He walked the corridor with a small sun floating above his shoulder. No stealth in that; the light made him a moving answer to a question. He didn't plan on surprise. Nothing down here should be worse than the priest.
He tested the spell as he walked. Pushed it forward with a thought until it hung twenty feet away, then called it back to hover over his palm. He squeezed it down to a tight cone like a flashlight, widened it to a lantern's wash, dimmed it until it was a rumor, then brightened it until the stones shone like wet bone. Colors shifted when he asked—cool white to amber to a sour theater blue.
Tactics tapped him on the shoulder.
He nudged the light behind his head, aimed it forward, and let it tint red. Less glare in his eyes. Anyone facing him would aim at the glare, not at him.
The corridor ended in a squat landing and a pair of heavy doors, iron-banded and dented. Two lesser goblins stood guard, identified by scouting, th0eir outlines jittering in the red. Small, stringy, all tendon and teeth; mouths like sacks of broken glass, eyes too bright. They smelled like wet leather and old meat.
He didn't bother to hide.
He reached into the nowhere pocket and felt the weight of a smooth stone slide into his palm—denser now, truer. The sling cradled it like it had been made for this one task. One easy rotation. Release.
The first goblin's face opened like rotten fruit. It went down without a sound.
The second blinked at the hole in its friend and lunged. William stepped in, heel turning, hips driving, and cut a clean arc with a shin across the side of its skull. The head tried to leave the body. It didn't, quite. The goblin folded anyway.
Silence. His light hummed like a thought.
He retrieved the stone from the first skull with unpleasant effort, wiped it on a cleaner patch of cloth, and sent it back into the Box with the feel of a drawer closing.
The System cleared its throat.
[Enemies Defeated: Lesser Goblin ×2]
EXP Gained: 50
Loot Acquired: 50 gold
[Level Up]
Level: 4
Unallocated: +1 Stat Point, +1 Skill Point
A second pane overlaid the first, simple and flat:
Eligible Classes Detected:
– Wizard
– Ranger
He didn't need to be told why. Magic high. Survival high. One brain, two paths.
"Wizard," he said.
Convert prior levels to Wizard?
[Yes] [No]
"Yes."
The numbers folded and refit; the class line grew a backbone. The dungeon, for once, agreed with him.
Class: Wizard (4)
Ability Gained: Summon Familiar
Spell Slots Gained: +9
Perk Selection Available: Wizard
A list unfurled—most entries gray and unnamed. A few showed their faces.
— Silent Spells
— Extended Duration
— Scribed Cantrips
— Minor Ward
Quiet fit the room and the world. He picked Silent Spells. It is a library after all. None of his spells were particularly loud right now, but when the time came he liked the idea of putting a silencer on them.
Spells came next. A selection of three at the novice tier. Many he knew already—no double-dips allowed. He chose Create Water because thirst didn't care about pride, Protection from Evil because angered gods held grudges, Dispel Magic because unknowns hate being named.
A second list offered heavier meat. He picked Gigantify and Miniaturize; both were too useful not to test later. The menu noted what his gut already suspected: each took two of the new nine slots.
He juggled in his head, then in the slots. The thirteen he carried already stayed as they were; the nine new wizard slots he filled like so: one Protection from Evil, four Dispel Magic, one Gigantify (2 slots), one Miniaturize (2 slots). Nine of nine.
He glanced at the bottle on his belt. Empty. His mouth tasted like chalk and old fear.
He pinched Repair out of a general slot, slid Create Water in, and let it go. A clean stream spilled into the bottle's mouth, cold as a creek. He drank until the ache eased, filled it again, then put Repair back where it lived. He made a note to test it on the sling later; it would probably hold up for now, but strength had a way of making old knots honest.
He unshouldered the pack and pulled the big book free. Principles of Practical Alchemy had a smell like brass and vinegar. No hum; instruction, not enchantment. His stomach had reset on the level; the tank felt new and wide.
He ate.
[Book Consumed: Principles of Practical Alchemy]
+1 Durability
+1 Luck
Skill Gained: Alchemy (Basic)
The world sharpened around glass and metal, around colors and how they changed. Viscosity and smell tied to names. His eye sorted the two vials in the Box without argument, labels blooming in his head before he took them out.
The green one with the faint leaf-curl: Potion of Lesser Healing.
The clear one with a silver thread that moved too slow: Potion of Lesser Poison.
He stored the poison deeper in the Box by reflex; the healing he left closer to the mind's edge.
The doors waited, iron and patient. His light hovered behind him like a halo shading toward red; his feet found the floor lines without looking; the sling sat against his thigh like an intent. He rolled his shoulders once, felt the new class sit right under his skin, and breathed.
He brought the numbers up because it calmed the part of him that wanted to run.
Status: William Page
Age: 18
System: Unbound Bookeater
Class: Wizard (4)
Level: 4
EXP: 25 / 400
Strength: 11
Speed: 13
Durability: 15
Mental: 18
Social: 5
Luck: 8
Traits:
– Hunger for Knowledge
– Synesthetic Cognition
– Rational Mind
Perks:
– Silent Spells (Wizard)
Skills:
– Survival (Intermediate)
– Mycology (Basic)
– Cooking (Basic)
– Knife Use (Basic)
– Herb Lore (Basic)
– Knife Combat (Basic)
– Medicine (Basic)
– Magic (Intermediate+)
– Anatomy (Basic)
– Unarmed Combat (Intermediate)
– Wrestling (Basic)
– Situational Awareness (Basic)
– Rituals (Basic+)
– Scouting (Basic)
– Footwork (Basic)
– Tactics (Basic)
– Sling (Basic+)
– Alchemy (Basic)
Abilities:
– Sense Magic (Basic+) [Touch]
– Resorb Blood (Basic) [Self]
– Item Box (Basic)
– Summon Familiar
Resistances:
– Blood (Minor)
Combat Values:
– Critical Hit Chance: +10%
– Initiative Bonus: +5%
– Accuracy Bonus: +5%
– Defense Bonus: +5%
Affiliations:
– God of Spilt Blood — Angered
Memorized Spells (22 / 22):
– Detect Magic ×1
– Light ×1
– Identify ×1
– Repair ×1
– Sleep ×3
– Jump ×3
– Grease ×3
– Protection from Evil ×1
– Dispel Magic ×4
– Gigantify ×1 (2 slots)
– Miniaturize ×1 (2 slots)
Unallocated Points:
– Stat Points: 1
– Skill Points: 3
Gold: 50
Inventory:
– Knife (Common, Durability 81%)
– Improvised Sling (Common, Durability 85%)
– Trail Mix (Mundane, 340g)
– Water Bottle (Common, Full, Durability 100%)
– Poncho (Common, Durability 80%)
– Goblin Key (Uncommon)
Item Box (Basic):
– Smooth Stones (x3, Enchanted)
– Potion of Lesser Healing (Common)
– Potion of Lesser Poison (Common)
– Paracord (Common, 16 ft, Durability 98%)
– Firestarter (Common, Durability 87%)
He let the panes fade. The corridor's red-lit dust hung motionless, waiting for someone to give it a reason to move. He flexed his fingers. The spellwork in his head sat ready like tools laid out on a bench.
He lifted a hand, felt the Summon Familiar pattern resolve like a held note—
—and smiled at the idea of not being alone in here anymore.