Acquired

[Matter Transportation Activated]

[Transportation will commence in 5….4…]

"Let me guess," Alec sighed as he waved his Discord server goodbye. "This is probably gonna hurt, right?"

When Alec then felt his whole body disintegrate and peel away from his apartment, from his town, from his earth, and from everything else, he decided some questions were just better left unanswered.

…

Alec opened his eyes and felt lush grass under his hands.

He sat up and looked around at the verdant forest surrounding him. Clean air wafted up his nostrils,birds chirruped contently in the boughs of the trees, and the sun was sparkling through their leaves. In the near distance, some albino deer were drinking from a clearing.

"Well," he said aloud. "I guess I'm finally touching grass…"

His eyes then flew to the strange new threads he was wearing – an embroidered crimson robe with a high hood slung over his now very full head of jet-black hair.

Looks like I've lucked out, he thought. His receding hairline had led to comments like 'AlecBaldsa' occupying more of his streams than he'd care to admit…

Beside him was an object that seemed to radiate warmth, and he looked to see that it was a basic wooden staff with a ruby inlaid at its end. He touched it, wondering if this was really what he thought it was, and a familiar screen popped up to tell him how right he was:

Lore Check [Arcane] passed!

Item identified: Birch staff of the Archmagus [Legendary]

Item Bound to Owner: Alec Mason

Effect: Access to all schools of Magic. +10 DMG to all combat spell effects.

Not bad for a newbie, he thought. Almost feels like one of my subs carrying me through Classic Wow. Because fuck playing that game all over again.

As he grabbed his staff, he became aware of just how right he was.

Alec Mason! A voice rang out. Welcome to Arcaea!

Alec suppressed a smile as he nodded down at the glowing ruby on the tip of his weapon. "Let me guess, I'm talking to my Godly friend now?"

You are perceptive for a human! The voice replied within his mind. Indeed. And now that my prior…predicament is solved, let us commence pleasantries: I am called Thariel, God-Magus of this World, patron to all those who would take up the title of wizard.

Alec scoffed at the God's appropriately lofty introduction. He didn't know why he'd expected anything less. "You talk a pretty big game for a stick, dude."

I am an Arcane Focus, my boy, Thariel corrected. I have assumed the form of an instrument more suited to our particular situation. We are now bonded, you and I.And now that you have graciously aided me in escaping my…unfortunate incarceration…perhaps we can –"

Just as Alec was about to jump down his throat with a question (the word 'incarceration' didn't exactly paint a pretty picture of this God's power) the bushes in front of the glade began to rustle with activity. Two low growls emanated from their depths.

*Look out, Sir Alec!*Thariel shouted. Danger is approaching!

"Yeah," Alec replied. "I don't need a God's eyes to tell me that."

Two long, lupine forms leaped from the bushes and stared at Alec with grim intent, their lycan eyes swelling with fire.

[Creatures Identified]

Morphology: Dire Wolves (LVL 2)

HP: 35/35

The staff in Alec's hand began to flail around in panic – clearly representing Thariel's performance anxiety as the wolves growled menacingly at them both.

But Alec felt nothing but adrenaline pumping through his veins. This was no game, this time. This was real, and it was the most excitement he'd had in ages.

"Ready, Thariel?" he asked as the first wolf leaped towards them. "Time to see what a God of magic can really do."

The wolves came on without another moment's hesitation, their fangs dripping with saliva that betrayed their voracious hunger.

Alec never took his eyes off them.

"Thariel?" he asked. "Let's see those 'limitless spells' you told me about."

His staff continued flailing. Um, well, that is-

"Clock's ticking, holy man," Alec said as the first wolf leaped through the crisp air towards him.

When no new screen resolved itself before his face, Alec was forced to roll to the side and only just narrowly avoid the gnashing fangs of the wolf that had bore down upon him.

He regained his footing as the other wolf charged.

"Whenever you're ready, God-man!"

*Well…*Thariel's voice muttered. I – I'm not entirely sure what spell you want? We have a few options. Offensive, defensive, summoning, necrotic arts (which I don't recommend – most distasteful to the uninitiated. Very misunderstood branch of magic you understa-

"FIRE!" Alec shouted as he beat at the snout of his Lycan attacker with the butt of his staff. "Give me something with fire!"

As the wolves both charged as one this time, Thariel finally obliged:

[Spell selection]

Fire-Dart (LVL 1, Pyromancy)

Type: Single Target DPS

Mana Cost: 20

Effect (LVL 1): 10 pts of {FIRE} DMG

"That'll do nicely!"

Alec felt the enchanted ruby on the tip of his staff glow and thrumb with power, an infernal heat radiating from its tip as a bolt of energized flame gathered just above its surface.

Without another word Alec sent it flying towards the wolves. Both their eyes went wide, seemingly filled with surprise at this new turn of events, and for the slower of the two wolves this surprise cost him his life: Alec's Fire Dart caught him right in his snout and sent him tumbling to the ground, his fur burning up to a crisp beneath him.

CRITICAL HIT! (Dire Wolf PYRO Weakness exploited)

DOUBLE DAMAGE!

DMG: 40

Enemy: Dire Wolf (LVL 2) Vanquished!

EXP: +50

Not too shabby, Alec thought as he looked on the charred remains of his first opponent in this new world. Now…

The other wolf roared as it saw its friend die, beginning to zig-zag around Alec as it moved with care, trying to exploit his inferior speed.

But when Alec leveled his next Fire-Dart at the beast, it found that its efforts were utterly in vain. Alec swung his staff with both hands and let loose another bolt that connected with the wolf almost instantly – trailing towards him with such precision that it caught him right between his amber eyes.

Enemy: Dire Wolf (LVL 2) Vanquished!

EXP: +50

Congratulations! You have achieved a Level Up!

Current LVL: 2

EXP: 100/250

Attribute points to distribute: 10

Alec stretched his limbs, feeling the power of the Archmagus staff in his hands glimmer in triumph.

*Not bad at all, Sir Alec!*Thariel told him. I must say, you have managed to get accustomed to this world's combat system in good time! This bodes well for what comes next.

"Which is what, exactly?" Alec asked as he took a look at his status screen, ready to familiarize himself with the intricacies of this new world's Level Up system.

Without being able to see him, Alec knew his Godly companion was smiling.

What do you think? He chuckled. We're going to make you the most powerful magus that's ever lived.

---Feedback is welcomed on this work, no matter how harsh---