The contrast between unlocking secondary elements and awakening a little was even more evident when Pax did them back to back. Sure, each time he awakened another little, the process was easier. But his new Ascendant mana skill also made a big difference.

  It still took a huge chunk of his mana stores, and that was with the contribution of four other mages. Sure, he could use some of their mana, but he was the only one with light mana, and it was a crucial ingredient in the process.

  It made him all the more eager to siphon off light mana into his new crystal during slow times. The first order of business would be to see how much it would store when full. Something that could double his mana storage would be amazing, but any increase would help.

  As Pax and the other mages lifted their hands from Kai’s head, the young man didn’t move.

  Jules ran out of patience first. She moved in close and asked him, “Well, what did you get?”

  Kai didn’t answer. Instead, he turned to look back at Pax, his expression stunned and full of disbelief. “You actually did it.”

  Pax grinned and nodded. “It was a team effort, and technically the energy to choose that class came from you. In fact, the innate talent to become a warrior was the largest collection of energy inside you.”

  “A warrior!” From behind Kai, Jules let out a triumphant whoop and pounded Kai on the back hard enough to almost knock him out of his chair. “You’re a warrior!”

  Her blow seemed to finally drive home the reality of what had just happened. He turned back to her, a wide grin spreading across his face as he stood and clapped her on the shoulder. “I’m a warrior. A warrior!”

  Pax gave a pointed look to Bryn and Tasar, and they moved in, ready to answer any questions the newly awakened warrior had.

  Once Pax saw the new warrior being taken care of, he could finally open the notification that had been flashing in his vision since he completed the awakening process with Kai.

  A sudden gasp of surprise nearby made him look over to see the rest of his crew blinking their eyes with expressions almost as amazed as Kai’s had just been. “Don’t tell me.” Pax held up a hand when Amil opened his mouth. “I want to read it myself.”

  “If it’s anything like the one I got, you’re going to love it.” Rin had an excited smile on her face.

  Both Dahni and Amil turned to her, looking eager and obviously wanting to compare notes. Pax quickly shut his eyes and tuned them out so he could see for himself.

  ***

  Congratulations! You have successfully awakened five rebel children to their new classes without the empire’s assistance. You have completed part 5 of your Crew Quest—Awaken the Rebel Children—and earned the full reward.

  You’ve unlocked the epic mage skill Unified Light Resonance Level 1, allowing you to initiate a sophisticated magical process like an Awakening while harmonizing your light mana with those who have compatible skills. This skill stabilizes the process and optimizes the organization of the children’s chaotic energies, enhancing the overall effectiveness of the Awakening. At level 1, a light mage can oversee one Awakening at a time, with the potential to manage more simultaneously as they level up the skill.

  Complete the other parts of the quest to receive additional rewards and the final reward once you successfully complete all parts.

  Skill Unlocked: Unified Light Resonance Level 1

  This epic skill allows a light mage to initiate an Awakening or another high-level magical process with light mana while creating a harmonious connection among assistants with compatible skills. By channeling light mana into a cohesive resonance, the light mage enhances the Awakening process, ensuring that each member’s contribution improves the process. All of the following are done faster and require less mana: identifying potential classes, stabilizing chaotic internal energy, and awakening the child. At level 1 a light mage can oversee one Awakening at a time, but as they level this skill, they will gain the ability to manage multiple Awakenings at the same time, maximizing the effectiveness of a single light mage. This skill improves with greater mastery of light mana, increased experience in coordinating assistants, and a deeper understanding of the Awakening process.

  Distance: Contact within the Awakening circle

  Mana Cost: Cost is shared among the crew; efficiency increases as coordination and experience grow.

  ***

  Excitement flared to life inside Pax. This offered him a solution to the largest bottleneck limiting the ways he could help the rebellion. Even with it, he still wouldn’t be able to awaken all the children in the rebellion, much less the empire. But once he leveled the skill, he could do a lot more than the one or two a day he was managing now.

  Even more importantly, he needed to find out what skills the rest of his crew got as rewards. He assumed their skills were a bit different from his, likely the compatible ones mentioned.

  And what about the non-mages? Had they received the reward too? Did they have a skill that would contribute to the process? What if they could teach the skills to others?

  Pax suddenly envisioned himself in a large hall, moving from one Awakening Circle to another, leaving behind a host of littles with classes that matched their temperament and gave them a much better start in life than most of them were getting now.

  Pax’s ability to unlock new elements for mages and the Taming enterprise they were building would strengthen the rebellion now. But if they were going to survive the future after the war, it would be the next generation that made all the difference.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  Before he pursued the answers to his questions, Pax took a moment to check his notifications. He was still chasing the next mage level. He had to get mage level 4 before he completed the quest to make the most of the final quest reward that gave him another whole class level.

  He reviewed the progress he had made on the quest, glad to see there were still a few parts that needed more work. The last thing he wanted to do was complete the quest before he reached his next mage level.

  ***

  Crew Quest: Part 1: Unlock minor mana types in rebel mages - 39/100

  Reward: +1 level to all mana skills for each member of the crew who aids in this process.

  Part 2: Help rebel mages and warriors Tame adult beast companions - 47/100

  Reward: +1 level for each crew companion and +1 to the Taming level for each crew member who aids in this process, along with a bonus choice from all possible system evolutions for the skill.

  Part 3: Complete. Learn how to unlock secondary mana types for rebel mages - 5/4 (+2)

  Reward: Each member of the crew has received a crystal mana battery.

  Part 4: Restore critical sections of the headquarters to minimal function - 2/3 (+1)

  Reward: Each member of the crew will receive a map of knowledge skill scroll, which shows friends and foes in their vicinity with a cost and cooldown that improves as the skill levels.

  Part 5: Complete. Awaken rebel children to their new classes without the empire’s help - 5/5 (+1)

  Reward: Each member of the crew has received a new skill to assist with future Awakenings.

  Upon full quest completion, each member of the crew will receive:

  Enough leveling points to reach the next level in their class

  Penalties for Abandoning Quest:

  One month cooldown before attempting another student quest.

  Diminished rewards offered for the next accepted quest.

  ***

  They’d made a ton of progress over their time here at the base, but it was obvious that the first two parts were going to take much longer to complete. Pax figured they’d likely finish them once they left the base and began to actively help the rebellion fight the war.

  Then he noticed another number that had changed and wondered exactly what Titus and Incedis had managed to achieve this morning. Solani 2-nine? My quest is showing that another critical section of the base has been restored. That wasn’t me, so why am I getting credit?

  Her response came immediately, full of cheerful self-satisfaction. Didn’t I tell you that delegation would come in handy? Titus and Incedis were able to get the main armory open. it was surprisingly intact, though not quite as well supplied as we might have hoped. Obviously, the ancients tapped into it quite a lot toward the end. But the quest just requires it to be functional. Magesecond Fenix and the crafters who’ve been working with us just finished getting power to it. I was going to surprise you, but you had to go peeking, didn’t you?

  Pax grinned. Well, what was I supposed to do when we just completed two parts of the quest?

  Congratulations. I just saw the notifications come through.

  Now who’s ruining the surprise?

  She chuckled. As long as you’re inside this base, you’re going to have a hard time keeping anything from us managers.

  Good point. Can you pass on congratulations to Titus and Incedis? Thank them for me.

  Will do. Let me know when you need our assistance again.

  Someone cleared their throat, and Pax realized his friends were getting impatient to discuss the latest reward with him.

  Pax looked up at them and held up one hand. “Give me a second to check the rest of my gains, and then we’ll figure out how the new skills are going to help us awaken as many littles as possible.”

  Small groans of impatience slipped out from Amil and Dahni, but they didn’t object. Rin just made a hurry-up motion. Eldan had moved over to toss treats to the companions, which Whisper seemed to be really enjoying.

  Tyrodon still had his eyes closed, likely going over his new skill multiple times and brainstorming different ways to use it. Bryn and Tesar looked like they were finishing up with Kai, who looked a lot more confident and settled with the idea of his new class.

  Pax hurried to finish checking what else had improved after awakening Kai after the nice gains he’d made awakening the Viper littles earlier.

  ***

  Skill Boost: +8 to Ascendant Mana Integration Level 2 (Legendary-evolved) - 57/200

  Skill Boost: +4 to Elemental Meditation Level 3 (Common) – 150/300

  ***

  His mana skills and paths of understanding were growing by leaps and bounds as he worked to help so many rebels. But he needed some time to focus on his own growth, especially the quest to gain the few more leveling points he needed.

  A few battles would be perfect. He resolved to get more involved in fighting and subduing the beasts on the Taming expeditions instead of leaving it to the Team Tribal members. Then he could earn points in his spells that were closer to leveling, like Haste. Getting level 3 would earn him three more leveling points.

  Or Pax could earn single points with any of his level one spells that were close to reaching level 2: Scorching Touch, Ghostlight Illumination or Windscale Shroud. He was so close to level 4 he could taste it.

  “Come on.” Amil’s plaintive voice interrupted his thoughts. “Tell us what you got already?”

  Pax smiled, excited again about the prospects for helping children with his new skill. “Listen to this.”

  When he finished reading the notification, his friends stared at him with wide, astonished eyes.

  “Well, tell me what all of you got? Did you get different skills or the same ones?”

  Rin glanced around and only spoke when Bryn and Amil waved for her to answer. “The mages got the same skills while the non-mages got a similar one with a different name.”

  Now it was Pax’s turn to make a hurry-up gesture.

  Her eyes lost some of their focus as she read the description. “Skill Unlocked: Resonant Aura Level 1. This epic skill allows mages to project their respective elemental mana as an aura that resonates with light mana being used in a sophisticated magical process like an Awakening. This aura skill harmonizes with the Unified Light Resonance skill to stabilize the mana flow and enhance the overall effectiveness of the Awakening. As assistants channel their elemental energies, they create a supportive environment that amplifies the light mana being used, revealing a child’s optimal class affinities more quickly. This skill improves with a deeper understanding of their elemental affinities, greater synergy with a specific light mage, and increased experience in collaborative awakening efforts.

  “Distance: Contact within the Awakening circle

  “Mana Cost: Cost is moderate when supporting and can increase to make up for a lack of mana when the guiding light mage runs low. Efficiency increases with experience and elemental mastery.”

  Excitement swelled inside Pax the more she read. This was exactly what they needed. He managed to keep quiet when Rin motioned toward Bryn to read hers.

  “Ours is really similar, but without the reference to elemental mana.” Bryn cleared her throat before reading. “Skill Unlocked: Luminous Channeling Level 1. This epic skill allows crew members with unaspected mana to channel and reinforce mana flow during a sophisticated magical process like an Awakening that is guided by a light mage with the Unified Light Resonance skill. By focusing their energy, they create a stabilizing conduit that enhances the overall mana pool available to the light mage and other mage assistants, ensuring a smoother and more efficient Awakening for the child. Their unaspected mana helps ground and balance the more chaotic elemental energies faster, promoting harmony within the Awakening circle. This skill improves with increased experience in focusing their mana and understanding the dynamics of cooperative magic.

  “Distance: Contact within the Awakening circle

  “Mana Cost: Cost is low and shared with the crew; efficiency increases with practice and coordination.”

  When she finished reading, the best friends fell into silence as they looked around their small circle in amazement.

  It was Tyrodon who spoke, his voice soft and full of awe. “We’re actually going to change the world, aren’t we?”

  Rin answered, her voice grim. “Only if we can save it first.”

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