Rushed, that was the first thing Ethan came to mind when thinking about this part of the tutorial, from becoming a literal leader of an entire race he met only a day before to now commanding what was the entire living population of the third circle. He was pretty sure the so called capitals didn’t even exist and were just there for flavor to fill out the world. Because he wouldn’t visit them, not on the normal path where he would make peace between both factions and not in his weird path where he was supposed to stop the necromancer. A more interesting thought was what would happen if he just left but in his mind that wasn’t really an option.

  While they rode through the red desert he looked at a stone tablet one of Jarl Thoran’s mages gave him. The Jarl, as powerful as he was, knew exactly what Ethan needed and while he didn’t like to get handed stuff this one was actually quite interesting. His grumbling stopped rather quickly when he inspected the tablet, it was covered in runes, each one small and hard to properly see but it was a challenge that would reward him if he managed to decipher it all. The runes on it were something he never saw before, when he looked at entire sections or the whole thing he couldn’t glimpse any meaning from them but when he studied them alone, each rune for itself he found similarities to his already ingrained knowledge the skill provided him with.

  Ethan executed rituals before but they were, well basic, nothing special and he just threw runes together to achieve an result which was probably on the edge of exploding and cost too much mana to be sustainable for long. Still he knew there was value in having rituals and runes as a part of his core skills. From the tablet he also found runes that convey a more sinister meaning.

  Because his knowledge was so basic this tablet showed him more ways to power rituals. He knew of the existence of gemstones that could be used as mana batteries. But also other magic users could provide the necessary mana to sustain a ritual. Ethan shuddered when he found runes for blood and sacrifice, they were powerful he knew it but this was a step he wouldn’t take without a good reason.

  That was also a reason he studied the runes so much, the more options he had in a fight the less he needed to lose to achieve his goals, knowledge was power and if Ethan had a talent for one thing it was studying things. Of course there was also the fact that sitting on his ass all day doing nothing was the worst so he was grateful for the material he got provided, it was an immense help if someone put the effort into it to actually learn the stuff.

  He had to admit, the tutorial shined with those sorts of things, if you asked the right person you could get everything you need to help you improve, the system is just not holding your hand while doing so. Like in the real world you had to work for it and that’s exactly what Ethan did.After studying for most of the day he gathered all the mages to ask questions, go over runes and ask how they conduct rituals. It took time but Ethan figured out a ritual, with lots of help but still it was perfect for whittling down the necromancer's forces.

  Under his guidance and the plan he created with the mages a proper ritual circle was prepared. The Crocodiarii prepared a massive piece of fabric that got laid out on the sand, completely white it provided an excellent contrast for the ritual circle. Because the rituals would be drawn with black sand, when Ethan asked about it he was told the sand was mixed with iron and sulfur to improve the conductivity of mana, it would reduce the mana needed and give the ritual a higher chance of success. An information he saved for later.

  Slowly the ritual took shape, three rings, each intertwined like a braid, the alone diameter was around ten meters. Lines of the special iron sand broke free from the braid and formed chain-like lines that converged in the middle and surrounded a star in the middle. The star they drew in the center reminded Ethan of a pentagram but he wasn’t the expert so he said nothing and just tried to learn as much as possible.

  Every ten steps an opening was left in the braided lines. There the mages took places to feed their mana directly into the ritual. While they were preparing Ethan’s head spun from the runes he unlocked during the day, it wasn’t much but each of them was usable in so many ways his head seemed to overflow with possibilities. After he managed to calm his nerves and order his thoughts he stepped into the middle of the ritual, right into the pentagram. In his hands he held a small white crystal, the Brammgestir called it a ritual focus and it would increase not only the chance of success but also the potency of the finished ritual. Slowly he sat down and crossed his legs. The ritual was prepared, the first steps taken and now it could begin. With a nod to the mages he closed his eyes and focused on his own energy.

  The mages started to sing, only a whisper at first, barely audible and slow, like each word had to be dragged through mud to get it out. Their bodies swaying from left to right, their momentum and voices slowly getting into sync. Once they sang and moved like one single person they got louder. It was so loud that even the rest of the army noticed them, if not from the chanting than from the amount of mana that burned around them.

  Ethan also started to move, swaying left and right, his movements getting more precise and faster, it felt natural and happened more on instinct than actual knowledge of how to do this. Soon he reached the tempo of the mages but surpassed them just as quickly. His head resting on his neck as he looked up to the sky. Words in a language he didn’t know escaped from his mouth. It was exhilarating and scary, his lips moved in a pattern that felt so unnatural to him and he feared he could swallow his tongue.

  “Vael Nivarn aelthar, vael rhorin sahlma, vael frothar izalnnar and rhaed girith.”

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  Thick clouds started to form over him and grew, turning into a dark shade of gray. Small shreds of clouds becoming a mountain range instead. Like a living being it crackled with lightning and thunder. The words spilling from his mouth were getting faster. Blood dripped from his nose and his eyes shone in a bright white. It was power, mana from the mages flowed through him and into the crystal that glowed as white as his eyes. A new sentence escaped his now bleeding lips.

  “Vorshya felar maldris, malthar telryn halarin.”

  Mages collapsed around him, the circle glowing with power, waiting for the release, waiting to be used before the control they had would be lost and the circle would explode with them. Ethan was nothing more than a conduit, the guidance he received from the mages slipped away with each mage that lost consciousness. His entire body shaking, he whispered one last sentence, blood flowed freely from his eyes and nose.

  “Vashi telryn in vorshya, vashi tholir harnash, vashi mokthal in fralor, vashi necromanthor telryn.”

  For a moment there was only silence but then the clouds started to move, not gently like carried from a breeze but furiously charging away under the guidance of a storm, lightning struck the ground as snow started to drift down from the black clouds. The wind picked up even quicker and soon the mountain range of clouds expanded over a large area, covering the sky in gloomy darkness. The small snowflakes that escaped from the clouds turned into thick dense snowfall, Some of them condensed to balls of ice that hammered into the ground like bullets.

  Ethan’s eyes lost their white glow and he looked at the blizzard he created, a natural disaster that was only possible with the help of the mages but he did it. Wiping the blood from his face he smiled, because a small notification appeared in his vision. He laughed while looking at it.

  [Ritualism(Basic)] -> [Ritualism(Advanced)]

  “Fuck you system and fuck this tutorial in particular!” A grin on his bloody lips he stood up and thanked those mages that still managed to stay on their feet. Calling some soldiers over he ordered them to bring them to their tents, they earned the rest more than anyone at this point. With one last look to the ritual circle he walked to the other side of the camp where battle hardened soldiers played around with snow. A smile on his face as he saw his commanders on the edge of the camp.

  The disappointed looks on Kra’kulgar and Torin’s faces were pure gold to him, for once they looked almost normal. He was just glad that Torax, son of Torax, wasn't here, a shiver ran down his spine. Standing between these two men made Ethan feel so small again but he ignored it, crossing his arms in front of his chest he watched the soldiers throw snowballs at each other while in the background a blizzard raged across the land, leaving only a mess of frost and snow in its wake.

  “It seems the ritual worked fine but I need to ask the mages about that weird language I spoke.” Torin was the first to turn to him, confusing written all over his face before his eye lit up. It seems the Brammgestir would provide the information he needed

  “Oh you used Eldrith to cast magic? That’s quite impressive. I only ever heard that elves used it to cast magic. But it’s a very old form and rarely used nowadays. I also heard it’s not that useful…it only increases the power minimally and if you do it wrong it could backfire quite easily.”

  Ethan rubbed his chin. I bet that this has something to do with the stupid winter elves stuff. Gosh I wish someone would explain things properly for once in my life.

  “Thank you Torin, maybe it was just part of the magic itself, I certainly didn’t know Eldrith before so…who really knows? But to change the subject, I must ask, why do I see veteran soldiers playing around like children?”

  Both commanders looked embarrassed but Kra’kulgar answered. “My liege, they never saw this so-called snow, it’s only a rumor in our lands. Especially since both races enjoy a warmer climate, especially the Crocodiarii.”

  “Well they can enjoy it while marching. The magic we just cast should not only locate the largest source of negative energy, which undead practically radiate, but also damage and hinder them in their movements. So get the man ready and let's move out.”

  Ethan turned around and climbed on his lizard, Nora looked at him when he sat down in the saddle, she wanted to stay here instead of being in the way while he did his ritual. In front of her was a book, the tip of her tail holding the page down she was currently reading.

  Did you know Ethan that most snakes aren’t intelligent? They’re only following their instincts and usually get killed quite easily by low level system users. Only in the later stages do they achieve real intelligence. Why a pitiful existence if you ask me , it seems the ritual worked out quite well.

  He imagined her wearing glasses for a moment but quickly hid the thought from her. It worked well, I learned a lot and have even more I wanna learn now. Oh and I spoke Eldrith, some old language that is rarely used today. So yeah some interesting stuff, we will move out in a moment to track the undead army.Nora nodded and returned to her book about reptiles, he was sure one of the Crocodiarii gave it to her. Ethan wiped the last of the blood from his face and looked towards the blizzard, they combined a massive amount of mana into it, Ethan was excited how it would reward him in terms of experience and how long the spell would hold. Smiling he leaned back and did what commanders even did…

  …he laid down and took a nap, casting magic was hard after all.