《Devil Inside》 Prologue: A doomed world In Pardegan life is cruel, moreso than other worlds. During the year 2048, humanity was propelled to new heights when the genius scientist named Mourne Servision revealed to the world his research. He discovered interdimensional travel and the first thing he found, is a realm famous in many myths and legends, hell. At first scorn and disbelief was the response of the populace, but after a while powerful companies and organizations, that didn''t care for the goodness of a literal hell, came to offer Mourne their funding for research. It was looking bright for Mourne, as his research was going splendidly, but messing with Hell was not a safe thing to do and everything eventually went south. Hell realized it was being studied by humans and decided to let loose, releasing its legions of demons and devils, overwhelming the first facility located in one of the major cities of humanity. The city, called Drakken, was immediately run over as literal hundreds of thousands of fiends ravage the land, humanity was not prepared for this attack, and the casualties were millions. Humanity immediately set to counterattack, before discovering hell, humanity was already extremely powerful, utilizing magical knowledge combined with technology gave rise to an unstoppable race, the demons were pushed back and the great city Drakken was now quarantined and dubbed the city of demons. But as time passed, humanity needed to find more knowledge about this hellish dimension or else another situation like that could occur.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Due to the graveness of the situation, other than education, the learning of magic and usage of warfare based weaponry is now required of the general populace. Schools dedicated to learning magic and creation of new technology became a new business opportunity, that powerful groups immediately took action and established their own schools. Humanity developed a powerful army consisted of trained soldiers and they slowly pushed back the demons, but what humanity didn''t know, the longer the portal stayed open, more powerful and ancient demons will come out until eventually humanity loses through sheer power. The government became more strict and the world changed, people who did not have aptitude to become soldiers were thrown away and those that had no funds were thrown away as well, and due to a new law, even the weak people would be instead used as common soldiers. The war with the demons became more and more dangerous as every year passed, with new tech being discovered the portal released more powerful demons, putting the war on a stalemate. Eventually, humanity''s biggest fear, the stagnation of technology, might come and then, only the demons will be left. Chapter 1: A miserable life *rustle* *rustle* *clink* The sound of trashbags and old bottles being moved was heard from a large trashbin behind a huge building. The methodical sound of old junk being opened and moved was very sad to listen to, as if the one doing it has been doing it for a very long while. "Yes!" From the large trash bin, a dirty young figure sprouts up in jubilation with a weird small tool in his hand. Michael Pierce jumps down from the trash bin and lifts up a half-full sack. After dusting off some of the dirt he accumulated, Michael stowed away the tool. Michael grins with extreme pleasure as he walks out of the alleyway. "Just my luck! I found a Mk. 2 magic focus, this a good find" Michael thought to himself. The sun was already starting to set, so Michael decided to call it quits and go home. Starting the long trek home, Michael was twiddling with the worn down and probably defective magic focus. The world used to believe that superstitious things like magic didn''t exist, especially when everyone was using mundane objects to run their everyday lives, but one day the phenomenon of magic was proven to exist and the government funded its research. The research done was fruitful and thus magic was slowly integrated into society and everyday life. It started out small, a few small flickers of fire projected from one''s finger, but humanity found out that magic could be enhanced through the help of technology. This helped immensely, as humanity not only advanced in the field of magic but also in the field of technology. Eventually, the magic focus came to existence, a handy device that boosted the measly magic control that humans naturally have. At first, they were bulky and huge, like the first computers, but just like the first computers, the magic focus became more and more compact until they were ready to be used by the public. The research was extremely expensive but after spending excessive amounts of funds, the Mk. 1 magic focus was released. The Mk. 1 magic focus was modeled to be a metallic like glove made with very smooth and tough materials. The magic focus allowed humans to control and cast magic with ease, since the glove made a human''s connection to magic better. Ever since then, the magic focus has been improved over and over, and right now the most recent magic focus was a Mk. 12 magic focus. If that is the case, then why would Michael rejoice over having found an extremely outdated magic focus, unfortunately the creation of magic focuses is not cheap and the general populace would probably only have access to Mk. 5 to Mk. 8 focuses, while the poor and downtrodden like Michael would only have access to outdated MK. 1 up to Mk. 4 magic focuses. So a Mk. 2 would already be a big find for someone like Michael. In addition, magic focuses only increases a person''s connectivity allowing them better control over magic, but it does not increase one''s magical strength. To increase one''s magical strength, they would need to increase their small mana pools and learn more powerful magic. It simply means that even if one has a Mk. 12 magic focus they wouldn''t be necessarily stronger magic users, but would simply have better control over magic. Walking in a narrow and dirty street, Michael Pierce already left the market area where he scavenged for parts to sell and was going straight home. While going home, he was already calculating how much a defective Mk. 2 would sell for. "An authentic and working Mk. 2 would sell for around 25,000 credits... so a broken one should fetch around 2000 credits, while a second hand one would sell for 6000, 7000 if I find a good buyer." Michael was already imagining how much groceries he could buy, and maybe a new pair of shoes as his current pair is almost disintegrated by the amount of time he spends wading in trash. While 7,000 credits would not be much for someone who''s in the middle class, for someone like Michael who''s below the lower class, it was practically like winning the lottery. Turning to move around a shortcut he usually moves through, Michael saw something that wasn''t there before. He saw a young man, younger than him, wearing a discreet but surely expensive black overcoat. On the ground was a dead woman, a bullet obviously pierced her forehead. "Ahh..." Michael was just about to say something, but he couldn''t move his mouth nor any body part in particular. For a split second he was seeing the sky as if he was lying down. He didn''t understand at first but he was already dead and was lying on the dirty alleyway that nobody frequents. The first emotion he felt when fell down wasn''t fear not regret.... it was anger. Inside his dead mind, he was screaming. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. "NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CANNOT DIE LIKE THIS!!!!!!!!" The young man has long since disappeared but Michael was screaming louder, but his anger was not at the young man but it was towards everything. "I CAN''T DIE YET!!!! I HAVEN''T CLIMBED TO THE TOP YET!!!!" As he lay there dead, his so called soul was screaming and yet he could not move nor will himself to stand up. "I PROMISED HER! FOR THE BOTH OF US!!! I CANNOT DIE!!!" In the midsts of his raging soul, he hears a calm and very confident voice. "Do you want to live and change everything?" "YES!" The voice stopped, surprised by the immediate answer. "Then are you willing to make a de-" "YES!" The voice chuckled, amused by this turn of events. "Amusing... and interesting. Then Michael Pierce, my deal is simple. You will be my host and in exchange I will give you a chance to grab life once more and climb the top." Michael didn''t immediately reply, his rage and anger suddenly doused by this mysterious disembodied voice. After collecting his thoughts and drowning his repressed anger he sighs and focuses on the current situation. "Who are you?" "A friend" Michael could feel that the voice was smiling, if it could. ".... A demon?" The voice laughs lightly. "Such a savage race, no I am not a demon." "Then what?" Another laughter resounds through Michael''s head. "A devil, my young boy. Tell me, are you disgusted?" Michael chuckles and would smile if he could. "No, I would never turn down such an oppurtunity. I''ve heard devils are the elegant cousins of demons, and making a deal with your types have been fruitful..." "You are aware that I am after something else and I am simply using you" "So? My whole life I''ve been used, abused and finally thrown away. I plan on climbing up with anything I can use. If you plan on using me? Then do so! I plan on using you as well!" "Well said! A deal is a deal then!" "Yes!"
Michael opens his eyes, and the first thing he sees is his old worn out door, leading to his apartment. "What... Nevermind" Michael opens the door with his keys and enters. "Archmage''s Village" was located next to the Magical Waste Treatment Plant no. 32. Although its name is very grand, Archmage''s village is actually Grandeum''s most dilapitated and poorest residential area. It is surrounded by dumps and landfills, but due to it''s location, it literally has the world''s cheapest rental homes, if you could even call them homes, and most of all, it is also near a magical item graveyard, a dump specifically made for magical items. A location near so many dumps and junkyards would produce the most vile and horrendous living situation, and all year a disgusting scent would pervade the air, almost removing the possibility of life but for someone like Michael, this was paradise, minus the deathly scent. Despite the extremely cheap rent, most people would not want to live here, several residential buildings were empty and unused.Due to years of wear and tear without any maintenance, both the exterior and interior were covered in cracks, corridors were covered in cobwebs. It was, for all intents and purposes, a ghost town. Despite that, Michael liked the quietness here. No one would disturb him when he was tinkering with the defective magical items. Every day Michael would go to the graveyard and scavenge for magical items, fighting other scavengers, living a miserable life. Combining every factor, this place served him a lot of benefits. Michael''s home was roughly fifty square meters. There were two rooms, an outer one and an inner one. The outer room was for eating, drinking, and entertainment. The inner bedroom was remodeled into his magic item workshop, it was where he tinkered and made stuff. When one enters his house, the first eye-catching image one would see would be the hundreds of tech processors, used for magical items, stashed in one neat area, all of them were properly labelled and sorted. These tech processor units were mostly relics of several hundreds of years past, already losing their computing abilities but some of them were working as well and can be used to switch with a tool''s defective part properly fixing it, albeit crude. They were picked up by Michael, becoming a part of his collection. He was an amateur tinkerer and was super into these kinds of ancient tech which were able to process a large amount of information in a person''s mind. On another side of the outer room is a very old and barely surviving bookshelf, filled with literally dozens of magical books. The books had titles such as , , , , and <99 ways to make use of a demon''s heart>.Many were old booksfrom dozens of years ago. They were gray and yellow as well as flakey and mushy. A lot of them were found, when Michael scavenged for books in the magical junkyard. In the middle of the outer room, surrounded by Michael''s bookshelf and processors, was a small, old and worn-out mattress. In all purposes, this was Michael''s chair, table and bed. And within the magical workshop of the inner room were his pile of scavenged parts and treasures, he''s scavenged all over the junkyard and other places he frequented. There were a multitude of basic everyday magical appliances, but in his pile of stuff are some rare items as well, such as magical weapons, and enchanted trinkets. On the side of the magical workshop is a small alchemical table, where some very crude elixirs are placed but they exude a healthy scent. Unlike outside, this room was a complete mess. Another side of the room is filled with dismantled magical items that were separated into working and not working parts. "Who says poor people can''t be organized?" Michael muttered to himself when he reviewed his untouched home. Once he sat down, he immediately pulled out the Mk. 2 Magic Focus and started to open it with his crude tools. Michael''s eyes were shrouded, deep in thought, his mind was fully focused on opening and checking if the magic focus was still salvageable. After a while, Michael''s eyes clear up and he smiles. "A Mk. 2 that''s in top condition, the only problem is that the wiring was a little loose. The owners probably didn''t know how to deal with any of that and just threw it away. Such a waste of money" Michael opens the item and starts to fix the broken parts. "There! As good as new" Michael wears the thin metal glove and flexes his arm. He flicks his finger and a small flicker of fire appears at the tip of his fingers. "Wow! it''s far more effective than a Mk. 1. It takes me 30 minutes to make a small fire with a Mk. 1, but with a Mk.2 it only takes a flick of a finger." Michael sighs when he hears a voice. "When are you going to say hello?" Chapter 2: Trashy Magical Talent "Still ignoring me then? I thought you planned to use me?" the mysterious voice was resounding in Michael''s head. Michael heaved another sigh, as his memory was jogged. ''I knew it wasn''t a bad dream.'' "Yes not a dream, what happened was very real" the voice was very confident and right now, very condescending. "What''s your name?" Michael sets the magic focus down as he asks. "Hmmm you are the second to ask me of my name. Very peculiar, usually my hosts would only want to know what I can do, not who I am." "Lack of money and food is not a reason to not have manners." "Demiurge" Demiurge replied calmly, a little surprised but not too affected. "Demiurge... A weird name for a devil." "Creation is not limited to gods nor celestials, but not all fiends are like me." "Gods? Angels?" Michael was flabbergasted, in all his life, he has never heard of angels or gods. Not that Michael didn''t know of them, but simply because they were myths. Even though hell was discovered, other realms have not yet been found. Demiurge chuckles a little. "Yes, gods and angels. The first thing my hosts usually asks, but in your case, the second thing. They exist... although on a different level. They''re quite powerful, so let''s not bother talking about them. I''m sure you''d die first, before we get a chance to meet even the lowliest of gods." Michael nods. "So let''s get started. Hmmm you have pitiful natural magic, and only the basics in magical item creation." Michael picks up the magic focus and starts tinkering with it, all the while listening to Demiurge. "Strong mental fortitude but... a weak physical body." "Hey, my body is not weak." The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "I''m comparing you to soldiers, don''t be offended" Michael continues to tinker with his tools, while Demiurge is studying Michael''s body. "Although crude, you have some talent in magical item creation but very sloppy." Michael shakes his head. "I can''t argue with that. I only learned due to the monthly government-mandated lessons. Deeper in the slums, away from this junkyard, is a government training center. Everytime there are lessons, I went there to study and when there were free books, I took them." Demiurge is silent but Michael could sense approval. "Has the motivation to try and better one''s life, good. I''ve had hundreds of hosts and dozens of them are lazy and pathetic, and they refuse to try and better themselves. And not only that, you''re at the bottom of the bottom." Michael doesn''t say anything, believing that improving one''s self is natural. "I''ve had the liberty to look in your memories."Michael goes silent and slight anger rises in his heart. "Demiurge, I will respect your wishes and not pry on your goals, but in exchange, respect mine." "So you''re doing this for her then? Revenge is your motivation?" Slight anger flares inside Michael but he breathes slowly, calming himself. Michael also stops his work, for fear of breaking his tools and his newfound treasure. "Yes... I cannot allow the people who ruined my life... no, our life to go free." "These people are powerful, how do you plan on taking revenge? How old are you?" Michael sighs but he answers immediately. "I''m 20 years old, I''m attending a public college. The tuition is cheap and if I pay a fee, I can buy cheap materials for magical items. One day I plan on reenacting revenge on them, all of them" Once calm, Michael returns to the magic focus, testing it''s magical ability. This time, his hands form small icicles. "Low natural magic, even with a magic focus, it is just trash." Michael looks down. "I know, even the teachers in college, who were below average, mocked me of my pitiful talent." Michael sets down his tools once more and he grips his hands in frustration. "But what can I do! My talent is trash, so I can only overcome it with sheer hardwork" "Sometimes hardwork is not enough" "I''ve heard that thousands of times! You think you saying it will change my goal!" "Of course not. I only wish to make you realize that hardwork will not be enough." "Yes! That''s why-" Before Michael could continue Demiurge immediatly replies. "So we have to find another way." Michael goes silent, waiting for an answer to his largest problem. "All humans have weak natural magic and it could still be improved but that depends mostly on their talents, or some freak situation which helps them boost their magic. A very famous mage in ancient times, called Carlos, had horrible talent just slightly better than yours, but due to some very specific situations, he became one of the most renowned archmages in time. I admit, he was lucky but in your case we cannot depend on luck." Michael nods and asks. "How about taking magic enhancing pills? They''re very expensive but some have shown to be effective." "Have you take any magical enhancing pills?" "No, they''re too expensive. Even if I manage to sell this magic focus, I''d only be able to buy a weeks'' worth of low quality drugs." "That''s good, magical enhancing pills are not optimal. They have hidden side-effects unless it is a pure pill. While it will increase one''s mana, it becomes impure. Impure mana makes it harder for humans to cast their magic. Even if one has a large amount of mana, if they have a large amount of impure mana, the cost inefficiency of magic grows. Your mana is relatively pure, you only have 2% impurity." Michael was listeing attentively, this was the first time he heard of such knowledge. He feels that even if he asked all the professors in the college, none of them would have such a profound understanding of magic, unlike Demiurge. "Humans improve their mana pool through meditation and practice. You only know the basics of magic and thus your practice is slow. You currently know the erroneous spells, ice formation and fire formation. I say erroneous, because they are extremely inefficient, this is probably due to the greediness of humanity. They created lesser spells for the lesser people, so they would have a hard time rising to the top." Demiurge speaks as if this was natural. Michael grits his teeth, remembering the cruelties that humanity is capable of. ''Sometimes I think we aren''t too different from demons.'' "I agree, the only difference is that demons are naturally more powerful. Now concerning those trash spells and that trash talent, let''s fix it." Michael sighs and nods. "Let''s start." Chapter 3: Still trash with a slight hint of polish "Your mana pool can be improved with training and a fair warning, I will not allow you to use any petty magic focuses. Those will weaken your natural connection to magic, and you''ll be useless the moment it disappears." Michael suddenly looks downtrodden. "What about magical items?" "They''re allowed but nothing to increase your natural powers with artificial ways, there is no shortcut to strength, unless you are a lucky fool. But meeting me is a form of luck as well, I guess." Michael heaves a sigh of relief. He really enjoyed magical item tinkering and creation. Despite not being talented, he fell in love with the craft, the moment he learned it. "And in the future, I will personally teach you the proper art to crafting as well" Michael suddenly gets excited, but he calms himself, after all Demiurge seems to be a calm and patient teacher, no use in annoying him or getting on his bad side. "The first thing you need to learn is the basics. You chose to learn fire and ice, a good combination of offence and defense, but the spells you learned were the utmost lowest of levels. Those teachers might be giving you defective spells so you encounter mana disruption." "Mana disruption? I read about that, it means my mana pool becomes too impure and there is a possibility that it gets destroyed." "Yes, these spells are not only inefficient but is slowly damaging your mana pool, that''s why you have that 2% mana impurity. How long have you been practicing these spells?" "3 years." Demiurge goes quiet. "That''s impossible, if so that means your mana impurity should be at least 80% or worse, you should have already encountered mana disruption." Demiurge''s voice is slightly surprised but he calms down and immediately Michael. "How have you been training your magic?" "Well like normal, as written in the books and taught by the professors. I compared the knowledge taught by my professors and those written in the books, I tried to make a new way to meditate through trial and error. I slowly removed the errors written in the books and those told by my professors, but the books were too low class and my professors weren''t too impressive either." "Show me your meditation method." Michael cleans his dirty bed of his tools and items. He sits on the center and slowly enters meditation, focusing on his own method, a method he created through trial and error. Michael feels the familiar feeling of magic slowly entering his body, cleaning it, strengthening it, and making it better overall, but this time he feels Demiurge peering closely on his created formula. The meditation lasts for 30 minutes, and eventually Michael finishes. Demiurge is silent for a while, which makes Michael feel a little tense. ''Was it that bad?'' "A genius..." "What?" "It seems you aren''t fully worthless after all." Michael is a little confused by Demiurge, but thankfully he explains. "Paragon was probably scraping the bottom of the barrel when he was handing magical talent to you, but... your magical theory is practically unmatched. You''ve created an almost perfect version of the basic meditation style. It''s time-efficient and has no impurities, the only reason you have impure mana is due to the defective spells. And even then, due to your almost perfect meditation you''ve managed to offset the effects of the defective spells." Out of all the things Demiurge could''ve said, this was good news. It meant that Michael wasn''t completely worthless. It meant that all his work, especially the ones mocked by others, was not worthless. For the first time of his life, his goal, to enact revenge wasn''t just a dream. "But... theories are theories, it will help in the early stages but in the long run, your theories won''t increase your power faster." Demiurge sighs "A shame, you would''ve been a once in a generation genius but you have bottom barrel trash." "Oh.... Tsk... No use in crying over spoiled milk then! Tell me, what are the spells you''ll teach me then?"This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. "The basics of the basic, a thousand times better than that worthless fire and ice formation spell. All spells originate from the divine and have only been emulated by us mortals. The spells I''m about to teach you are spells that were created by the first great red and the ice aeon" "The great red and the ice aeon?" "Yes, the first dragon and the primordial ice. The spells are called solar manipulation and void manipulation" Demiurge starts teaching Michael the basic spell components, the formula of magic creation and the proper timing of casting. When Michael heard Demiurge''s teaching, he was practically shivering with excitement. Demiurge wasn''t lying when he said, those spells were trash. There''s no way to compare the four spells, and yet these new spells are considered basic spells. The efficiency of mana usage, the power, and even the speed of casting is faster by a large margin. "They are the most basic of spells but as you become more used to them and if your mana pool grows to be satisfactory, I''ll teach you the stronger and higher spell versions of them." Michael was memorizing the spell and he noticed while they were the pinnacle of basic spells, there were some small mistakes. "Demiurge... there are some mistakes..." "What? That''s impossible. These are spells made by the first creatures, they shouldn''t have any flaws." ''He''s probably testing me.'' Michael rolled his eyes as he insists. "No, here let me show you it to you." Michael starts explaining the spells'' mechanics to Demiurge. Demiurge listens and he finds himself being surprised by Michael''s explanation. And the even more surprising thing, was that Michael was explaning it in a way that young children could understand. Demiurge can''t help but laugh in the inside, it seems he really found a good catch this time. "I see... those aren''t mistakes... They''re just incompatibilities. I''ve reviewed those spells thousands of times, not counting the times I''ve taught them to other hosts. This is considered perfect for those creatures but the spell has some small incompatibilities with humans, since they came from mythical creatures.... you''re the first to ever bring this up to me and... I''ve never noticed this before." "What?" It''s Michael''s turn to be surprised now. "I have to admit, when I first saw you and offered a deal to you, I didn''t have high hopes, especially when you agreed to my deal without any second thoughts. But... now you''ve shown extreme promise, you are the second to surprise me this much." "Second? Who''s the first then?" If Demiurge had a face, he''d be smiling. That''s what Michael was feeling right now. "Considering your talent, you''ll meet her one day. She''s still on the hunt." "Hunting who?" "Me"
In a large empty area of the magical junkyard stands Michael, wearing a simple black shirt and black pants. Surrounding him are melted and frozen parts of ancient tech that he''s been practicing with his magic. Michael falls to his knees, gasping for air. "Mana sickness, you''ll get used to it. This is probably your first time losing so much mana in one instance, but this is pitiful, a few blasts of fire and ice manipulation and your already this tired." "Ahhh... *pants*... sorry this is efficient but they''re too powerful, my mana can''t keep up. And without the magic focus I''m having a hard time controlling the spells." Demiurge sighs ''maybe not really a genius, just lucky'' "Stand up, try again." Demiurge commands and Michael stands up. He raises his right hand, which has slight burns, and he raises his left hand, which is shaking from the cold, results of not being able to connect to magic easily. ''I''d kill to be wearing a magic focus right now. But that Mk. 2 would probably short-circuit due to the potency of these spells.'' Michael stretches his body then he holds his right wrist. "Again." Suddenly fire appears on Michael''s palm, just the same size as the fire he conjured earlier when he was wearing the magic focus, but there is a clear difference, the fire earlier was orange while the fire now is pure blue. "It still surprises me how beautiful it is." "Yes, fire that can melt steel. Now again" Michael looks at one of the makeshift targets he set up for practice. He fires the small ball of extremely hot fire towards the target, engulfing its top part with quick spreading fire. "How can this spell''s fire spread faster than the shit spell?" "Magic" Demiurge answers immediately. Michael gasps for air again, his mana pool has been dry for a while now and every time he replenished it, he immediately returned to practicing, which was very taxing on his body. "Use ice now." Michael raises his left and ice rimes his left hand. He swipes his hand in a slashing movement and an impossibly sharp ice dart flies through the air, piercing the still burning target. Steam covers the target, as the ice and fire are trying to kill one another. "Your comprehension is extremely monstrous" Demiurge praises Michael a little but immediately adds a complaint. "But your mana pool is small, and your mana control needs work." Michael nods, as his two hands are shaking from the pain, thankfully the damage isn''t permanent. *ring* *ring* "Hmmm what is that incessant noise?" "OH! It''s starting" Michael picks up a pair of clean clothes from a pack nearby. He rips them and fixes them over his slightly damaged arms. "What''s starting?" "The daily trash dump! I need to find more stuff to sell." "Hmmm, humans and your pitiful biological needs." "Fiends don''t need to eat?" "Yes, we mostly do it for the delicacy of eating, but we have no need for food." Once Michael is done with basic medical procedures, he stands up and immediately runs towards a direction deeper in the junkyard. "This place reeks of mixed mana, there is a lot, albeit the lowest quality. I''m still baffled on how you managed to maintain 98% mana purity." Michael runs through the junkyard with ease and quickness, his familiarity quickly showing. In the sky, more than 20 flying ships designed to carry defective items, such as everyday appliances and magical items, fly over towards another area. Michael immediately switches direction, following the ships. After a while of continuous running, suddenly more people are appearing, running towards the same area as Michael. "Tsk... it seems, I have company." "Hey look! It''s that shitty Michael" a group of scavengers lead by a huge man, is running behind Michael. "I see you have some interesting friends." "Not friends." "Sarcasm" "What?" "... Never mind." In a few minutes, more groups that are going towards the flying ship''s area appears. Michael frowns, as a large majority of them are staring at him with large interest. In the poor district, Michael is very famous; this is because of two things. The first is his shitty talent, despite being 20 his mana pool is equivalent to an 11 year''s old. Second is because he is the only accomplished artificer in the slums, despite only learning everything from the low quality government mandated classes and his scavenged old books. A lot of thuggish groups and gangs have long since wanted to take him under their wing, but he has refused all their offers. The only reason he''s alive is because he was worth too much, and while he didn''t join any groups, he gladly repaired the equipment of other gang members for a fair fee. And the other reason is because... A gang member suddenly charges Michael. *woosh* Before the thug could attack Michael, he was sent flying with broken teeth and an ice blade stuck in his shoulder. Thankfully, the man will only be unconscious for a day, not dead. ... he''s ruthless. Michael''s sharp eyes stare at the dozens of gangs and groups running behind, besides and in front of him, they feel his contained ferocity. "I told you, I wasn''t weak" "Beating an untrained thug with no magical training is not proof that you''re strong. But I am impressed by your survival skills." "Don''t finish judging me yet, these are the small fry. You''ll notice that there are a lot of diamonds in the rough here." Demiurge goes silent and says. "Well if they''re good enough, we can try to recruit them." "I didn''t expect you to like allies, I thought you''d be more solitary." "It helps to have a few meat-shields for just in case." Michael chuckles. "Yes! We''re here!" On the distance the ships drop the new cargo of defective items and the quiet and usually dead junkyard comes to life once more. Chapter 4: The Poor Geniuses The basic conduit of reality is mana, and it has been used for almost everything. It makes the life of humans better by a wide margin as jobs such as bulldozers can be handed to humans instead of relying to machines, it applies to other jobs as well. Out of all the amazing capabilities of magic, the most basic and common ability is to simply strengthen oneself. "Once we return, I''ll teach you a new spell for body strengthening." Michael was moving with superhuman speeds along with the other magic users of the junkyard. "Hmmm why? Is it defective?" "No, but it doesn''t have a next level unlike the solar and void manipulation spells. When you''re mana pool is larger, it''ll be extremely inefficient to keep using this spell." Michael nods as his senses sharpens, while his body is filled with his measly mana. Despite the small amount of mana, his purity makes up for the majority of his power. Michael reaches the large open area where the ships are dropping their load. Some people were already there, and all of them were magic users. The first to come were always magic users, after all non-magic users are fearful of the power of magic users. Even the weakest magic user can enhance their strength to the extent that they can contest with body builders, without sacrificing speed. A minute hasn''t even passed and magic users are already battling it out in the large area. Most of them are using basic level magic and some of them are using simple body enhancing magic. In another area, a lot of junk is untouched, and the majority of the scavengers is ignoring that area. "That area is empty. We should go there." Demiurge points at the empty area. Michael shakes his head. "Take a careful look." After taking a closer look, Demiurge sees three figures moving in the area. Michael chuckles as he notices them as well. The 3 strongest magic users in the trash district. Even the weakest student in the noble circle is stronger than these 3, but these 3 are just like Michael, ruthless and unforgiving. Michael remembers them very well, these 3 were some of his most infamous clients. They all had grand titles, that they decided to give themselves. ''Pretentious if you ask me'' "Apparently you call yourself the master tinkerer?" Demiurge commented after sifting through some of Michael''s memories. "..." Michael couldn''t forget these 3, other than Jordan, they had the gall to threaten him into giving them free items. He didn''t give in to their threats, but Eric was the most annoying out of the three. He had to endure the pain of electricity for 2 days straight. Lisa only threatened Michael to show him she wasn''t someone to be taken lightly, but in the end they talked about a fair price. Jordan properly asked him for items without even threatening him, and when Michael increased the price by 50% and Jordan simply agreed. Michael felt guilty about that so he reduced the price by 60% and sold it to Jordan. Eric ''the lightning thief'', uses the low level magic ''lightning arc'' and while it is low magic, compared to the other trash that inhabit the district, he produces shocking results. Lisa ''the soundplosion'', uses the low level magic ''sound blast'', compared to other low level offensive magic, ''sound blast'' lacks offensive power, but Lisa''s fighting style makes it one dangerous spell. Jordan ''the stone monk'', uses the low level body magic ''stone body'', and while he doesn''t use any powerful offensive magic, his nigh-impervious skin combined with his body enhancing magic, is enough to defeat anyone in the district. "Hmmm they''re using such low class spells, yet they managed to push back the majority of the district? I fail to see, how the human race could''ve defeaten the demon race." "You mean your race?" "Yes, I mean my race." Michael chuckles as he charges headfirst into the battlefield, following behind him were the weak magic users and the pitiful non magic users. Immediately people see him and some of them charge to attack him. Michael is famous for his inept talent and pitiful mana pool, so people see him as an easy target, but right now Michael was smiling, after all he wanted revenge. "Michael! Finally, you show your ugly mug!" an ugly thin man charges Michael, his hand glowing with the heat of fire. Michael wasn''t stupid, when he knew he couldn''t win, he would run. But right now, he knew the clear difference between trash like this and the current him. He hasn''t mastered the spells given to him, not by a long shot, but right now his strength was larger than the trash in front of him. Michael charged the man with his hand outstretched forward. With magically enhanced speed, Michael charged with his fist. The man smiles and immediately releases a small frontal blast of fire. Michael releases the smallest blast of ice possible. The fire was hot and large compared to the small bit of ice Michael released.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. "You''re dead!" The man screamed at Michael for the stupidity of attacking him. The moment the ice and fire connected, all the fire died, as if the ice sucked everything in. The ice made contact with the shocked man, freezing his entire hand all the way up to his arm. "Ahhhhhhhh!!!!" Michael replied by raising his magically enhanced foot and kicking the man straight on the chest, sending him flying. While power is the rule of the current era, killing is still a crime, and Michael would rather not have any loose ends. The weaker ones immediately back away in fear, but some of the brave scavengers meet him head on. Michael catches the wrist of a man punching him and he twists it, then proceeds to throw him towards the other scavengers. Another one puches Michael, but Michael ducks backwards while his other foot immediately rises kicking the man''s face with magical enhanced force, knocking him out cold. "You seem well-versed in martial arts, yet you have no memories about training, unless it''s part of the forbidden part of your memories." "Yes, yes, I was taught when I was younger. It was krav maga, judo, and boxing." Michael countered another enemy and twists their arms that are too painful to be described. An enemy casts a fire spell similar to the one earlier, but Michael coats his hand with his ice, blocking it, to the surprise of the everyone near them. Ice was a counter to fire, but not something this radical. Michael only coated his hand with a thin sheet of ice and he used that to douse a thick gout of fire. While countering the dangerous enemies around him, Michael noticed that most of them are not carrying magical weapons or any doodads that''ll help them. ''Weird, none of them have anything to boost their combat strength.'' "They''re all attacking you with abandon. They have a different motive." ''I can see that, but why?'' "I don''t know." Another poor victim attacks Michael, but he''s immediately countered and knocked out. Michael finds an opening and he bursts through, leaving the others alone. ''I want to beat the shit out of all of them, but I doubt I''ll be able to last. I won''t have time to find any treasures.'' "A sensible choice. I think the reason for their attack is because of that." Demiurge points a garbage pile in the distance. On top of it, is a young boy, probably around 13 years old, looking around from the higher position. ''I haven''t seen that boy before, who''s that?'' Michael immediately charged the young boy. The young boy sees Michael charging at him, and suddenly five other men block his path. *Slash* Michael backs away at the last moment, as an extremely fast movement almost beheads him. One of the men blocking him is wielding a sword, engraved with magical runes and enhanced by magical circuits. Michael recognized them; he knew how to create basic weapons like these easily. Unfortunately, he didn''t have a weapon right now. Michael noticed that he was surrounded. The young boy dropped down from the pile of trash and spoke. "You''re the master tinkerer, correct?" The teenager had an intelligent voice, borne from constant speaking and honing. ''This child was either a young genius or a good speaker, considering everything, probably both.'' Demiurge chuckled a little at Michael''s proclaimed title. Michael furrowed his eyebrows. ''I had that title when I was 16, I was in a phase okay.'' "I don''t take that title anymore." The teenager stares at Michael with serious eyes. "My father recently moved here, and his first order is that everyone here will submit to him, or die." Michael looks at the empty area far away from him, noticing the trio magic user. "What about those three?" "They... are currently being convinced." Michael notices that some of the men guarding the children have wounds, such as lightning marks, black bruises, and bleeding ears. "Well, it seems those three said no. I''ll have to say no, as well." "My father will be able to support you, young talents." "I''m 20, I''m too old to be considered a talent." "Those three over there is different though, they''re all below 17 years old." The young man frowns. "All talents... and if they refuse, die but... if you offer tribute, my father might let you go. The magical items you created, that we confiscated, were of top quality." "You mean steal?" ice starts to form behind Michael''s hand. "Yes, the weak will perish, while the strong will survive." "This teenager has talent." Demiurge commented. ''What? How can you tell?'' "His mana pool is relatively large, be careful." ''Why is someone like him, here?'' "I wouldn''t know, humans tend to have the weirdest ideas." Michael was about to reply but the young kid cut their discussion. "I dislike being ignored, do you join or no-" "No" Michael smiles brightly. Maybe a few days ago, he would''ve joined but right now, he''s backed by an ancient being and being held down would not be something Demiurge would like. "Thank you for the consideration." Demiurge says, as if knowing this would be Michael''s choice. "I see... kill him." Michael''s eyes go sharp and he immediately creates a huge cloud of icy fog. The child''s order reverebrate through the area, and the men scatter. When the fog disappears, and only the child''s close guards are there, the child sighs. "Who of these people have your companion?" The child speaks to himself.
"My deity Paragon, these people are persistent." Michael was hiding behind a large pile of worthless junk, gasping for air. "I really can''t continue casting spells over and over. That fog cloud almost depleted my mana, thankfully there was enough to strengthen my body for the escape." "Try not to mention his name, he hears it. It''s mostly because you have really shitty talent. You''re 20 and yet your mana pool is so small, despite your near perfect meditation style. The child earlier had a mana impurity of 28%, which means he doesn''t have a meditation style as good as yours but his mana pool was at least four times larger than yours." "Yes yes, but criticizing me won''t change anything. Maybe I shouldn''t have come here." Michael calms himself and focuses on regenerating his mana. "But it is nice to know, that my new spells is monumentally stronger than my past spells." "Someone is here." Michael immediately jumps forward and rolls away as his last position was suddenly bombarded by arcing lighting. A cocky and annoying voice sounds from atop the disgusting junk. A young man walks atop of it as lightning swivels around his hands. His green eyes, brown hair and relatively above average clothing, shows that he''s quite a big shot in these areas. "Hey Michael... you''re in my spot." Michael narrows his eyes. ''I haven''t regenerated my mana.'' "Hi Eric, nice to meet you again." Eric chuckles as lightning jumps from his back, heading straight towards Michael. Michael immediately drives his measly mana into his body, speeding him up, and then immediately dodges. "Hmmm, eight times your mana pool and can cast low level magic with ease, all at the young age of 14. A little arrogant but can be curved by a show of true power and if it becomes too annoying, a few drops of nightmare fuel will calm him down." Demiurge was talking to himself, while studying Eric''s capabilities. ''Hey, do you mind not fantasizing about my death so you can find a better host, will you try to help me prevent my death!'' Michael screams at Demiurge while constantly dodging Eric''s barrage of arcing lightning. ''Fuck... Even with my pure mana, I can''t make my body strong enough to survive one lightning bolt.'' Michael shivers, as he remembers the last time when Eric shocked his body with a weakened ''lightning arc'', it took him two days to get rid of the pain. "Hey! Killing is illegal!'' Michael screams at Eric futilely, as Eric continues to barrage him with arcing lightning. Michael dodges another bolt of lightning as he hits a solid figure. "Ahh..." Michael immediately notices his mistake and he rolls forward dodging the lightning by the smallest of margin. A scream resounds as Michael sees what was hit. A tall muscular man with an air of like a monk turns around to face Eric. "ERIC!" Eric shudders in surprise as a huge monk with a monstrous body stares at him. "Jordan that was an accident, get over it." Jordan ''the stone monk'', stares at Eric angrily. Michael is in between the two monsters, so he immediately moves but Eric shoots another lightning bolt preventing his escape. "How dare you! I am a reasonable person! but I will not be pushed around so easily!" Jordan''s body suddenly becomes gray in color as he charges Eric. Eric shakes his head, but his arrogance prevents him from apologizing, so he charges forward and the two engage in combat. "Hoooo.... Finally that psychopath is gone." Michael releases the strain of his mana pool. Before he could fully relax, a knife slips on his neck, just stopping before the skin. "Hi Michael!" A nice cheerful voice greets Michael from his behind. Chapter 5: A rare treasure While the three poor geniuses were relatively dangerous for Michael, since all three of them are able to easily kill him, Michael was truly afraid of one of them. This genius was Lisa. This girl, at the young age of 16, has killed many men before, without being arrested. While Michael is undoubtedly afraid of Lisa, he very much cares for her, and she has visited him many times, at first it was for business but as time passed, the two became friends. They show their own style of caring for each other. They met when Lisa was 15 years old and Michael was 19, their friendship blossomed after spending a year as friends. When they became very close friends, Lisa opened up to him, telling him that for the first time in3 years, she found someone she could trust. After all, it is commonplace for young women with good looks and a growing body, in a poor place like this, to be taken advantage of. Spoiler: Spoiler At the ripe young age of 12, poor Lisa was taken advantage of her, waste of a space, father. For a full night, she had to endure his lustful advances, the next morning she broke the window, slit his throat with a shard of glass and ran away. The police found her a few days later, starving and hiding, behind an orphanage. And due to this, Lisa acts distant and unaffected by people, but in truth, she just wants someone to care for her. When Michael was in excruciating pain from Eric''s spell, she secretely visited him when she saw that he unconscious. She tidied up his place and left some food for him to eat. Michael woke up a few hours later surprised at the change in his house, but he happily ate the food, realizing it could only be Lisa, who would do that for him. "Lisa, it''s not good to do jokes like this." Michael chuckled as Lisa removed the knife poised on top of his neck. "But that was our first greeting though." Michael turns around to see a young cute and definitely beautiful girl wearing comfortable clothing, that''s fit for fighting and movement. ''She really is conservative.'' Michael smiles and Lisa smiles as well, her bright red hair reflecting the sunlight. Her eyes that were once clouded are bright and clear. "Yes, I know but... an accident might happen one day and I might hurt you." "Pfft..." Lisa laughs "No offense Michael, but we''ve been friends for a year and if it wasn''t for your tinkering skills, you would''ve been dead by now. It''s like your mana refuses to grow past what you have." Michael sighs. "Is that true?" Demiurge asks with a slight tone of grimness. ''Yes...'' "... Damn all the hells, I''ll be stuck with you for an eternity." Demiurge curses himself for picking such a shitty talent. ''I''ve never thought of you as a person who swears.'' "I''m a devil, did you expect me to be calm the whole time we would be together?" Michael simplys sighs, not replying. His talent was really shitty, and it was impossible to explain why. "Yoohoo? Pardegan to Michael!" Lisa waves her hand at Michael''s face, breaking him out of his stupor. "Oh... sorry, I was thinking." "Sorry... I didn''t meant to offend, I''m just being realistic." Lisa said smiling "I only have two years left before I graduate high school and my grades are perfect! I can aim for a scholarship once i''m in college, and I can focus on making money so I can move out of this dump." Michael smiles happily, this wasn''t finding a good treasure happy, or learning a new spell happy, this was happiness borne from the rare moments that come from a world full of suffering.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. "That''s amazi-" "Come with me." Michael freezes from Lisa''s offer. "What?" "Come with me." Michael smiles melancholically. "... Is that a no?" Lisa''s smile disappears. "Yes..." "Can I know why?" "... Is it okay if you wait?" Lisa opened up to Michael, but Michael couldn''t bear to tell her of his past. Lisa chuckles "I''ve been waiting for a long time now. For 3 years, I''ve never had someone, you think I plan on letting you go." Michael just smiles sadly. For a while now, he noticed that Lisa has been acting weird. He suspected that she might have developed feelings for him, but Michael didn''t reciprocate it, not because he didn''t like her, but because he wanted her to experience the other parts of life first. Lisa has experienced so much hardship, and she worked so hard to reach where she is now, he didn''t want to drag her down with his talentless self. He wanted her to be happy, after all, out of the 3 geniuses, she was the one who worked hard the most and she was the only one who had pain comparable to Michael. "Lisa... you know we can''t be together." Michael smiles, rejecting Lisa''s offer. "Why not?" Lisa asks non-chalantly. "Because..." "Is it because I''m 16 and underage?" she hefts her growing chest, probably around c+ and growing. "One day I''m going to be a beautiful adult! And you''ll regret rejecting me!... so please?" she keeps a stern face but her quivering lips and slightly teary eyes showed that she was obviously dispirited. Michael shakes his head one last time and Lisa sighs dejectedly. "You''re stupid Michael." "I can see that, I''ll regret my choice a few years from now, I''m sure of it." Lisa storms off before saying anything else but she immediately comes back to give Michael a tight magically enhanced hug, then she immediately runs away. Michael watches Lisa run away with superhuman speeds. ''She''s faster now. At least, she''ll give up on me now.'' Little did he know, that a certain red-headed girl had no plans on giving up. Once Lisa was gone to do her own stuff, Michael turns to the wreckage. Jordan and Eric were still fighting, and how everything looks, it seems Jordan is winning. Jordan''s nigh-impervious body was truly a sure win tactic, Eric barely did any damage to him, even when Jordan wasn''t dodging. "It was lucky that idiot hit another idiot." "I call that very fortunate, but is your talent really that shitty?" "Yes, it is. Anyway, let me rest, I need to recuperate my mana." Michael finds a relatively safe and clean spot, and proceeds to sit down and rest. "Your talent is really garbage." "Yes." "Even the girl has average talent, yet she has 4x your mana pool." "She works hard." "I can see that. I had a glimpse of her thoughts when she momentarily weakened, due to your rejection." Michael cringes at that. "Don''t remind me. I don''t want to hurt her or waste her time." "You''re afraid." "... I thought we had an agreement." Demiurge doesn''t answer and Michael doesn''t speak anymore, as he meditates to regain his mana.
"Ahhhhh!!!!" Eric was thrown into a large pile of junk and if it wasn''t for his body enhancing magic, he would be pierced by the sharp debris. ''Damn this rockhead! Why is he so hard to kill? His body is nigh immune to everything I throw at him!.'' "I swear to Paragon, if you touch me one more time with those solid fingers of yours, I''ll pry them off, one by one, from your cold dead body." Eric stands up dusting his clothing. "You started this first, and I will not stop until I hear my apology." Jordan stretches and his stone body heals all of his damage. "I''d rather die than apologize!" Eric charges again with his body wreathed in lightning. *A few hours later* "That shitty rockhead, why is he so hard to kill." Eric walks back home with a huge sack, filled with the junkyard treasure he picked up. "Smoking at such a young age?" Eric immediately lets the sack go and turns around, only to find a knife''s edge right on his neck. "Lisa... What are you doing here?" Eric immediately turns off his lightning abilities, but he keeps his body enhancing power, just in case Lisa tries to slit his throat. "Don''t try jumping backwards, this knife was specifically enchanted by Michael, you know how sharp they are. And it''s vibrating with my sound spells. One movement and your head falls off, unless you manage to focus all your mana on your neck. Only Jordan can do that." Eric sighs and releases his body magic. "At least you know how to listen." "What do you want Lisa?" Eric stares at the older teenager with all the defiance he can muster. "I heard you almost killed Michael." "So? Wait... you''re helping someone? Stoic Lisa?" Eric laughs. Lisa''s face was blank and deadpan, devoid of all the emotion she showed when she was with Michael. "I never imagined that you preferred being the dominant one in a relationship. So you only prefer weak males?" Eric smiles maliciously. "If you do that again, I will kill you." "Kill me? Didn''t you hear the news?" suddenly two nicely suited men appear behind Eric. Lisa keeps the knife on Eric''s neck. "Eric, the organization decided to take you in." a deep voice comes from one of the men. Eric pulls away at Lisa confidently, and Lisa doesn''t move but she keeps a careful stance. "Tell Michael, that I keep grudges." "Why not tell him yourself?" "It would be more fun bringing your violated body to him, with my own strength. Right now, I''m sure you can kill me but in the future, you''ll be the first victim of my wrath. I''ve lived long enough with people like you looking down on me. I will rise to the top! Women will clamber to my bed, the gods will bow at my feet, and the weak shall hide from my shadow. I swear you will be the first one I take vengeance on." Eric chuckles as he''s taken away by the men. Lisa waits for them to leave and once they''re gone, she sighs heavily. "What did I just do......" Lisa grumbles to herself, while she walks home.
Somewhere in the junkyard, while night continues to fall. A lone young man "Found one!" "What did you find?" Michael showed a beautiful sword, its magical enchantment has long faded and it had no handle but the blade itself was beautifully made. Michael felt especially proud about what he found. He has never found a material of this high quality in the junkyard. He knew that every once in a while, stuff like this would drop, but he never had the chance to get some of them. He''s about to boast to Demiurge what he found but he stopped immediately, when he heard the following words. "That is one low-quality sword." Chapter 6: An introduction to not be trash Inside his dilapidated house, Michael was cleaning up. One could say it was cleaning up but, other people would immediately say, he was renovating. *crash* Michael threw out a large box full of worthless junk. After sorting out the trash he found in the junkyard, Michael immediately set to throw out the parts he didn''t want. He almost threw the blade from the constant insults coming from Demiurge. "Will you just sush! I need to make some form of protection. You saw what happened earlier, if it wasn''t for Jordan, I would be dead by now or at least in some form of excruciating pain." "Why do you want to be an artificer?" Demiurge asks while studying the faded magical enchantments on the junk Michael brought in. Michael puts the junk down and lies on the bed. "Well... it''s the only thing i''m good at." "So you''re only doing it, because you can''t do anything else? Isn''t that pathetic?" Michael sighs and looks at his hands. His hands are full of calluses and slight extra skin. It was the hand of someone who made, created, and forged something either meaningful or meaningless. "But... if I don''t, then what will I do? Isn''t that more pathetic? Doing nothing, only waiting for my inevitable demise." Michael thinks of everything that has ever happened in his life. Michael studies his hands. "We humans have only limited lifespans and in the end we''ll all die. Isn''t that meaningless? That whatever we do, in the end we die. Even the strongest mages eventually die, unless they cheat death, and not everyone has the will to do that. I don''t want to live a meaningless life where I''ll be stuck in this worthless heap of trash. So I take up artificing, I want to be realistic and despite my wishes and goals, I truly want to make my life meaningful. After all isn''t that what life means, to give it meaning?" Demiurge doesn''t answer and simply thinks about Michael''s question and answer. "Do you intend to transfer to a better college, where artificing is the focus?" Michael chuckles "I wish, but I doubt any other college would accept me. No magical growth for over 3 years, what shitty talent is that!" Michael laughs at his own shitty talent. "If I can find a way to increase my magical level to at least novice, then I can try to enter the intermediate colleges as an intern and try to work my way as a student. I''ve spent my whole life stuck in the initiate level. Haven''t you figured out why I''m cursed?" "Not cursed, just unfortunate." "Really? I feel cursed." "I cannot give you any encouraging words, as I believe your situation is bleak, but if I do not help you, we will both be stuck in this miserable existence." Demiurge says with his morbid voice. "How then?" "I have an idea." "What?" "I believe that someone put a blocker on your abilities." "A seal then?" "Yes, a seal. It is utterly impossible for someone''s mana growth to be 0, after 3 years of nigh perfect meditation." "I know, but I once went to a hospital and had myself checked. All of the doctors and physicians I met told me that my body and magical soul has no problems." "They''re not able to detect magical seals created by a stronger being than them. If the standards of public hospitals are intermediate class mages then it would be obvious none of them could study your soul properly. Higher level mages can easily disguise and hide their spells from lower level ones." "How high level can it be anyway? Advanced? It can''t be mortal level right?" "Considering your past memories... Probably it could be a demon level mage or a mana lord level mage." Michael sucks his breath in. The level of magic is simple and very linear, as every level represents a new stage of power, as every level gives the magic user new abilities, separate from their already known spells. Each level of power is also separated into four sublevels, lower, mid, upper, and peak. The levels of power are as follows:
Levels of power Special Ability of each levelThis story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
Initiate - Basic and low level body enhancing magic available. - Basic and low level spells become available.
Novice -Shield spells become available.
Apprentice - The Body is now able to permanently absorb mana, strengthening it.
Intermediate - Mid level spells become available.
Advanced - The mage can find a soul companion or soul pet, to form a soul contract.
Mortal - High level spells become available.
Demon - Higher Tier concept magic becomes available.
Mana Lord/Demon Lord - Mana Lord/Demon Lord can develop their own mana domain.
??? - Undocumented levels of power.
"A Mana Lord? The country''s strongest mage is a mana lord, how can that be?" "That''s such a low level." That surprised Michael. "What? I thought you''ve had hundreds of hosts before? How can you not know the basic history of our world?" "World? You mean continent? There are at least three more continents out there." "What! Then that means... there are other beings that are so much stronger than our country?" "Yes. I recall a being called the king of the void. He''s human and he''s become so powerful that he can dethrone Paragon, if he so wishes but it''ll kill him." "...." "Shocked you speechless" "Yes you did. But as you said before, we shouldn''t be talking about beings too powerful for me, as it will just impede my growth. Anyway how will we increase my mana?" "As I said earlier, I do have a plan. Are you familiar with mana stones?" "Yes... If your plan includes those... then it''ll be nigh impossible. Those things are expensive! Even the cheapest ones are expensive. A single one of those are worth in the hundreds of thousands!" "Other than that, we can try to find something to force your current mana to jump straight up. It''s something similar to a bottleneck." "I don''t think three years of my mana not expanding is a bottleneck." "You will need a lot of funds." *ring* *ring* *ring* Michael checks one of his makeshift alarm clocks and his face slightly pales. "Oh... it''s 4:00 am... I need to go to school..." "..." A huge square-like building that has 7 floors shows in the distance, as the sun slowly rises up the horizon. Its old stone walls were littered with graffiti and some growing vine. While looking dilapidated, this old building was actually the public mage college of the lower districts, called Fallen Phoenix. There are other colleges in the lower district but this was the only college that was funded by the government, due to the mandated magical education law. At this early hour, a newly bathed and roughly dressed Michael was running at full magically enhanced speed towards the college. "My deity Paragon, I''m going to be late!" "It seems you value being early." "Yes! I have to be, in public colleges you¡¯re not allowed to be late or else you''ll be immediately expelled!" "A little harsh" "Yes, they have to, because if students are wasting the money of the government, they''re not worth it. It''s not as harsh in high school, but it''s because in college the students are actually given resources. The government would rather use their resources on individuals that are actually trying to learn and improve, instead of just slacking off." The college gates were appearing in view as Michael sped up towards it. People were all over the vicinity, they were other students and school employees. "Hey it''s him..." "Yeah that worthless person..." "He should be thankful the college is giving him a chance..." "I heard he stole a Mk. 4 magic focus from Barry..." In his whole 20 year old life, Michael has heard every form of insult before, so this was a common occurrence to him. Most of the time, the insults were directed to his talent or lack of thereof but, every once in a while, he''d hear an insult directed to something he didn''t do. Michael sighs, as he ignores everyone around him and he continues to run towards the college. "MICHAEL! WHY ARE YOU LATE?!" A young male professor, probably around 24 years old was immediately screaming at Michael, the moment he entered the classroom. The professor was named Mallory, a new professor at Fallen Phoenix. Despite being new, he obviously hated here. He was regarded as a genius and a rising star, when he was younger but when he hit 20 years old he slowed down and the once regarded geniuses became average. He became extremely bitter about it and he''s been trying to find a way to re-enter the realm of geniuses but he just became more and more average. His bitterness became worse, when he had to find a job instead of being offered one, especially when he had to come down to the lower districts. His hatred had not outlet and when he entered the school as a teacher the first thing he noticed was Michael, the embodiment of pure trash. He finally had something to vent out his anger. "Sir I am not late. As you can see, I still have 5 minutes left before class." Michael was telling the truth, there was a clock in every hallway and classroom, and each one of them told the same time. "You even dare to refute a teacher!" Mallory was pissed enough at it is and this failure of a human was talking back to him. Mallory was about to raise his hand smack Michael''s face but another teacher walks by. "Oh, hello Michael" A beautiful and lovely voice comes from a teacher that walked by. She has a stunningly mature blonde beauty, with a matching body. "Good morning, Miss Acres." Michael respectfully bowed towards the titled ''Goddess of the poor''. Despite her rich background and above average talent, Pamela Acres decided to work for a public school, enlightening students with her knowledge. When Michael talked to her, he usually asked about meditation styles and spells that could help him improve. Thankfully she was open to helping and she gladly assisted Michael. "She has good talent." ''You noticed as well? I used to think she was a super genius, until you came along. Now... I think she has average talent.'' "Already at advanced level at 22 years old. She is limiting herself by staying here." ''I told her that as well but she just smiled and waved my concerns.'' "I will never understand the sentimentalities of humanity. I find it stupid and worthless." Michael doesn''t reply and simply courteously bows towards Pamela. "Good morning miss Acres!" Mallory immediately lights up, as he practically fawns over Pamela. Michael doesn''t say anything and quietly slips into class. Pamela is politely speaking with Mallory. The other students ignore Michael as he goes in. Most of them are reviewing and studying. "Your teacher is garbage." ''Yeah and his lessons are just as bad.'' "Any other garbage I should take note of?" ''Why?'' "I assume you want revenge on them as well" ''You know my quite a lot, even though we''ve only been together for a few days.'' "The heart does not lie and yours is very black, with a small speck of white. If you have not met that Lisa girl, you might have been a psychopath by the time we met." Michael sat down at the back and immediately takes his notes out. "You do not need to take notes." ''I know but any knowledge is better than none. Also it''ll help if Mallory at least believes I''m listening to him.'' Michael felt tapping on his shoulder. Michael turns to see a fellow student. "Michael thanks for your notes. It really helped." A young freshman male thanked Michael and returned him a small notebook. "I managed to reach peak initiate due to your help, and within a few months, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be able to reach low novice." Michael smiles and congratulates him. "Good job! With that you''ll be able to apply to better colleges and even find a good paying job in the future." The young freshman smiles happily but Demiurge comments. "He already removed you out of your mind." ''I can guess that. People here are ruthless. Imagine having to live of water everyday, and not to mention, dirty water.'' "Then why did you help him?" ''Because as you said earlier, if not for the small good things, I would be a psychopath.'' The student left without saying anything else. Eventually Mallory enters and starts the class. ''Now how will we make money for that expensive mana stone?'' "I have a few guesses but you just gave me an idea." ''What?'' "How good are you at articulating your thoughts or my thoughts in this case?" Chapter 7: A devil, a man and a boy? "You want me to teach others for money?" "Yes, that is the idea." "And how do you propose I get the money should they decide to not just pay?" "We do this under the pretense of an expert." "Ahhh the clich¨¦, a weakling pretending to be a master." "It is perfect; you are currently lower Initiate level, with no signs of improving. No one would be able to tell your level due to the lack of mana." A beautiful marble building shows up in the distance. The sun was at its peak and hundreds of people were walking around, enjoying the afternoon. "This is the Diamond Sage''s college, the best college in the lower districts, why are you forcing me to go here?" Michael was wearing good looking clothes and newly bought shoes. ''That Mk. 2 Magic focus.... down the drain.... why did I agree to this plan....'' While Michael was grieving the loss of his money, Demiurge was already hatching up a plan. "This place has the most capable students, financial-wise. In addition, all these brats are proud, they would do anything to rise to the top." "I know that! But how will I convince them to be our student?" "Right now, you are wearing branded clothing and in this modern society, mages tend to be classy." Michael agrees with that notion. "You will have to change your appearance." "How?" "A basic altering spell. It''ll only change your appearance but any physical touch towards you will immediately remove it, so you need to be careful." "... What? I heard altering spells start at low level." "Yes they do." "I might not be able to maintain it long enough." "Efficiency is key in this situation. Also a disguise would be very good in this situation." "But... but... you told me to buy these nice clothes..." "Your old clothes were rags, so it was good I made you buy new clothes." Michael could feel his heart be ripped to shreds, as he tries to forget the money he spent. "..." "You need to buy a good quality overcoat and something that will cover your face as well." "..." "Michael? Michael?" Demiurge kept calling but Michael didn''t answer for a while. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. At the front of the diamond sage''s gate, Michael was wearing a beautiful overcoat that covered his other expensive clothing. Michael''s face was covered by a well designed marble mask that was releasing a powerful sliver of mana. Right now, Michael is releasing the aura of a deific expert. The passing students were very affected by Michael''s dignified appearance and a lot of them are studying him. "Bad talent... good talent but bad attitude... spoiled... good talent but too old... young but too spoiled" While Michael was internally crying, Demiurge was studying the passing students looking for good talents and attitudes that were still bearable. "Hey... If we don''t find a prospective target now... I swear to Paragon, I''ll kill the both of us... all those grocery money..." Michael continued to mutter to himself, while Demiurge was still looking for a good student to swindle. This continues on until Demiurge finally calls out to Michael. "That one!" A timid looking young teenager, probably 13 years old, walks towards the school, with his shoulders slumped and his head drooped down. "The perfect victim." "You mean student?" "Low self-esteem, average talent, a disappointment to his parents, and probably a virgin." "That is one harsh judgement." "Those who are hopeless try to cling to any form of hope, even if it seems impossible." "How will we swindle the poor teenager then?" "His mana impurity is 75%... he must have the worst of luck... Call him now." "Wouldn''t that be bad?" "His low self-esteem will prevent him from avoiding you. Just make sure to show your presence or else he''ll run." "You seem to know this very well." "I''ve had my fair share of worthless losers as hosts." "Am-" "No, you are not one of those but you have the trashiest talent of all my previous hosts." "Trashiest is not a word." "Actually it is, it''s the superlative adjective of trashy." "What? Are you serious?" "Yes" "How do you know this?" "Are you going to call the child or not?" "Oh! You''re right." Michael looks at the child that''s almost too far away and immediately calls his attention. "Hey kid!" The, obviously low self-esteem, kid stiffens and turns his head left and right, checking if the voice was directed at him. "Yes, you." Michael''s strong commanding voice immediately silenced the area. Students continued to walk but the more curious bunch stopped to watch. "The kid, despite his mana impurity and average talent, is at least novice level, mid-level at that. He''s progress is slowing down and due to his massive mana impurity, his mana efficiency is dropping into very serious levels." "I have a solution to your problem." Michael said this lightly, so that only the kid who was only a few feet away from him would hear. "Yes, use his horrible talent as a way to lure him in." "I can tell you like her a lot, don''t you want to prove your more than just a worthless man?" The young kid immediately turned around red faced. As if controlled by supernatural forces, he runs and gives Michael a small piece of paper, containing an address. "..." "I bet your tactic doesn''t always work." "Yes, it only works 6 out of 10." "Make use of their base instincts first, and humansaren''t fiends, not all humans crave power." "You''ve done this before then?" "Swindling other people or helping them?" Demiurge doesn''t answer and Michael chuckles. A few hours later Michael is already in front of the house of the teenager. The address given to him was accurate and Michael found himself in front of a very average looking household. Michael sighed and studied the general area. He was a little disappointed, because after studying the kid''s background, he had a perfectly good family. He had a loving father, a supportive mother, and a nice younger sister. He was just lazy and had no ambition. "He was just... a worthless kid after all." Michael sounded disappointed, because he thought he found someone like him, but it seems even the blessed people were wasting their gifts. "Do you want to change targets then?" "Aren''t you a little too agreeable for a devil?" "I noticed that if I stayed aloof, then all my hosts would die trying to get my attention." "So you think I''m doing this for your attention?" "No, you are obviously too angry at this child to care for me." "I am not angry." "Your mana pool is not peaceful, it''s rippling." "I hate people like this." "Happy families?" Demiurge commented sarcastically. "No, I hate people who waste good lives." "A lot of people then." "Yes... We all are given the chance to ascend the world... and not all of us are as lucky as this child." "But not everyone is as lucky as you either." "Yes... and that''s why I never stopped."
After a few hours of waiting and controlling his temper, Michael finally saw the young kid that he was disappointed in. He was looking even more down than before and if it was even possible, the kid''s shoulders are droopier now. Michael was about to meet the teenager with his prepared scolding but he stopped and saw the child''s face, it was swollen. "..." "What? I thought you planned on berating and scolding his ear off?" "I made a mistake." Michael sighed and met the child halfway. The teenager who was just done crying stopped and stared at Michael incredulously. If it wasn''t for the appearance of Michael, the teenager wouldn''t have suffered more than usual. Michael felt the child''s agitation but he only stared. "What''s your name?" Michael asked with a commanding tone. The teenager''s natural fear made him respond. "Um... Clarence..." "Do you want to live and change everything?" As Michael asked Clarence the very same question Demiurge asked him, he asked himself, did he really have a chance or was he doomed to be worthless. Clarence was surprised, because Michael was different from the other people he met. While Michael didn''t exude the magical might that his peers had, he had something deeper, something that he felt that was familiar. It was pain. "I can understand what it means to be trash but if you accept my tutelage, you will have a chance for change." "Yes!!! I''ll accept it!" Clarence immediately accepted it. "For only 10,000 credits as a downpayment!" "What?" Chapter 8: The Prize? Michael counted the bills in his hand, as the pitiful Clarence was sitting across him nervously. Michael counted all 10,000 credits and while he was very happy, he was curious how Clarence got him the money immediately. "Clarence... how did you get this money easily?" Michael asked politely but Clarence was tense. "I... was saving it..." Clarence was obviously lying and was hiding something. "You stole this from your parents." Michael sighed as he immediately regretted taking money from a child. "You''re regretting taking money from a child?" Demiurge asked sarcastically. ''Shut up'' "Clarence I will take this money, not because I approve of stealing from your benefactors, but because I''ll make sure it''s worth it" Michael hid the money and stared at Clarence with his scary mask. "i promised you''d get the girl and be more than a pathetic loser." "Yes..." Clarence was slightly excited but his natural pessimistic attitude dialed it down. Currently the two young men, a teenager and a young adult, are sitting inside Clarence''s room. Clarence''s room was literally the stereotype of a sexually repressed teenager. ''This is slightly uncomfortable.'' "Why? Because you never had a proper teenage period?" Demiurge was throwing harsh insults while he studied Clarence''s mana pool. Michael ignores Demiurge as he orders Clarence to meditate. Clarence asks "You won''t teach me more powerful spells or new abilities?" "No, we need to start with the basics; you''re not going to cast anything with your 75% mana impurity." "Actually it is 76% now." Demiurge was slightly surprised at how fast this child''s impurity was increasing. ''Really? That''s extremely fast, how is he polluting his mana pool so quickly.'' Michael and Demiurge were carefully watching Clarence''s meditation style. Michael frowns and Demiurge immediately expresses his displeasure. "Clarence stop." Clarence immediately stops when Michael shakes his head. "You''re doing it wrong." The moment Clarence started to meditate Michael was immediately disappointed, and if he didn''t live in a shitty neighborhood, he would believe that Clarence had the worst meditation style he had ever seen. Clarence looked confused "This is what my teachers told me." "Wow... even the good schools have shitty teachers." "I assume you are joking? None of the schools here are good." While Demiurge did his usual insult routine, Michael decided to break down Clarence''s full meditation style. "Clarence do you have a hard time meditating and when you cast spells does your mana pool take larger amounts of mana than usual, with very sup-optimal effects?" Clarence was shocked, all the symptoms that Michael listed were something he''s been experiencing for the past months. "Yes! It''s exactly been like this! None of my teachers can explain why." While Michael was diagnosing the basic symptoms of magic impurity, that any proper mage could do, Clarence was obviously awed by Michael''s superiority in knowledge over his ignorance of magical knowledge, albeit he did not know. On the other hand, Demiurge was also making his own list of problems, which Michael also mentioned to the poor teenager.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. In all honesty, Demiurge was very surprised to see that even without his help, Michael already diagnosed Clarence with all the basic symptoms. "A quick change in his meditation style and spell selection will help him." Michael agreed to Demiurge''s treatment and started to teach Clarence a new meditation style derived from his own style. After all, Michael can''t divulge his own meditation style or else Clarence''s mana purity might reach 100% and the school would be in an uproar. ''Demiurge how rare is a 100% mana purity?'' "For low level mages, it is extremely rare but in higher levels, having anything below 100% is considered stupid." Clarence was in the middle of meditation with his new style while Demiurge and Michael was discussing future endeavors. ''So in my case...'' "Yes, it is extremely rare for someone of the initiate level to have a mana purity of 100%. It is also good as it will help you in the future; having a powerful and clean mana pool will help you ascend faster. If you didn''t have such a problem with your mana growth, you''d already be advanced level." ''Already that high?'' "Not too high in my opinion, still trashy, not as trashy as now though." On the other hand, Clarence was in deep thought of how amazing his current meditation style is. For the first time in his entire life, his mana was flowing smoothly instead of clogging like dirty mud in pipes. He slightly opened his eyes and stared at Michael, who was stoically staring at him with his unmoving white mask. ''This man is truly a godlike being, to be able to cure my problem immediately.'' While Clarence was already in awe of Michael, Demiurge was insulting Michael about his shitty talent. Eventually Clarence finishes with his basic meditation and Demiurge already saw significant change in his mana purity. "His mana purity is now 32%." ''Thank you, non-physical voice inside my head.'' Clarence then sat straight and asked seriously. "How will I get the girl?" Michael almost forgot about that but thankfully the young hormone rich teenager reminded him. "You still want to try and woo the girl then?" "Yes!" Clarence thought of the girl he was completely heads over heels for, he would give anything just to have her. "Then you need to be better, you aren''t anything impressive and until you become strong, you cannot demand anything." Clarence''s excitement was immediately shot down as Michael told the truth. "But... you can try to at least impress her, is there anything that will allow you to be made known?" Clarence thought for a while and he snaps his fingers quickly. "I''ve gone one!" "What is it?" Clarence immediately stood up and started rummaging inside his unkempt room and emerged with a small piece of slightly rumpled paper. "What is that?" Clarence started straightening it out and immediately set it on front of Michael. Michael read the slightly dirty peace of paper. "Highschool lower district tournament?" Clarence was nodding his head quick as he was filled to the brim with excitement. Michael chuckled and looked at Clarence with a serious look. "Do you really expect to win in this?" "Yes!" "Where did your confidence come from?" "From you!" Clarence was literally running on bravado and he was hoping for Michael to show him another level of power. "..." "Sir with your help, I can easily go to the top! Once I''m there I can finally have the woman I want and tower over my former enemies." Clarence showed fire in his eyes, albeit not the fire that Michael likes. Michael sighed quietly as he studied Clarence once more. ''This kid is really lazy...'' "What do you mean?" ''He plans on riding on my knowledge then throw me away once he''s high and mighty.'' "Or maybe he''s just a very ambitious kid." ''I hope so, but he already paid me, so I''ll do my end of the bargain.'' "Clarence does the tournament have any prize?" Clarence thinks for a while and says. "It''s usually money sir, but I think this year''s tournament is different." "Why so?" "I heard it''s because this generation is called the generation of geniuses." Demiurge held his laughter while Michael inwardly grumbled. "I see, so what''s the prize then?" "Sir I think it''s a mana stone." Michael was walking back home without his expensive clothing. He was deep in thought while Demiurge was already planning. "Michael, it seems fate has decided to be kind and showed us the way." "Yes... it seems we''ll have to train lil timmy to become a super mage." "You mean mooch off my superior knowledge?" "It''s a win win situation for the both of us so shut up." "That kid is average and he isn''t anyone particularly impressive, even his attitude is not good, do you truly dislike him because of that?" "I dislike people that waste their time, when I was 14 I was already out here fighting tooth for tooth just for the smallest scraps, so I wouldn''t die from hunger." Michael sighed but he immediately calmed down. "I guess our lives are just too different for me to understand him." "To understand who?" A female voice came out from the side and Michael practically jumped out of the way only to see Lisa wearing her school uniform, the uniform was from diamond sage''s high school which was another school of the same named college. Lisa chuckles as she waves Michael''s fear away. "Lately you''ve been talking to yourself more, I know you do it but lately its'' kinda getting weird." Lisa smiled as she goes towards Michael. "Oh Lisa, sorry I thought you were someone else." Lisa raises her eyebrow and smiles. "Who did you mistake me for then?" ''The one that killed me.'' "Oh... no one'' "You mistaked me for no one? I didn''t expect I was just nobody for you." Lisa jests while smiling. "Do you want to eat?" Michael remembers the 10,000 credits in his wallet and he nods. "I''d like that." "We can also talk about Eric." "Eric?" "Yeah, that bastard was recruited." Michael froze, if Eric was recruited that means he was personally backed by either a powerful clan or a school. "I see... well while we''re eating I can do a proper diagnosis on your state." "What are you talking about Michael? You can''t just say that to a girl." Lisa pretended to be embarrassed. "You know what I mean." Before meeting Demiurge, Michael already had a good grasp on meditation technique and mana purification, albeit he didn''t know about the latter part, if not for Demiurge. But due to his knowledge, he helped Lisa develop a good and solid foundation, so she could grow to be a powerful mage. "Don''t worry! I''ve been following all your advice, my body is in perfectly good shape." Lisa posed with her hands. Michael smiled; he was always impressed by this girl''s wide array of emotions. "I''ll be the judge of that!" Michael chuckles. Lisa immediately grabs Michael by the arm and the two of them walk towards the busier part of the lower district, to look for food. Chapter 9: The First Blade "Hey Michael, what are you doing?" Lisa was looking at Michael weirdly while the two of them were eating in a nice looking restaurant. Lisa was utterly surprised and happy when Michael said he''ll treat her, she was dumbfounded after all, she knew Michael was a very stingy person when it came to his money. Everything was doing well, until Lisa noticed that Michael was literally staring at her, studying her carefully. Michael was actually letting Demiurge study her while he simply stared at her. "She''s at peak novice and very close to apprentice level. Her mana purity is 85%, which is very good for her young age. You taught her well." ''Well I taught her my own meditation style a year ago after all.'' Michael remembers when he perfected his own meditation style and thought it was just a simple formula, then he introduced it to Lisa, she was practically ecstasic. "You seem to care for her a lot." ''I already told you, I do.'' "MICHAEL!" Michael was jolted by Lisa''s strong voice and he saw her slightly irritated. Michael blushes slightly embarassed. "Sorry, I was studying you." "Really? I remember I had to meditate first." "Ummm well, I developed a new technique." Lisa smiles with a tinge of confidence. "I think you just wanted to stare at me." Michael just laughed, he knew that entertaining her was dangerous. "Well, if you''re done staring, what''s your judgement then?" Lisa retained her calmness after realizing that Michael won''t entertain her flirting. "You''ve been doing very well, your mana impurity is only 15%. That means you have a very healthy foundation." Lisa was thinking. "Where did you learn this? My teachers haven''t even taught me this yet." "Well... there are some things about me that you still don''t know." Lisa frowns at that remark, slightly annoyed. "So, what are these things I don''t know then?" Michael chuckles nervously but continues. "Every being in the world have mana in their bodies and if they spend the effort, it will only be a matter of time before it coalesces into a mana pool. This is called the initiate level, you''re already quite familiar with this, but I digress. Themana pool is first limited but when we intake more mana, we risk polluting our mana pool endangering us in the long run, but your mana pool is very pure and if you continue your meditation, you will eventually reach 100% purity." "What does mana purity do?" Lisa asks curiously. "Having better purity allows usage of spells easier and most of all, it helps with mana efficiency and each percent helps. Someone with a mana purity of 100% is already more efficient compared to someone with 98% mana purity." Lisa smiles "I''m guessing 85% is not bad." Michael nods towards that as he finally gives the food they ordered, some thought. Their lunch was pretty simple, after eating and chatting the two eventually went out. "Michael are you going home now?" Lisa asked interested. "Well..." Michael remembered the sword blade he found in the dump, it had good quality and he knew how to recreate it, if he had better materials. "I think I''ll stop by the general market to look for good parts." "You''re gonna buy new parts?" Lisa was confused, Michael never bought new parts and he usually never had the money for it. "Yup!" "That''s weird... Why?" Michael beamed. Finally someone asked him, Michael has been slightly drained from Demiurge''s depreciative comments and Lisa was just the perfect person to fuel his item creation craving.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. "I plan on making my personal item!" Lisa was surprised by this. Michael has helped her multiple time to enhance her sound dagger, but until now he never created his own personal weapon. Lisa''s sound dagger was an uncommon magical item that allowed her to vibrate at extreme speeds with her own magic without exploding. With the dagger enhanced by her vibrating sound magic, Lisa can cut anyone below intermediate level. Lisa chuckled and said with a beaming voice "Let''s go then!" She immediately grabs Michael''s arm and the two of the run towards the general market place.
"Umm... sir?" A young man overseeing a shop inside a mall calls out to Michael, who''s been studying the displayed parts for over an hour now. This might seem boring to anyone else, but fortunately Lisa''s been checking the other dagger displays in the magical weapon shops where Michael enters. ''This rune glyph is worth 3000 credits, but it''s efficiency is5% better than this 1500 rune glyph.'' Michael was comparing two rune glyphs. They were of the same brand but of different level and Michael was debating which was better, performance or price. Michael was truly stressing out which to buy, because even if the 3000 credit rune glyph was better, his sword might break so it still made him hesitate. When creating magic items, one must inscribe magical runes onto an object. This was the way thousands of years ago when technology wasn''t advanced yet but eventually when modern technology was available, powerful mage organizations found ways to make rune inscribing easier by making premade runes. This was weaker than an actual rune made by a runemaker but runemakers are rare and it wasn''t an easy skill that anyone can learn. Runemakers are always coveted by every person and organization in the whole country. The most powerful runemaking company''s, Rupple, head scientists make ways to create easy and accesible runes for the general masses and this is the trend rune companies follows. ''If only I knew how to make runes.'' Unfortunately rune making was only offered at the most expensive and extravagant colleges in the whole country. "I can teach you runemaking." Demiurge nonchalantly put the idea out, as if it''s expected from him. ''What?'' Michael continued to study the two parts while the clerk was getting slightly impatient. "I know runemaking, albeit slightly on the evil side." ''Then that''s pointless then. I have no intention of using souls or other damning stuff.'' "What a prude, but if you use my method you''d immediately gain a powerful magical item." ''No need.'' Michael sighed inwardly, his hoping that Demiurge wouldn''t push this. Michael decided to buy two 3000 credit rune glyphs. "I thought you didn''t want to be expensive?" Michael happily took the rune glyphs and stored it in his bag. ''Well I wanted to give Lisa a gift.'' "Why?" ''In a few days, it''ll be her birthday and she''s usually depressed during those times, so I want to cheer her up.'' "Are you sure you don''t want to accept her love?" Demiurge was extremely sarcastic when he was saying this. ''I just want to cheer her up, don''t be an ass about it.'' After Michael bought the rune glyphs, he and Lisa decided to go out and start exploring the large mall. "Michael that looks nice!" "Hey look at that!" "That guy is wearing four jackets" Michael and Lisa kept exploring the mall while eating and buying cheap souvenirs, enjoying each other''s company. Eventually after a few hours, the two had their fill of food, drinks and good company and decided to go home. Lisa was happy skipping back home holding a book Michael bought for her. Michael was happily whistling while walking home. ''We''re going to immediately start when we get home.'' "Michael, something feels wrong." Michael tenses up but he continues to walk as if nothing is is wrong. ''What''s the problem?'' "Someone is following you." ''Who is it?'' "I don''t know, this person is unfamiliar and unexceptional." ''Then why did you tell it to me then?'' "This person is an intermediate level mage." ''Oh... that isn''t unexecptional at all!'' "It is for me." Michael continued to travel home, sneakily taking glances to check if the person following him would reveal themselves. Eventually Michael reached his district. "The person is gone." Michael heaves a sigh of relief and he enters his house. Usually the best thing to do is to hide in a new house, to throw off the pursuers but if his enemies chose to find him, he would not be able to do anything, so he would just accept what happens next. It''s not to say Michael will accept death peacefully, if the situation calls for it he intends to die teeth gnashing, bones cracking and body bleeding. Once inside Michael immediately set his new runes in his workshop and started to study it. "Marvelous craftmanship" Michael was revering the beautiful design of the chip. "Shoddy if you ask me" Demiurge commented, uninterested. Michael ignored him and started fiddling with the rune. "What are you doing?" Michael slowly and carefully opened the rune. "When rune manufacturers create runes, they always hold back the rune''s best outcome or limit the materials they use. This is because there is competition and so that the customers buy more better runes." Demiurge listened to Michael''s explanation and found it to be very reasonable. "Done!" Michael finished dismantling the rune and after adjusting the technological parts, the ones he were mostly familiar with, he turned it on. The rune whirrs into power and Michael notices the sizeable increase. It''s power increased by 10%. "Admirable work." "I thought you''d say something mean again." Michael chuckled as he started to work on the other rune glyph. "I don''t believe your a soft person, you can handle it." Once Michael was done he smiled, the runes are of great quality. "I''m gonna start now." Michael went to his stash of collected and dismantled magical item parts. He retrieved a sword handle, he found a few months ago. "Not the best but it''lll do." Michael took the handle and started to remodel it into a form capable of using the rune glyph. Michael heated up the workshop mini forge and started to make the weapon circuits. He immediately set the blade inside the forge melting its broken magical runes. Once the old runes were removed, Michael pulled out the heated blade with safety equipment. *Shhhhhh* The sound of a hot object entering water fills the room as Michael submerges the heated blade in a metal barrel filled with water. Steam fills the room but Michael continues on. Although the process is taking long, Michael is training as well. While cooling the sword, he uses his ice magic to lower the room temperature and his fire magic to meld the new rune glyph inside the blade handle. After a few hours the blade is cooled and the handle is finished. Michael starts to do the process of connecting them permanently. *Cling* *Clang* *Cling* The sound of metal hitting metal reverabrates throughout the room as Michael fits the blade in the handle. He also infuses it with his heated fire to meld it, while using his ice to reduce the heat he''s taking. Eventually Michael finishes and he''s gasping for air as he studies his work. "Beautiful" Michael studies the sword he made. "It is passable." Michael ignores Demiurge and continues to study his new sword. He infuses it with his mana and it hums quietly. The sword seems sharper and harder to break. Michael changes it to fire and the sword appears to heat up, then he changes it to ice and the sword looks frosty. He swings it around his room with amateurish movements. "Horrible stance" "Cut me some slack, I can''t practice artificing and swordsmanship at the same time." "Well, you need some lessons. Be grateful, I will teach you" Michael sarcastically prostates for Demiurge. "It is good you know who is higher in our relationship." Michael rolls his eyes. *KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!* Michael suddenly hears powerful knocks on the door outside his home. "Michael!! I''ve come to collect my item!" Michael chuckles, it seems someone is here to volunteer to be his new training dummy.