《The Chronomancer Saga》 The First Trail. Part I Where¡­ Where am I? Niko sits up, disorientated. He tries to look around, but no matter how hard he looks, all that can be seen is black. ¡°Well that¡¯s simple silly, you are now in the Battle Arena of Gundor!¡± A soft and soothing voice of a female pierces Niko¡¯s left ear, answering his question. The hell is the Battle Arena of Gundor? And why is it so wet and dark? ¡°Well the Battle Arena of Gundor is where you¡¯re going to fight to the death, and you¡¯re in a cave. Does this answer your unnecessary questions?¡± For the most part¡­ ¡­ A small silence permeates from Niko but soon he realizes how strange it is for someone to be reading his mind. Can I ask how you¡¯re able to read my mind? ¡°Nope, just survive for 24 hours and all of your questions will be answered! Lucky for you, you got the luckiest spawn you can get. You are currently far from any other player!¡± So, what do I do for the next 24 hours? ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ No response to that huh? Well, I guess I¡¯ll find something to do then. Niko stands up and begins to slowly step forward with his arms outreached. Niko tries to find a wall or something that can maybe guide his way but at the moment, nothing seems to be close to disorientated man. As Niko shuffles forward like a blind man without his cane, memories begin to reappear as Niko begins to reminisce about what happened that lead up to this situation. Niko was driving home after work at night and he remembers seeing a bright yellow flash in the sky. Niko pulled over his car and stepped out to see what exactly caused the yellow flash. The stars began to tear apart, space itself started to distort as a hand reached down from the tear in the stars. ¡°You, you are worthy of being chosen. Your potential is-¡± Niko¡¯s memory is interrupted with a sudden wall brushing against his hands. Niko decides to go left and follow the wall wherever it takes him as he continues to think about what happened before. ¡°-potential is high enough to wear I will suffer the wrath of your god just to see you become what you were destined to be. Welcome tiny human, to the Realm of Power.¡± The mystical hand that was covered in a bright purple light that was soothing to the soul reaches down and gently grabs Niko, but just the pressure from the sheer power of the hand was enough to cause him to faint. After that Niko remembers nothing, but he is thankful to have the memories of his past still intact. Niko was a doctor in his past life, in fact he was one of the youngest people to ever become a doctor. At the young age of 24, Niko received his Doctorate and became a licensed physician. Being at the age of 27, Niko was able to get a few years of medicinal practice before he was grabbed by the mystical hand. Niko continues to make his way through the cave until he is hit in the shin by something solid and slightly sharp. THUD-! The unexpected impact to his shin causes Niko to stumble onto the ground. Niko takes a deep breath inwards after falling over because he was being tripped at the shin by an unknown object. Niko rubs his leg and soon he can feel the warmth from a sticky liquid seeping out from his leg. There is not much of it and Niko is able to continue going through the cave. Knowing that he won¡¯t lose much blood from his leg, Niko decides that the injury will be fine for now. As Niko goes to stand up from falling to the ground, something falls out of his pocket and unto the ground with a soft clank. Niko¡¯s eyes widen and he begins to fumble around for the object that fell out of his pocket. Luckily, it isn¡¯t long before Niko is able to find his phone that had fallen onto the ground. Niko has never been happier to be able to hold the weight of his phone as he turns it on. A bright flash hits Niko in the face and blinds him. Niko¡¯s eyes burn after being used to the darkness so long but it isn¡¯t long before his pupils adjust and Niko is able to get a good look at his surroundings. The cave walls are covered in moss, and small scratch marks can be seen all over the walls as if something was crawling all over them. As Niko continues to investigate what the scratch marks mean, he is able to spot what made him trip in the first place.The item has a semi sharp glint that catches Niko¡¯s interest. A dull longsword is lodged into the cave wall and it seems to have been here for a long time as most of it is covered in moss. Well, better than nothing I guess. Niko grabs the sword by its hilt and manages to pull the mossy sword out of the worn wall. Using his white dress shirt to wipe of the moss, the dull grey sword seems seemingly unthreatening after a closer inspection. Niko doesn¡¯t care fortunately as he only plans to use it for self defense. Though the voice told me I¡¯d be fighting to the death here, yet no one is near me, I feel like there is something more to everything than the voice puts off. I could easily just sit where I was and wait for the 24 hours to finish but I have a gut feeling that this isn¡¯t the answer to the situation. Plus just because other people weren¡¯t near me, that does not mean there is not a creature within this cave. My first clue was this sword, if I¡¯d have just stayed where I was, I would have never found this. Maybe there is more items I can find in this cave that will help me defend myself in case of an emergency. Niko uses his phone to guide his way with light as he continues into the cave. A full view of Niko is seen on a giant screen with 99 other screen around it. Some of the screens have the words GAMEOVER, but the majority has a designated person on it. A panel of 100 judges sit in a differently decorated chair which all of them form a circle around the giant selection of screens. Some of the judges have a face full of delight, while others have faces full of defeat. There are even some judges who seem to be sleeping due to boredom. One of the judges who has a face full of delight is an elegant woman sitting on a colorful throne of flowers. She is emitting a purple aura, her skin pale white skin reflecting the light in the room, making her a bright figure compared to the other judges. Her face is like a perfectly cut jade. She has long black hair that seems to have a mind of its own as it floats around in the air. To the right of the woman, a judge who looks like a kid lets out a sigh of defeat as the screen he was watching says the words GAMEOVER. ¡°Well, there goes my chance to make a decent amount of money, how is your contestant doing Aphro?¡± The woman who seems to be called ¡®Aphro¡¯ smirks and looks over at the boy. ¡°He is doing just fine. I have faith that he will win the whole battle royale and make my injuries worth it.¡± The kid raises an eyebrow and looks at the screen with Niko on it. ¡°You choose such a weak human who doesn¡¯t seem to know any abilities, he is just a simple mortal. What is so special about him?¡± The woman named Aphro laughs at this and makes a casual remark. ¡°Nothing much, he is just a Chronomancer.¡± Though the room at first was once full of conversation, it has quickly become dead quiet. Everyone of the other judges stares at Aphro with horrified expressions, even the kid next to her, who has known Aphro for most of his whole life. Someone on the other side of the room is the first to speak up as he states what everyone else is thinking. ¡°Are you crazy Aphro?! There is only one Chronomancer for each Realm and you went and stole one? What if this starts a war?!¡± Aphro simply laughs at this and her eyes become akin to crescent moons as Aphro can feel happiness well up inside of her. ¡°I found the Realm of Milky Way''s Chronomancer and managed to pull him here.¡± Most of the stares full of hatred become stares of jealousy as to how lucky Aphro is. ¡°The fact that you stole from that god is worthy of praise, and the fact that you managed to find his chronomancer is a miracle in of itself. Congratulations Aphro to a life of luxury.¡± one of the other judges say. ¡°Thank you,¡± Aphro says with a smile but is soon cut off directly afterwards. ¡°But that is only if he can survive until he figures out his own potential.¡± Judges begin to smile sinisterly as they begin to plan on how they will kill the Chronomancer before he becomes too powerful to handle. They can¡¯t do anything for now though as most of the eyes of the judges fall onto Niko¡¯s screen to watch as the legendary mage to be makes his way through a cave. Niko sneezes loudly as he stops to take a break from walking for a while, feeling as if someone is talking about him. ¡°Bless you.¡± Niko hears a monotone voice coming from his left shoulder and he quickly turns his head to see what is there. A small fairy sits on his shoulder, yawning loudly as the little fairy girl looks sleepy. Niko¡¯s heart skips a beat but he doesn¡¯t jump and manages to keep a good poker face. He gets a good look at the fairy as she has her eyes closed and seems to be falling asleep. Her bright blond hair is messy and the fairy looks like she hasn¡¯t brushed it since she last feel asleep. Her clothes are made of a green light material that barely covers her most personal parts. Even though the clothes are thin, they are not able to be seen through, and on top of it, the clothes leak out bright sparkles.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Niko decides that now would be the time to confront the person who seems to be helping him through this interesting situation. Are you the one who is able to read my mind? Niko asks the biggest question on his mind. He hopes that this won¡¯t cause the fairy to disappear and maybe she will answer more of his questions now since he is aware of the fairy¡¯s existence. The fairy jumps up due to being startled and then notices that Niko has seen her. The fairy lets out a defeated sigh and bags begin to form under her bright green eyes. ¡°Ahh¡­ Yeah, I am your designated Fairy helper I guess.¡± This time around when talking to Niko, the fairy¡¯s voice turns from soothing to monotone. It¡¯s as if the fairy doesn¡¯t want to be here. You guess? What¡¯s wrong exactly? ¡°Well to be honest, when we first talked I had to put up a front as a cute helper for you as an introduction. I was hoping that you wouldn¡¯t find a source of light and never be able to actually see me, but here we are.¡± ¡°Now that you know what I am, I might as well fully introduce myself.¡± The fairy takes a moment to cough which clears up her voice. When she speaks again, the cute soothing voice from before comes from the fairy. ¡°My name is Lilah! I am your designated Fairy Helper who has been assigned to you to answer your questions! I will be by your side the whole tutorial and after the tutorial is over, you will be able to contact me through various options after we part ways!¡± Ok, what exactly is going on, at least more than what you¡¯ve already told me. The fairy sighs at Niko¡¯s question as she obviously doesn¡¯t want to be here and then puts on the act of being cute once again. ¡°You were chosen by a powerful being to be their representative in a battle royale that only comes around every one thousand years! If you die in the tutorial you will die forever, but if you survive the tutorial, you will no longer die while in the battle royale! Any other questions.¡± Well what-. Niko is cute of by the fairy hitting him on the side of the head, she then whispers in his ear with her monotone voice. ¡°Please don¡¯t ask anymore questions, I was forced to be here and just want to go home. Help me out please?¡± Niko thinks for a second and then sighs. He has the confidence to be able to survive the tutorial, so maybe afterwards there will be someone more reliable to help him out. How about one question per hour? Niko decides to at least try to make a compromise with the fairy to keep her somewhat happy and keep himself somewhat informed. The fairy takes a minute to think about Niko¡¯s request and decides that it is a fairly reasonable offer. ¡°Fine, but that last sentence was your last question for this hour. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me, I¡¯m going back to sleep.¡± The fairy then yawns and curls up into a ball on Niko¡¯s shoulder, not waiting for Niko¡¯s response. Fine. The fairy ignores Niko as it seems she is already asleep and Niko sighs at his bad luck. Niko is unlucky in the regard that his designated helper is very unreliable, but there is nothing he can do about it but complain in silence. Niko decides that it would be better to keep moving so he can hopefully find his way out of this cave. He has only been here for about an hour but Niko can already feel himself begin to hunger for some food. On top of that, his phone has no service of internet connection but Niko isn¡¯t surprised at all. Seeing that the time is 12:51 am, Niko assumes that he showed up here at midnight and has to survive till the next stroke of midnight. What sucks for Niko is that he didn¡¯t eat much during his 10 hour shift due at work due to being so busy and he is feeling the ramifications of that now. He remembers having about 2 slices of pizza but that isn¡¯t enough to hold over the 27 year old man for much longer. I could not eat anything at all but that would just be unpleasant and not a comfortable experience. I need to find my way out of this cave and find something relatively edible. Continuing his way down the cave, it isn¡¯t long until Niko truly realizes he is not alone. Stopping dead in his tracks, Niko is able to spot a severed hand on the ground. The blood from where the hand was severed from is still fresh and hasn¡¯t dried up yet. Most normal people would freak out, or vomit at the sight of this, but being through medical school and seeing a lot of crazy things while being a doctor. When you shadow in an ER¡¯s surgery room for a credit and someone comes in the ER because they fell onto a chainsaw, a severed hand is pretty mild. Niko walks towards the hand and bends over, grabbing the dismembered body part to inspect it. Upon closer inspection, Niko can see that the cut wasn¡¯t exactly clean, but the hand was still cut by a blade. It is most likely dull for the most part and was brute forced. On top of all of this, the hand is still somewhat warm. Looking at the fingernails, Niko can see blood and a green looking skin under the edge of the fingernails. Looking around himself, Niko can see blood splattered on the floors and the walls, on top of that, several sets of bloody footsteps lead further into the cave, but not all of them are the same size. Dropping the hand, Niko looks at the footsteps and can see several pairs of small footsteps that are about the size of a kid¡¯s. Niko is able to guess that kids aren¡¯t exactly running around through these caves. With all of this evidence, my best guess is that there was a group of humans walking through this cave and were ambushed by goblins, or something like the sort. The only reason that Niko guesses this is because he used to play a lot of fantasy video games when he was younger and goblins are some of the first enemies you face. The green small creatures, that are known for being crafty and not exactly kind hearted by human¡¯s morale standards, are unforgettable by most people in the fantasy world and just thinking about meeting one, Niko is filled with mixed emotions. Niko wants to meet one to dissect to seem what makes goblin¡¯s tick, but on top of that Niko isn¡¯t sure how strong goblin¡¯s actually would be compared to himself. Sure Niko went to the gym when he had the chance and definitely wasn¡¯t weak but that doesn¡¯t mean he is able to defend himself against something that is basically a wild animal within a young kid¡¯s body. Niko looks around and the only paths available are forward or back. Niko¡¯s curiosity gets the better of him and he continues forward. Maybe I can find some fellow humans I can escape this cave, but there is one thing that is bugging me. Lilah, I¡¯d like to use my question. The small fairy on Niko¡¯s shoulder begins to stir at the sound of Niko calling out her. Lilah seems to be using some sort of magic to stay on Niko¡¯s shoulder as she hasn¡¯t budged from her original position. Even when Niko bent over and gravity should¡¯ve taken over, the fairy did not move one bit. In a monotone voice, Lilah is barely able to ask about Niko¡¯s question without falling asleep again. ¡°What is it?¡± I thought you said there were no players near me, yet he is someone¡¯s hand is right here so apparently someone is near me. ¡°What do you mean, that¡¯s the hand of a human. You¡¯re the only human contestant, this is just the hand of a native inside the battle arena.¡± I¡¯m the only human player? Now I¡¯m curious enough to want to meet other contestants if I¡¯m the only human. You can go back to sleep now. Niko looks over after thinking that but Lilah was already asleep before Niko even gave her permission to fall asleep. A long sigh is heard as the man with a fairy stuck to his shoulder continues his way through the cave. It isn¡¯t long until Niko can hear the sounds of a struggle followed by the maniacal laughter of a wicked creature. A small light can be seen ahead which prompts Niko to turn off his phone and continue towards the sound of struggle. As Niko made his way towards the light, the cave became wider and an interesting scene was playing out before Niko. Three humans were fighting against a set of five goblins, with several bodies of both human and goblin are scattered about. Niko takes his sword and holds the handle with both hands, planning on joining the humans in the fight. Before he can run to hopefully help out the humans, Niko looks down at his hands and can seem them quivering slightly. Niko smiles and slows his breath to calm himself and then begins to wait for the perfect opportunity to join in the fight. Currently he is within the shadow of darkness and Niko can tell that no one can tell he is there so he decides to use this to maybe kill a goblin before others realize it. Two of the three humans were female while the other seemed like a young boy. Observing what was going on, one of the females was wearing tight clothes and what looked to be leather armor while sending out attacks with her fists. My guess is she would be like the Brawler class, she seems to be in rough shape. Rips are riddled throughout her tight fitting clothing showing several scratches and wounds but nothing was deep enough to worrying at the moment. Niko looked at the other female who wielded a rapier but didn¡¯t seem to know exactly how to use it. The woman was stabbing outwards with it but everywhere on the goblin¡¯s body she tried to stab wasn¡¯t exactly the preferred position. Niko knows that rapiers are used to target certain weak points in a body but apparently this girl didn¡¯t know that. On top of that, she was wearing cumbersome metal armor that would most likely limit the girl¡¯s movements. Finally, the final human who looks like a young boy has on a cloak and a long wooden stick in his hand. Niko assumed this to be a staff so maybe he is supposed to be the support. Wait, if that¡¯s the case that means there is magic in this world¡­ Niko looks at his body but it doesn¡¯t feel any different. Maybe I can¡¯t use magic, or I have to train to use it. As Niko was thinking about magic, the battle between the three humans and the five goblin looking like creatures is coming to its climax. ¡°Evan, buff me so I can finish this! Lucy, back me up!¡± The woman using her fist that Niko deduced is a brawler gives the other two commands as she plans on ending this fight now. Niko watches as a mystical power that completely defines all types of science that he knows gather around the young boy he assumes to be named Evan. Evan then begins to chant something that Niko cannot comprehend so it just sounds like gibberish but something else causes Niko¡¯s eyes to open wide. This is my chance. Niko tightens his grip around his longsword and his muscles flex as he is ready to pounce onto the unexpecting pray. As the boy goes to finish his chant to buff the brawler woman, he can hear the sounds of something scurrying behind him. Evan turns his head around in horror as he can see a goblin running towards him with a small dagger in its small hands. Currently, his other party members are currently fighting two goblins each on their own and is not able to help Evan at all. Evan can feel the touch of death go up his spine and a cold chill covers Evan¡¯s whole body. Thoughts of death fill Evan¡¯s mind as the goblin runs closer and closer with the dagger poised to strike. As the goblin goes to stab Evan in the side of his chest, a flash of metal flies from the darkness and Niko brings his sword into the air above his head while running towards the goblin. The goblin barely manages to turn its head around before Niko is standing above it with his longsword coming down onto the goblin¡¯s skull. CRACK~! The sickening cracking of a skull being crushed echoes throughout the cave and blood spurted out of the goblin¡¯s head. The blood spurts all over Evan and Niko as Evan finally finishes his spell. ¡°Muscle Reinforcement!¡± the boy yells as he finishes the incantations. A green surrounds the woman who asked for the buffing spell and gains the edge on the goblins she had been facing. Evan is finally able to take a breath to calm himself down as the boy swears he saw his life flash before his own eyes. Looking at his savior, Evan sees a tall man with dirty blond hair that spikes up in random directions. The man¡¯s weird looking clothes are some the boy has never seen before but that doesn¡¯t matter as this mysterious man had saved him. Niko quickly pulls his sword from the skull of the goblin and goes over to the girl with the rapier as she seems to be having the hardest time between the two. The girl is in a less favorable position as the goblins are relentlessly banging on the girl¡¯s armor with their clubs with animal teeth attached to the end of them. The armor is becoming dented and soon it seems that the constant toll of being hit will cause the girl to collapse. Niko sprints up to the fight and his left arm to push the girl to the side as a goblin goes to swing at her abdomen. With the girl being out of the way, the goblin misses and loses its balance, which Niko uses this opportunity to send his longsword once again down onto the skull of a goblin. CRACK~! The sound of a skull breaking open echoes throughout the cave and this time, the other three goblins are aware of Niko¡¯s presence. Even though Niko broke open one skull and it wasn¡¯t exactly quiet, the other goblins assumed their comrade had succeeded at slaying the annoying healer in the back. Now though, the goblins realize that a new human had snuck up on them and they are now at a disadvantage. The other goblin that was fighting the girl with the rapier starts running away into the darkness while the other two goblins who were fighting the girl who uses her fists tries to run too. Unfortunately for one of them, the girl has been buffed and manages to catch one of them by the top of his head. The goblin scratches at the woman¡¯s hand but the woman simply takes her other hand and wraps it around the goblins neck. With a heart wrenching snap, the goblin goes limp as its spine is broken in the middle of its neck. The brawler woman drops the goblin and turns towards Niko and the girl with the rapier. Raising her fists, Niko can feel a bloodlust emit from the girl as she gives him a deadly look. ¡°Get away from Emily now before I smash your face inwards.¡± The woman readies her fists and her body shows signs of charging towards Niko. Niko raises an eyebrow and scoffs at the woman. ¡°Ha, you¡¯re kidding me right? After the fact that all of you would have died without my help and you stand there and threaten me? Learn your place young one.¡± Niko is a prideful person and considering what he said was true about them dying without his help, he isn¡¯t scared putting someone in their place. The girl gets an even deadlier look on her face about what Niko said and starts to charge towards him. As she takes a step though, the girl can feel her ankle give out and her whole body begins to fall forward. Niko shakes his head at this and the woman can feel her ankle throb in pain, the pain is so bad that she is barely able to hold back her scream. ¡°You actually sprained your ankle a minute ago, but your adrenaline let you keep fighting, I figured you would start to feel it soon.¡± The woman¡¯s face is full of pain but her eyes are covered with unwillingness and a fire to fight. The girl with the rapier who seems to be called Emily stands between Niko and the brawler woman with her back to Niko, signifying that she is intending to defend her savior. ¡°Sister Belle he saved me! Why are you so insisted at trying to fight the man who is the reason we aren¡¯t mothers for goblin children!¡± Emily yells with a flustered face as she can¡¯t believe how Belle is acting. ¡°Because he isn¡¯t from the village! If he isn¡¯t from the village then where is he from?! We don¡¯t know his motives!¡± Belle yells back as she explains her concerns about their unknown hero. ¡°In fact, I think we should kill him now and-!¡± SMACK~! Evan, the first person that Niko had saved, ran over and smacked Belle in the face mid sentence. ¡°SHUT UP ALREADY! YOU¡¯RE DELUSIONAL TO THINK SOMEONE WOULD COME INTO A CAVE AND SAVE US JUST TO BETRAY US!¡± What Evan just yelled catches Niko off guard since Evan is just too trusting of a stranger. Niko just stands there with a blank stare as he is not that interested in the conflict anyways, just the way out of this cave or where other players are. The First Trail. Part II The three people continuously argue about how they should treat their savior Niko. Niko on the other hand isn¡¯t interested in the conversation and starts to walk over to one of the dead goblin creatures. Beginning his examination of the thing, Niko finds out that even though it has the body of a child, the goblin¡¯s muscles are well toned and extremely defined. Also, looking inside of the head of the goblin, its brain is much bigger than Niko thought. For such a small creature that is in its primitive stage, this goblin thing seems to have a well evolved brain that can give it the ability to think complexly and have amazing motor functions, but there seems to be something on it. Continuing his search as the screaming keeps getting louder beside him, Niko finds some sort of circle with incoherent words on the brain of the goblin. Even though the goblin is dead, this bright circle remains which baffles Niko as that means that something external from the goblin itself is keeping this circle active. Niko¡¯s hand reaches down and into the mashed brains of the goblin where the circle is but his hand simply passes through it, which confuses Niko anymore. As his hand pass through the circle, it pushed a piece of brain aside and a glint of something shiny within the goblin¡¯s brain catches Niko¡¯s eyes. Reaching further into the Goblin¡¯s brains, Niko gets a firm hold of the small object and pulls it out of the pile of brains. Niko sees a crystal like stone in his hand covered in blood, which he pulled straight from the goblins brain. From his video game playing days, Niko assumes that this is some sort of loot drop that someone receives from a monster that they kill. Niko wipes off the crystal with his shirt, staining the shirt in the process but there was already goblin blood all over him, so Niko doesn¡¯t mind. Niko pockets the crystal and gets up. Looking towards the three people he had saved, they are quiet now and have come to a compromise. ¡°So?¡± Niko says as in implying that he wants to know what they plan to do from now on. The kid named Evan is the first to speak up. ¡°First, we would like to introduce ourselves. I am Evan.¡± The kid points towards himself. ¡°This is Emily.¡± The kid points towards the woman with a rapier and recently battered armor. ¡°This is Belle.¡± The kids points towards the woman who used fists to fight, who sits on the ground dejectedly. ¡°Yeah, I got that. I am Niko. All I want from you all is the way towards the exit of the cave, I seem to be lost.¡± Niko¡¯s bluntness catches the others off guard. Evan coughs to clear the atmosphere and starts talking once again. ¡°Well, *ahem*, we know the way out and we can take you there, but we need to complete our mission before we can leave this cave.¡± ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that I have to help you with whatever god knows what and then you¡¯ll take me to the exit?¡± Evan is once again caught off guard with how blunt Niko is and wryly smiles. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What is in it for me exactly?¡± Niko narrows his eyes as these people most think he is dumb. ¡°We take you to the exit.¡± Belle is the one to speak this time, albeit in a quiet voice. Niko looks at all three of them like they are dumb before chuckling and shaking his head. ¡°Well, whatever it is that you have to do, I believe you guys can go do it. If that¡¯s my only reward then I¡¯ll just be on my way and find my own way out.¡± Emily¡¯s eyes go wide as Niko starts to walk towards the darkness. ¡°Wait you can¡¯t, you¡¯ll die!¡± Niko laughs and shakes his head again. ¡°I¡¯m not dumb like you all, I can hide pretty well as you all know, plus I can tell you all are terrible at fighting compared to me.¡± Of course this was all a bluff as Niko had no idea where he was, how to fight, or even how to use magic or whatever it is called that the kid used on Belle. Evan bites his lip as he seems to think this is the truth. ¡°Well what can we give you as a reward, we don¡¯t have much money and we don¡¯t get a prize for our quest, so what do you want?¡± Niko smiles as he thinks to himself, ¡®Got em¡¯. ¡°Well, in my village no one could use that power you were using when I saved you, so no one could teach me. Could you maybe teach me the basics?¡± Evan¡¯s eyes go wide and he smiles. ¡°You mean magic? So if I teach you the basics of magic then you¡¯ll help us?!¡± ¡°Also show me where the exit is.¡± ¡°Deal.¡± Evan is quick to make a deal with Niko and commands for each girl to take a direction of the cave and stand guard. Belle takes the way to Niko and Evan¡¯s right, and Emily takes the left. With both sides of the cave being covered, Evan begins to lecture Niko quickly about the basics of magic. Niko is surprised as to how mature this kid is, while being extremely gullible and innocent. After about 10 minutes, Evan finishes the lecture and Niko has a grasp about how magic generally works here. Not everyone can use magic, but if you can, then somewhere in your body is a catalyst for magic. This body part is the input and output. If it is your right arm, then magic gathers in your right arm and is cast from your right arm. If you lose your right arm, then you can no longer cast magic and are considered a cripple.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. There are some items that can work as a catalyst in place of your body part, but these items are few and far between. Evan doesn¡¯t have an item like that but his staff boost his output of magic slightly. Also, everyone is born with an affinity to a certain kind or kinds of magic. In Evan¡¯s case, he can only use healing magic but his affinity for it is low so he can only go so far with it. Now, Evan is explaining how to find out which body part in your body is the catalyst. ¡°Sit down likes this and close your eyes.¡± Niko sits down beside Evan and closes his eyes like Evan instructs. ¡°Now I will be touching your body and it might hurt but don¡¯t be afraid, I won¡¯t harm you.¡± Niko nods his head but slightly opens his eyes enough to see Evan but not enough for Evan to notice if his eyes are closed or not. Small green lights flood to Evan¡¯s hand and he reaches out towards Niko. Seeing that the kid doesn¡¯t have a weapon, Niko completely closes his eyes and calms his mind. As Evan touches Niko on his chest, Niko can feel a cooling sensation enter his body and begin to float around. Silence permeates the cave as Niko and Evan are in full concentration mode. The cooling sensation goes around Niko¡¯s blood stream before it finally finds its way to Niko¡¯s heart. Instantly, Niko¡¯s heart starts to beat fast and all of the coolness is brought to Niko¡¯s heart and absorbed by it hungrily. On top of that, more cool feeling sensations come from Evan that feed Niko¡¯s greedy heart. To Niko this feels amazing, but to Evan this is horrifying. Evan tries to pull away but no matter how hard he tries, Evan can¡¯t. On top of that, Niko seems to be forcefully pulling out mana from Evan. Evan¡¯s mana pool is not that big to begin with and as Niko takes more and more of it away, Evan can feel his consciousness fading. Right when Evan was getting ready to pass out due to mana draught, Niko¡¯s heart stops taking mana and explodes with power. Bright yellow clocks form behind Niko and nearly fill the whole cave system with light. The nocturnal creatures within the cave start rampaging as the light burns their sensitive eyes. The light also manages to make its way outside of the cave and shoots a beam of yellow aura into the sky, bathing the entire area within a mile in blinding light. Even the monitors that the panel of judges are viewing seem to be useless as the light causes Niko¡¯s whole monitor to be solid white mixed with yellow. Some of the judges stand in surprise, other judges are not surprised at all as they have witnessed how strong a chronomancer can be. Even the fairy that only wanted to sleep woke up and stared around in surprise. After a solid minute of blinding light, the light started to condense and rushed back towards Niko¡¯s body. Niko was unaware of all of this as he was feeling complete bliss that numbed his mind. Once all the light re-entered Niko¡¯s body, a loud poof emitted from within him. Niko opens his eyes and it¡¯s like he has a whole new body. The coolness now has a shape and it is in the shape of malleable matter that Niko can play with on a whim. His blood stream is full of mana and it seems to be seeping into his very core. With each pump of his heart, new blots of mana appear that are being sucked in from the outside world. Niko looks around and can streams of mana flowing within the cave system they are in. The mana floats through the air effortlessly. Niko is wide eyed by the spectacle of a white river of light flowing through the cave, but when Niko looks around him, he is stunned. Everyone around him is asleep or knocked out, Niko cannot tell, but what really stuns Niko is that he can see in the darkness clear as day. Niko remembers there being only a small torch near the group as a source of light but now Niko can see all the way down the cave until it bends to the right. Niko gets up and his body feels lighter, and he knows that his body can now achieve speeds that was not possible before. Is this what it is like to be able to use magic? What a wonderful spectacle! Niko has a wide smile on his face and he picks up his old longsword. Well, I¡¯ll stay on guard until these three wake up, especially since the little one is the reason that I¡¯m like this now. It isn¡¯t long before Evan wakes up after passing out once Niko nearly sucked all the mana out of Evan. The young boy rubs his head and looks around disorientated, unable to remember what has happened to him. All Evan can see is darkness unfortunately. Evan does a short incantation and soon a soothing green light emits from Evan¡¯s hand, lighting up the boy¡¯s surroundings. First, Evan sees Belle and Emily laying not more than 5 feet away from Evan. Next, the smell of blood hits Evan¡¯s nose and he soon finds the source. Bodies of goblins are stacked in a pile 10 high and 10 wide, with Niko sitting beside it, his shirt ripped and bloodied. Not a single scratched is on Niko¡¯s skin though and his face is blankly staring at the ceiling in boredom. Evan slowly gets up as his body is still fatigued and recovering from earlier and Niko finally notices Evan is awake. ¡°Hey kid, you¡¯re finally awake.¡± Niko flashes a grin at Evan. Evan flashes an awkward smile back and then rubs his head again. ¡°What happened, my memory is fuzzy.¡± ¡°Well, you went to find out which part of my body was a catalyst, and then I think you found it. I don¡¯t remember much either but I remember all of the sudden waking up feeling different but you guys were all asleep. I decided to stay here and watch over you but while asleep goblins keep showing up and well¡­¡± Niko motions over to the pile of dead goblins with his hand. ¡°You can guess the rest.¡± Evan is shocked about how Niko was able to deal with so many goblins by himself and then Evan remembers that Niko had said that he could survive in this cave by himself, and now Evan truly believes this. ¡°So you protected us while we slept, but don¡¯t know what caused us to fall asleep?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± Evan sighes and tries to think of a reason they fell asleep and Evan¡¯s mana is gone, but Evan just can¡¯t think of one. ¡°Well did you at least find out your catalyst?¡± ¡°Yeah, it seems to be my heart.¡± ¡°Y-your heart, are you sure?!¡± Evan stutters and stares at Niko in amazement. Niko raises a curious eyebrow since he doesn¡¯t understand why Evan is acting this way about it. ¡°You might have stuttered but I did not, yes it is my heart.¡± Evan¡¯s hand touches covers his mouth in amazement and he looks at Niko like he is a god. ¡°You, you are a Tier 5 Mage! The legendary Tier 5 Mage! I can¡¯t believe it!¡± Evan is yelling in excitement at this point and Niko has truly become an icon of amazingness within Evan¡¯s heart. Niko doesn¡¯t like Evan¡¯s reaction though as Niko feels like the kid is overreacting. ¡°I guess? What does that even mean?¡± Niko asks, curious on why Tier 5 Mage is so good. ¡°So the body part that is your catalyst determines your potential in the future. Tier 1 Mages have fingers or toes as a catalyst. Tier 2 Mages have an arm or legs as a catalyst. Tier 3 Mages will have both arms or both legs as a catalyst, while as Tier 4 Mages with have all of their limbs as a catalyst. Tier 5 mages on the other hand, have a vital organ as a catalyst.¡± Evan explains the tier system for mages enthusiastically to Niko. Niko still doesn¡¯t get why have a vital organ would change anything. ¡°So what¡¯s so special about having a vital organ as a catalyst.¡± ¡°Well, usually Tier 4 Mages and below have two affinities with magic at most, while Tier 5 can usually use all types of magic. On top of that, each Tier 5 Mage has a special power that is related to the organ that is their Catalyst.¡± ¡°Can you give an example?¡± ¡°Sure, there once was a Tier 5 Mage who had his stomach as a catalyst. His stomach was equivalent to a black hole and the mage could eat anything. Magic, people, and even light itself. It is said that this Tier 5 Mage could eat a mountain with one bite.¡± Hearing that, Niko¡¯s heart skips a beat once finding out just how powerful a Tier 5 Mage can be. ¡°So what is my special magic?¡± Niko asks with excitement. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never heard of someone having their heart as a catalyst.¡± Damn, I was hoping he would say something extraordinary. I can ask the fairy if she can find out. She is asleep on my back under my shirt, so I¡¯ll just have to ask her when I wake up. Niko thinks back to when he got close to the people originally, the fairy had moved from his shoulder to under his shirt and unto his back as to not be seen. No matter how much he moved, she never fell off of her spot either. GUUUYYAAAAHH~! A roar emits through the cave and causes Evan to hold his eardrums in anguish due to the power of the roar. ¡°Well I guess no more time to talk, something strong is coming our way.¡± When Niko looks down the cave and puts a little bit of mana in his eyes, he is able to see a dark red mist that has a deadly aura full of strength. Seeing such a strong opponent for the first time doesn¡¯t instill Niko with fear, but instead of excitement for what is to come!