《Reversion》


 Prologue - Arrival

    <h1></h1>


    It is the 31st day since the Moon turned blue, an event never before observed in recorded history. The changing color has brought about several changes to the world and toppled the status quo.


    The city of Constine was at the heart of the world''s immediate responses to these tumultuous changes. The free city of knowledge was playing host to an unprecedented council of some of the world''s major powers - the Kingdom Conclave.


    Inside the Constine parliament an unprecedented event was taking place where rulers and elected leaders were representing their nations in an important political discussion. They were coming to terms with a simple realization.


    "We are not alone! With the rise of the Blue Moon we have been made aware of the existence of Worlds other than ours beyond the heavens, beyond distance! In this historical moment I, the Ambassador of Constine, am humbled to convene this first ever Kingdom Conclave to shape our response!"


    Following the introduction by the Constine representative, each representative made their case regarding the mechanism of response.


    "We must welcome them with open arms, foster trade and learn from them the knowledge to travel these far places. We must avoid conflict with people whose abilities we cannot fathom."


    "I refuse to believe the existence of worlds beyond the heavens. These blasphemers must be put to trial and executed. It is certainly a plot..."


    ... The arguments continued along these two similar lines, some engaging in demagoguery while others remaining pessimistic and even cautiously optimistic. The tense air now imbued an element of chaos as rise of new worlds was an immediate threat to the very existence of the political status quo.


    "How can we provide entry to beings into our lands when we know nothing about them? We don''t even know how many there are! How have they appeared here? The feats of those beings is already beyond what we can even imagine possible...."


    Interrupting the valid points and counter points being made and stunning the chaos into silence was the appearance of 10 people hovering in the air, wearing armor and weaponry clearly not from this world. Oppressive auras emanating on purpose, a man speaks, in a cold but empathetic voice layered with honey.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    "Our lords here speak about some extremely prudent things. I think we have displayed our capabilities quite well enough, but in case the creation of the artificial barriers isn''t enough, let me provide you with some appetizers."


    Suddenly the Parliamentary senate began trembling as if swaying during an earthquake. The huge dome suddenly begins floating away and all the bewildered rulers suddenly find it difficult to stand as their weight increases beyond belief until they end unbowing subserviently towards these powerful representatives of this foreign world that made contact through them.


    The Senate turned to dust as the bustling city no longer existed and was replaced by the twinkling stars of the heavens.


    "Incredible.."


    "If you hold such power... What chance do we have?"


    As they marvelled at the sight of the heavens and the feeling of being swept into it they suddenly see the distant gaze of that mysterious man and turn to look. They are in the upper reaches of the sky, just touching the heavens, while those 10 people, 10 gods smirked as the kings saw with incredulous eyes bulging out of their sockets the gruesome sight of their world''s destruction. Volcano flows through large cities and Tsunamis trample over others. Powerful storms uproot civilizations and earthquakes destroy every trace of life on the planet. Just as they were about to sink into the abyss of despair, the causal man nods and snaps his right fingers.


    "Ok, that should be good enough to tell you grandchildren eh?"


    As he said so everything around the Kingdom Conclave started retracing their steps, healing the destruction,turning back time.


    "So you see, we people of Earth, are more than capable of destroying worlds individually. The most powerful among us that is. However that is not what we want. Nor do we want to take over your world by force. We have simply arrived to enforce the Procedural Laws that will now order this world. There will be many changes... Adventurers from our world will arrive to journey across your lands."


    "Procedural Laws?"


    "Adventurers?.."


    "Adventurers would start just as ordinary as you folks here. You can do whatever you like with them once you accept the new Law. Of course helping adventurers would be beneficial for your own stupid turf wars after all!"


    That powerful man with golden hair, a silver knights armor that is veiled in yellow energy then lays down a huge scroll with unknown characters in it.


    "So the details of the laws... You can read it when you have time or I can teach you quickly!"


    The other guardians now appeared to be bored and began yawning.


    The rulers quickly agreed once they instantaneously realized the contents of the laws. Their minds dizzy with speculation. This crisis was an opportunity!

 Volume 1 - Chapter 1

    Enfant Terrible


    His name is Tristan. A five year old boy living in a small hamlet in the Urek mountains with his parents. The past five years have been nothing but an ensemble of curious events surrounding the youngling.


    Born in an unassuming family where his father, the man of the house named Cain, was the village carpenter and his mother, the village school''s sole teacher, Tristan was raised up with love and care.


    Tristan''s mom Lara learned quite early on that Tristan wasn''t an ordinary child. He was already crawling around the house when he was six months old. The first time he disappeared from Lara''s careful eyes was when she momentarily rested him on the bed to take time to fold clothes that she had washed.


    In panic she turned the house upside down to find Tristan piggybacking on the family dog Charmy as if he were a royal knight looking at her with an innocently smug face. Moments later he rolled over the dog and fell asleep. But that was just the beginning.


    Lara made it a point to tell him many stories about the World. From famous generals to the mystical lakes where caries frequent to the legend of the arrival of Adventurers who saved the world, Tristan heard this stories enraptured. Lara noticed that he was surprisingly able to understand stories and seemed to have considerable mental dexterity.


    The number of stories Lara knew were unfortunately only a few. And when she began running out if stories to tell Tristan who would constantly nag her to keep going, she had no choice but to repeat the stories she had described before changing up some of the names, but Tristan caught on immediately! He sulked and wailed and grumpily turned away.


    On Tristan''s first birth year celebrations Lara gifted him an alphabet picture book, while Cain gifted a sculpted toy of the golden knight William Wallace, whose story Tristan especially loved listening to. Tristan enjoyed playing with the toy while looking at his father work with wood


    Sindry village, where Tristan''s family lived, was quietly nested in the valleys of the Urek mountain ranges quite isolated from the outside world. Other than the traders from villages beyond the mountains and occasional merchants coming to buy herbs and sell food grains and news regarding the outside, few came to this self sufficient small village.


    Sindry was a pioneer village, made by colonists of herbalists who wanted a base for collecting the Trivial Fern, a rare herb that grew under moist igneous rocks near the base of the Urek mountains. Over the years, the colony grew and became a small village with about 150 people.


    A few months after his birthday, Lara began taking Tristan to the school, where she left him to play around while she taught the village kids to read and write. Tristan showed considerable maturity in handling himself in front of others. He rarely cried now, observed other people carefully and used to listen to his mother''s lectures along with the other (much) elder children.


    Customarily villagers sent their children to school to learn to read, write and do arithmetic at the age of 8. They would study in school for four years before deciding to work as apprentices or help their parents in their work on the path to adulthood. At the age of 2, Tristan was already capable of reading and writing fluent enough to be able to read books. Bored of sitting quietly in the classroom while his mother taught, he would slowly walk around the tiny school building.


    He was suddenly picked up by the arm pits and taken into an embrace by a woman with long red hair and an eccentric dress. She was Melany, the village witch who made medicines from herbs for people who fell sick. She knew Tristan of course, every adult in the village knew the naughty intelligent brat who spoke very few words but looked much more mature than his age suggested.


    "What are you doing here kiddo?"


    Wondered Melany as she nestled Tristan onto her left hand as she gently walked towards Lara''s classroom to safely deliver him.


    "...Book."


    *****


    Tristan was almost going to be two years old. Lara and Cain were worried. Their son had still not yet spoken a word. When Lara was expecting, they had lovingly argued whether Tristan''s first words would be Papa or Mama. But Tristan did not speak. Tristan was clever, this they could see easily. He spent a lot of time writing alphabets, drawing the mountains and painting or reading the colorful Legends of the Altan Continent - a book Cain borrowed from Melany''s considerable collection of books. Tristan chose it after being awed at the sight of so many books.


    Tristan loved reading. He would converse only through gestures or by tugging at his parents clothes. Lara would urge him to speak, repeating Mama or Papa slowly in front in front of Tristan, but he simply grimaced as if he was insulted!Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Lara took him to Melany to find out why he wouldn''t speak, but she was reassured instead that he was fine and would begin speaking soon. Of course Tristan didn''t lose the opportunity to tug at his Mom''s dress and point at the books. Melany gave him a beautiful book bound with animal leather which was painted gold. Tristan reverently received the book and read the Title. Written in beautiful cursive calligraphy was the name ''A picture book Atlas of Altan Beauty''. It was a book with pictures and descriptions of various places in the Altan continent.


    ****


    "You spoke huh! Haha!"


    Melany excitedly barged into Lara''s teaching time.


    "Hey Lara! Little Tristan finally graced us with speech!"


    A surprised Lara turns towards Melany holding Tristan with surprise.


    "He.. Spoke? Tristan dear say it again! Speak my dear.."


    "Speak kiddo! What did you want again?"


    Melany looked at Tristan with a broad grin and asked fully expecting him to respond.


    "...Book."


    Lara''s eyes were glazed, holding back tears and tore Tristan from Melany and hugged him tightly. She was worried that Tristan might be dumb. But.. Book? Not mama or papa but Book? Lara gave out a gurgle that was something between a laugh and a sniffle.


    Melany looked at Lara with serious eyes and asked.


    "Tristan..this kid is quite intelligent. Want me to take him as an apprentice? He can read all the books he wants at my place. I can teach him things which can''t be learnt at school here."


    Melany was one of the most respected and the most knowledgeable person in the village who knew lots about the history, politics, as well as many skills. She was after all a Witch who made medicines. She could even use magic!


    Lara nodded vigorously. But she looked sternly towards Tristan and said.


    "Fine Tristan. You can study under Aunt Melany here and read all the books you want to. But you must try to speak as much as possible! You should also say Mama..."


    ****


    It''s been 3 years since Tristan has been studying with a sense of urgency under aunt Melany. He had just turned 5. At his age children are still crawling around, squabbling or at best playing with toys or pets, Tristan was being a busybody.


    If he didn''t spend time collecting herbs and identifying worms and insects along with Charmy in the forests and documenting them as an exercise, he would be learning to cook food and herbalic medicines using wild herbs under Melany''s tutelage. He also spent a lot of time studying carpentry under his father. He wouldn''t be very good at it, because he wasn''t physically strong, but he became quite talented at carving wood which required more finesse than raw power. So Cain would give him different woods and fire woods to practice sculpting. Tristan spent a lot of time reading. He had exhausted all books that Melany hadn''t restricted from him.


    Tristan learnt about the history of the Altan continent where he lived. It''s great legacy of heroes and wars. He learnt about the other species who weren''t human and could be found around Altan. Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Kobolds, Goblins, Demi-humans and Beastkin were the most commonly known, but there were many more species and even unique creatures whose existence was extremely mystical. Those unique creatures were often considered monsters, but throughout history there had been several who had both wrecked destruction as well as saved the world from cataclysm. He learnt about the arrival of new visitors who were not from Altan and whose origins were unknown. They looked like the beings from Altan but Melany told Tristan that they were probably from another continent beyond the infinite seas.


    When he asked her how she knew that they were not from Altan, she would simply - "It is so."


    The more he learnt, the more he realised that he knew very little. He realised how small Sindry village was and how big the continent was. He would often talk to merchants who came from far away to buy the rare Trivial Fern only found near Sindry village about their experiences and news from around the continent.


    Tristan''s thirst to know was unquenchable. And as he sat along the bank of the fresh water lake that forms every spring from melted glaciers, he carefully drew his faithful dog Charmy swimming in the lake with the backdrop of the legendary Urek mountains.


    ****


    Tristan appeared at the herbalist center on aunt Melany''s summons. He was hoping he could get to learn something new this time instead of the same old mundane tasks of grinding herbs with the mortar and pestle.


    Melany looked at him affectionately. Melany was quite an accomplished witch who was famous for petrification medicine recipies that she had invented using the Trivial Fern that had made her an authority on the subject. It was why she lived in Sindry, an otherwise barren village with no need of a witch like her.


    Despite these things, she wasn''t arrogant. Because she knew that in the scheme of things in Altan she was just an ordinary magician who used medicinal alchemy. However, she had always had a thirst for knowledge and when she came across little boy Tristan she saw in him the same crazed eyes for knowledge.


    However, she was wrong. Ever since she took him under her wings to teach him, she realised how wring she was. That boy was way more extreme than she thought.she realised that his potential was way more than anything she could handle and decided to impart a spartan training making him work long hours, identifying, cooking, refining, purifying. She practically taught him everything she knew. All he needed to learn now was magic. But she was hesitant because she wasn''t sure if she should introduce him to dangers at such an age. Over the years she had come to care for him like an adopted son.


    "Tristan, it has been three years since you''ve begun studying under me. Although I might as well say that I have been teaching you since you began learning to read. Hu hu."


    "Aunt Melany, does that mean you won''t teach me anymore?"


    Tristan had straightened up, tensed at the prospect of losing his primary source of knowledge.


    "Hah, to the contrary today we will start your real education! Everything you have learnt till now, all the hard work is for this day! You will now study magic as well as apply magic energy while medicine preparation to improve the quality of medicines, Alchemy! I open up my restricted library for your study."


    Tristan wide eyed with a large unshakeable grin on his face could only nod.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 2

    <h1>Teachings of a Witch</h1>


    "What is magic?"


    Tristan asked innocently. From all his readings of historical epics and bards descriptions as well as his studies he had a vague idea, but his teacher, Melany had kept the true meaning elusive till this moment. Melany looked towards the distance and sighed gloomily.


    "I do not know what magic is. The phenomenology of magic is one of the greatest mysteries of magic. What we do know to some extent is how it works and how to use it to do things we normally wouldn''t be able to. For example create fire by thinking or freeze water into ice."


    While saying that she held out her palm and a swirling mass of water formed, hovering over it. It then turned into a frozen sphere of ice before melting because of being surrounded by a flame and then disappearing. Tristan is shocked on seeing that magic. Melany continues her lecture.


    "There are many kinds of magic. That is perhaps the most important thing to understand. There are so many different kinds of magic that even the way they can be classified isnt definite and differs by the manner of classification. They could be classified as attack magic, defense magic and manipulation magic or perhaps as holy, dark and neutral magic or even more specifically according to the elements fire, water, wind and so on. But none of the classifications are true classifications of magic. There are people who claim that if we know the underlying magic we can create fire magic from water and vice versa. But so far none have been able to. However, you must remember only this, never use magic to hurt other people. Magic is an ability not everyone can use, its possible that even you cannot. But if you can, you must always be respectful of the power you weild and never become arrogant!"


    Tristan nodded faithfully. He didn''t have ambitions of power or being a hero like the history. He loved knowledge and he wanted to travel. He wished to learn for the sake of learning alone. And being arrogant? The more he learnt, the more he felt he knew very little! He had no time to be arrogant!


    Melany proceeded to dump several tens of books on a table in front of Tristan. Kept a twig on top of the books. A mortar and pestle accompanied it.


    "You will learn to first supply manna, which is the magical power inside of you directly into medicines making according to these alchemy books. Take this book too, it is an introduction to alchemic arrays both transmutation and nontransmutational. These books are after you have completed the first two sets. They contain elementary spells of water, wind, fire and earth magic."


    Tristan heard her long extending monotone with an expression that described being overwhelmed with the infodump. He then slowly nodded.


    "Alright aunt, I''m starting right away. I can''t thank you enough!"


    "Thank me? Remember, don''t thank me until you believe you have mastered them. You will be your own judge! This is not going to be easy. I will be travelling to Constine city and won''t be back for atleast a year. If you think you have accomplished mastery of the subjects open this book. It is an enchanted book that you won''t be able to open until you have mastered the basics ive left you completely. You won''t be disappointed."


    After completing her strict teacher act a gentle smile reforms on Melany''s face. She goes to Tristan and hugs him.


    "I must leave today with the merchant who arrived yesterday. Take care of yourself and everyone in the village until I return... I''m leaving the herbalist shop to your care until then. Make medicines for the sick."


    Tristan shocked at the sudden turn of events was left dumbstruck for a few moments. But after listening to his aunt, whom he idolized over all others, tears started forming in his eyes.


    "Such a sudden departure...I''ll miss you aunt Melany. Please take care of yourself and return soon with souvenirs and stories of your adventure. The shop... I''ll do my best."


    ****


    Melany is about to depart from Sindry village and is meeting the village head and other elders to explain about the shifting of responsibilities to young Tristan. The elders are flabbergasted and look at Tristan, who is displaying his wooden sculptures to the merchant to sell, with incredulity.


    "Don''t worry Elder-Jim. That boy... I have handed him the responsibility only because I know he is capable. His intellect is remarkable, a genius of the kind I haven''t seen before. He will soon surpass me and I must better myself in Constine before I can face him again as a teacher. He has already been preparing most of the medicines for the past few months. I will return in a year, please take care of yourselves."


    Melany convinces them (and herself) that she is not over estimating Tristan, hugs Lara her dearest friend who is also like her younger sister and goes to Tristan who is busy describing each sculpture to the merchant.


    "... And this is a sculpture of my dog Charmy swimming in the lake that forms when the ice melts. It is the best carving I made yet."


    "Hmm... It looks pretty good for a kid like you to have made it. But you must improve further, objectively I''d say this is a a slightly above average piece of work. Read some book about sculptures to get some ideas about improving."


    "Mister..this is a small village in the middle of the Urek mountains. Where would I find a book on sculptures and sculpting here?"


    Tristan didn''t like being told that his hard work was mediocre, but he understood that he had little knowledge about the world, especially compared to a traveller like Mister Merchant.


    "How about this... You sell me this piece, in return I will bring you books regarding sculpting that I can buy from the sale of this piece in Constine city. I will return after two months after all."


    "Yes, that would be optimal."


    Tristan tried to sound businesslike imitating the merchant but the glee in his voice could clearly be made out by everyone in present there who laughed.Stolen novel; please report.


    An embarrassed Tristan turned around to find Melany standing there, ruffling his hair she bids farewell and departs along with the Merchant.


    ****


    As the entourage disappeared down the route going through the long route winding through the mountains, the villagers slowly went back home while Tristan immediately sat down and began painting the scene of his teacher, his aunt and his ideal departing, putting all heart into the picture.


    Three kids stayed behind looking at Tristan passionately painting, a sad piercing look in his eyes and slowly sit beside him waiting to finish his painting. They were all of his age, his peers who tried to befriend him, but Tristan had always been the introverted type who preferred to stay busy than talking to friends. Rudi a boy 6 years old, Miza a girl who was also 6 years old and Diane a girl who was 5.


    When Tristan finally finished his work, he wiped the sweat off his forehead and the startled to see the three folks who are always around trying to help him. Tristan understands their behavior and feels thankful for their support, but at the same time he does not know how to reciprocate back. Since he was an infant, Tristan has always been extremely observant of his surroundings and matured surprisingly quickly. As a consequence he felt it difficult to identify himself with his peers, perhaps it was his arrogance. After all, no matter how many absurd responsibilities he thought he could handle, he was still a 5 year old kid.


    Rudi patted his shoulder and asked him if he was feeling ok. Miza went wherever Rudi went. Diane looked at Tristan, her face flushed red.


    "Are you sad, Tristan?"


    "I guess I am a little sad. But there is no point lamenting at the departure if my teacher. One day I too will travel far in her footsteps. She has left me the path to achieve my dream and I must follow it."


    "Guess our job is pointless eh? Tristan you made of steel?"


    Rudi joked as he jabbed Tristan in the shoulder which made him push Diane.


    "I''m sorry Diane. This nutcase Rudi. Where do you think you are running?"


    Tristan was no athlete so he gave up trying to chase the devilish Rudi and turned to offer Diana a hand to get up.


    "Are you ok Diane? Looks like you got a scrape, come to the herbalist shop, I''ll apply a bandage on it."


    "Diane meekly nodded."


    ****


    As Tristan was carefully applying the Bandage to Diane''s scraped knee, she winced, causing Tristan to be even more gentle.


    "Is this alright Diane? Tell me if it hurts. That rock was viscious, hmm."


    "I''m better now Tristan. Thank you for bandaging me."


    As Diane looked around the shop she opened her mouth again.


    "Are you going to run the shop alone?"


    "Yes, after all teacher left it all to me. I want to study too though. So I won''t have much time to hang around you guys.."


    "But...then can I help you with the shop? If I help you manage the shop then you can study more freely right? I don''t have anything to do either. May-maybe you can teach me?"


    Tristan looked at Diane, who was truly blushing like a primrose. He noticed her appearance for the first time today. A simple dress, blonde hair tied into a simple ponytail and a shy charm made Tristan befuddled for a moment.


    "Ye-yeah. I''d love that. I can teach you what I know about the herbs and mushrooms."


    ****


    Tristan decided to create a buffer medicinal stock and taught Diane about which medicine to use for which illness, how to ground basic herbs to help stomach upsets for a week and also to handle to store. He would pay her 2 coppers a day for work from the profits of the store. He then proceeded to begin his trials!


    Tristan was learning to implement medical alchemy with great vigor. Upon studying the books carefully he realised he had already learned all aspects in his basic training and had to learn to use pure magical energy.


    Magical energy is a kind if energy that resides in all objects, an energy of potential that can be transformed into various acts. Tristan guessed that the act of transforming this energy into meaningful ideas like creating fire or creating a blob of water is infact what is the principle to create a magic spell, an invocation which stabilizes the thought to manifest this idea from energy.


    However more can be done with the magical energy or manna. Instead of transforming it, Tristan was learning the first basic step of directly transferring it out of his body. To do that he had to first identify his internal energy.


    Tristan began meditating under a tree in front of the lake as the books suggested that the basic method to identify one''s manna is to meditate on the self. He tried to imagine himself down to his bare constituents. Based on the knowledge he learnt, the human body was composed of various organs and each organ had its own system. A combination of several systems, but at the same time there was a fundamental unit smaller than organs that composed all but were different, the cell. As he imagined himself composed of the cells. The complicated actions of large number of cells generating complexity from such a simple processes working in random billions of times over.


    Our consciousness, our sense of self, the auto regulation of our organs, our thoughts, our emotions are all complexities arriving out of simplistic processes. Tristan grasped this idea and began to unravel how each of these complexities developed by following the motion of each cell, each molecule. Manna too he surmised is such an emergent complexity that he might only grasp if he unravels the other mysteries first.


    As he slowly deciphered each mystery, it felt like peeling the skin of an onion for each time he came across eightenment there was another muster to unpack. As he finally reached the end he felt a bottleneck. He couldn''t peel anymore. So he kept pursuing.


    ****


    Tristan finally opened his eyes. He wasn''t under the tree. He slowly got up. It was the Herbalist store! There was a bed made and he was lying on it. His mom seemed to have dozed off as she was sitting on a chair near the wall. Someone was holding onto his hand tightly. Diane! She was asleep too, but there was food kept beside the bed.


    Tristan slowly awoke like nothing happened, used his free hand to grab an apple beside Diane and started eating it. The crunching sounds awoke Diane and Lara who were shocked!


    "Tristan! You are alright! What happened to you son!?"


    Diane was sobbing uncontrollably as she hugged him tightly. Tristan held her tightly and consoled her by gently stroking her head. He then looked at his mom, Lara. His eyes seemed calm and gentle. They carried the burden of knowledge he acquired over his contemplative studies. He realised now what had happened, but decided to confirm anyway.


    "I''m really sorry mom. I had no idea how long I was in the meditative state. I''m perfectly fine. Please calm down. How long has it been?"


    Hearing her son''s voice seemed to have a soothing effect on both Lara and Diane who calmed down embarrassed sat down on the bed beside Tristan''s knee.


    "Three weeks. You were asleep for three weeks son! You did not drink water or food, but you stayed alive for three weeks and now you are awake like nothing happened? The entire village was worried, and we got a shaman from the neighbouring town who said you are fine, but in deep sleep. He said you will wake up soon, but we had no idea when. Oh..Tristan.. What happened?"


    As Lara began sobbing again Tristan soothed her down. He caught her hand and suddenly she felt a little revitalised and his soothing voice calmed her down. He then looked at the half eaten apple in his hand and suddenly the apple which was browning became fresh again.


    "I was meditating to understand the principles of magic mother. It seems I had a much deeper enlightenment regarding magic than teacher possibly intended me to have. It seems I have learnt magic transfer."


    ****


    After the chaos over Tristan''s meditative state settled, Tristan apologised to every villager and even sent some new medicines he personally made for the Shaman in the neighbouring village for his help. His father punished him by making him exercise like crazy.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 3

    <h1>Magic Arrays and a new Sculpture</h1>


    Tristan didn''t realize he had been meditating for three whole weeks. But now that he did, no attempt to get into that state again seemed to work. He felt like he had assimilated more knowledge in those three weeks than he would if he worked hard normally for a couple of years.


    Tristan could now freely transfer magical energy and the resulting medicines would be of an extremely high grade which would restore significant vitality as well as cure sickness very quickly. He could also transfer power to plants and animals making them healthier or in the case of plants grow faster. He used it to make a blooming hibiscus in front of Diane, Rudi and Miza. He then chivalrously attached the flower to Diane''s hair above her ear who was blushing while Rudi was being nauseating as usual with his comments.


    His high degree of magic transfer capability was way more than what the books suggested to be the case usually since transferring into living things was extremely difficult or impossible according to them.


    Tristan then proceeded to study magical arrays and alchemic arrays. This was the easiest part of the training for him because it required two things, an good memory and good magic control and he was now exceptional at both. But the versatility of arrays still shocked him.


    He first tried transmutation arrays where he tried converting wooden blocks into sculptures and failed a few times but eventually succeeded. But the visualization while concentrating wasn''t good enough and the sculpture was poor. So he kept practicing, while at the same time not forgetting his duties towards the shop. He couldn''t however manage to the same level as his own hand made sculpture.


    The same happened when he tried transmutation materials. He needed to transmute large amounts of pebbles to make a single molecule of gold which he could detect because of the array''s properties.


    As he kept practicing arrays and studying the theories behind how to use arrays for transmutation he realized that the reason for the inefficient exchange was due to the arrays being inefficient. Tristan needed to study more about the theory of arrays first.


    It was around this point when Mister Merchant made an appearance as promised. After trading the predecided stock of Trivial Ferns with the merchant, he dramatically produced three picture books Sculpting through the ages, volume 1,2 and 3.


    "Kiddo, I found these three books in exchange for your sculpture. It was really hard to sell it because of the amateurish craft but I finally met a person who seemed quite interested in it. When I told him about you and my deal, he promptly gave me these three books, bought the sculpture and told me to get another sculpture from you if possible. In return, he would send three more books, but it must be your best work."The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Tristan thought for a few moments and then said, "I will deliver the sculpture to you tomorrow before you leave."


    "Oh, Melany the Witch sent this bag for you as well. She really has a soft spot for your huh."


    With that, Tristan collected the bag and returned to the Herbalist shop while Mr. Merchant visited the village to stay as a guest of the village chief.


    Tristan decided he would try making a sculpture by transmutation and then working manually om the finer details. But first he decided to analyse the array and find out what was wrong with the efficiency factor.


    Deductively applying the theory, Tristan came to the conclusion that the true exercise of the study of arrays that his teacher left him was to improve the efficiency of these inefficient arrays. He could directly increase inefficiency of the sculpting array by 50% by simply following the theory, but any further improvements have to be done by innovating.


    Racking is brain for several hours, just as it approached sun set, Tristan had a spark of inspiration and redesigned the array with 25 fewer connectors than before.he then transmuted a pair of gloves for both his hands and then carefully painted a miniature version of the newly thought arrays onto them.


    Next began the true work. Instead of transmuting the entire block of wood, Tristan decided to transmuted local regions that his fingers touch based on his thought by using the array on the glove.


    Just as his parents came towards the shop to call him home, Tristan camped out with the wooden block and began working diligently and carefully. Pinching the wood as if it were clay, thanks to the transmutation array and then sharpening the wood on one side while smoothening on the other. The dexterity that it provided was comparable to that of a potter, but he was working with wood.


    Unaware of his surroundings, Tristan kept working at the project, while his parents observed in silence, afraid of breaking his concentration. It wasn''t long before most of the village had appeared to take a look at a bizzare sculpting process. There was no chisel or blade, simply a boy with two white gloves carving wood with occasional flashes of light due to the magic arrays on the gloves.


    When he finally finished, he took off the gloves, wiped the sweat off his forehead, carefully lifted the piece of sculpture. Tristan then closed his eyes and began using manna transfer, transferring his manna into the sculpture, with instructions set before hand to create moss on the mountain slopes and cool down the air near the peaks to sublimate into snow and near the valley to form a lake. It was an aerial view of Sindry village and the Urek mountains surrounding them. A magic sculpture.


    Suddenly the entire audience, including the merchant who too came to take a look, began clapping and cheering loudly. The merchant came and immediately formed a trading contract for the sculptor, guaranteeing the sale as he had promised. He claimed to do so because of the valuability of this piece.


    A magic sculpture - it would remain alive as long as it was supplied with manna. It could be revived again by simply supplying manna without instruction since the primary manna was instructed.


    The next day Tristan sent off the merchant with a letter for his aunt Melany, describing the events until now and his progress with his studies.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 4

    <h1>The Haunting Hunter</h1>


    Three months have passed since Melany left Sindry village and Tristan began training in earnest. Ever since he completed his first magic sculpture, Tristan has been practicing the use of alchemy, manna transfer and magic arrays to apply them practically.


    Every day people from the village would come to the herbalist to ask for advice regarding problems with health or their crops. Today, Diane was sitting on the counter sewing up some special reed like leaves Tristan collected into a long fabric while occasionally sneaking in a glance or two at him who was busy drawing up arrays and experimenting.


    The two were interrupted by old-woman-Jenkin. Jenkin was one of the village elders who had been farmers since Sindry''s humble beginnings and one of the oldest people in the village.


    "Grandma Jenkin! How are you doing today? Is it perhaps a stiff shoulder?"


    Tristan was up and ready to serve a customer. He immediately made her sit down on the customer''s seat and urged her to speak. Jenkin politely smiled.


    "Tristan dear, little girl Diane, this old woman has been suffering from many a problems. Them bones are now old and creaking. I''d love a tonic for pain, won''t you give your granny a discount?"


    Tristan nodded and outright dismissed the need for a discount.


    "We can''t possibly charge you grandma Jenkin. How about something better than a tonic? I might be able to make you feel much more revitalized... If you just lend me your hand."


    Tristan held the old woman''s fingers delicately in his childish palm, closed his eyes and tried to guide his manna gently through her bones and muscles. He pictured repositioning pressured nerves and gently relieving the noted muscles and reducing bone cracks. To Jenkin the entire situation felt like a powerful massage that energized her from the inside! This was Reiki healing skill that he understood was described in the books but was supposed to be a high level skill of manna transfer combined with healing.


    "Oh my! I feel 20 years younger. Tristan you little genius. It is like magic from the old days! I feel like I can even run! Thank you child."


    Tristan however wasn''t smiling. He had the eyes of having discovered something interesting!


    "Magic from the old days? Granny what do you mean?"


    Granny Jenkin scratched her head, perplexed.


    "Little boy, it was a long time ago, but my father used to tell me he learnt a trick from some creatures known as orcs when he went to fight as a soldier. He would suddenly be able to break rocks with a punch."


    Tristan was astonished! Orcs were one of the many non human species living on the Altan continent and his books described them as an extremely aggresive war mongering race who were very resilient!


    "Granny, can you tell me more about greatgrandpa? How did he meet the orcs? About that magic?"


    Jenkin sighed.


    "Good old father, he left a few belongings before he went for the war against the foreigners and died. Why don''t you take a look at the diary he left? I would have given those books to young Melany myself if it wasn''t for father''s ghost haunting his memorial room."


    "Ghost? Haunting?"


    Tristan was perplexed. He hadn''t heard about ghosts existing beyond the tales of his parents and Rudi''s baseless braggings. He didn''t believe they were real, but with an open mind he urged Jenkin to lead him to the memorial room.of her house.


    As Jenkin led Tristan inside the memorial room, he felt the air had a heavy scent of scorched earth. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand. Tristan closed his eyes to feel the pulse of his surroundings with manna but was suddenly thrown back to the wall and his eyes blacked out.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    When Tristan opened his eyes he saw things levitating in the air. His eyes then fixed on Jenkin whose eyes were emitting a yellow glow. She opened her mouth and the unnatural sound of screeching bats echoed loudly through the room. He was paralyzed by fear at the scene.


    "Who are you...intruder? Prepare to die.."


    Tristan gripped himself to senses and spoke hesitatingly.


    "Are you granny Jenkin''s father? I came to meet with you and learn about your great adventure with the orcs."


    "Y-you dare call my daughter a granny? My daughter is a princess like beauty! How dare you offend her!"


    At that moment Jenkin, possessed, began creating a powerful lightning bolt that threaten to destroy the entire house but hesitated. Tristan was prepared to run but seeing Jenkin hesitate, he drove in.


    "I just saved Lady Jenkin from a severe illness by healing her with magic. It was she who invited me to see your great power. Please forgive me!"


    Humility is the important virtue at the moment! Jenkin too seemed to be having a conversation with himself and then stopped attacking Tristan and sat down.


    "It appears you speak the truth. Daughter tells me you didn''t even ask for payment. Young lad, tell me what you want? I will repay her debt."


    "Could you tell me about your adventure with the Orcs?"


    "Hah, of course. ''Twas one of me greatest adventures! I was hunting for rabbits in the woods of Ishtan when I found an ugly monster heavily wounded. I was goin'' ta kill tha bugger but I pitied it and nursed it to health. ''Twas an Orc it said. Was attacked by a dragon!"


    "D-Dragon!?"


    Tristan couldn''t hide his astonishment. Dragons are legendary creatures who freely roam the continent without any concern. The strongest of the strong! Seeing a dragon was considered extremely bad luck, because it meant almost certain death.


    "Yessir, a dragon. However ''Twas a youngling and couldn''t breathe fire. ''Twas how that disgustin'' orc survived. I tried conversin'' with that orc but ''Twas next t''impossible. In the end we talked with signs. B''fore he left, he taught me a magic of reinforcement. It made me defenses very strong and With that I became a captain in the army!"


    Tristan stayed quiet, hoping for the old ghost to continue with his story. But the ghost seemed to have exhausted its energy in the excitement.


    "Heh? Looks like I''m ascending! So I was waiting to repeat my story one last time eh? Kid.. It appears my time is up. I must thank you for releasing me from this world! Take this! It is a manna fragment the orcs gave me."


    The diary of Jenkins''s father suddenly started turning pages rapidly before stopping right in the middle. A small stone appeared from the page and gently flew towards Tristan who caught it. The book then burnt to ash and disappeared. The ghost then came out of Jenkin body, who silently fell asleep on the floor, and then began disappearing.


    ****


    Tristan made sure Jenkin was healthy before he left her home and returned to the herbalist''s store. Diane asked him about the ghost, but Tristan denied it, saying it was nothing there. He didn''t want to scare Diane.


    Tristan went to the woods surrounding the village on the pretext of collecting herbs and sat under a tree. He closed his eyes and try to sense the small brown stone using his manna. The moment the flow of his manna, a white aura came in contact with the brown stone, it turned into dust and a brown aura interacted with his, creating precise movements and shapes as if instructing the manna itself.


    Observing this, Tristan understood what he needed to do. Immediately applying what he learnt from the fragment, Tristan was surrounded by a brown glow and he felt his strength increase and give the feeling if being invincible. He tried out his power and was able to crush rocks and slice trees with his bare hands! However, thirty seconds later he collapsed from exhaustion. He didn''t have any manna left.


    Reinforcement magic used a lot of magic power. Tristan was disappointed because he felt it had a huge drawback because his manna was too low. He began collecting herbs until his manna recovered.


    As he was collecting, he realised there was a way to circumvent the situation. He began manipulating a fraction of his manna to form a very thin layer of reinforcement around him. He then punched a large tree beside him. The Tree was undamaged, with a small indent from Tristan attempting to punch it, but more importantly, Tristan was unharmed as well. He could use reinforcement as both an offensive and defensive ability. He then manipulated his manna movement even further so that the reinforcement energy only appeared on his hand, or his face or just a finger.


    He kept practicing to improve control of reinforcement by trying to reinforce partial regions of his body, making various patterns - checkered, chaotic or even a spiral. He also improved control over the time he could maintain the magic. If he used it only during the split second of impact, at the area of impact he would save a lot of his manna. He also realised that by using reinforcement on his legs he could run much faster, even jump in an agile manner.


    After testing around and learning a lot of new things, he hurriedly reinforced his feet and legs and began quick collecting herbs before returning to the store.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 5

    <h1>Learning about magic</h1>


    A couple of months have past since the incident with the ghost in Sindry and the village is peaceful as ever. With Tristan teaching Diane about gathering and combining ingredients, she could handle most problems on her own. Diane was already at the level of an ordinary herbalist!


    Tristan''s growth knew no bounds. He kept at mastering the theory of arrays and came up with several clever ideas to improve efficiency and speed of the array by making them specific to a particular use rather than one for broad general use. Instead of using usual deformation transmutation arrays which would deform any inorganic material but required a large size, he would make one just to deform wood or just to deform iron or brass which he could make much smaller with excellent efficiency. However his biggest exceptional talent remained his manna control, which was at the level of an expert because of his enlightenment during meditation as well as his habit of continuing to test his skills to the limit.


    The merchant had reappeared with letters from Melany but had failed to find the buyer who promised to exchange the sculpture for books yet. Despite probably fetching a high price for "Sindry in the Mountains", he was expressly told by Tristan to only sell it to the man who promised to exchange books.


    The reason for Tristan''s stubborn behavior was a letter he had found in the second book he received from the buyer of his sculpture. The buyer was a master sculptor whose works were described in great detail in the books and he gave Tristan excellent advice on how to improve his skills as well as a contact if he ever decided to come to Constine city as an apprentice sculptor. Money was not really a priority for Tristan who was happy as long as he could learn something new.


    ****


    Melany is currently teaching a class in herbology at the Magic University of Constine, her alma mater. She had been regularly receiving letters from Tristan as well as his parents who were concerned about him. Tristan had always been a little distant from his parents, even if he loved them to death, and it appeared that with the job of herbalist, he had been spending an increasing amount of time studying and working on his other projects. Mister Merchant had shown her the sculpture "Sindry in the Mountains" that Tristan had made and realised that he had already surpassed her in ingenuity and perhaps even magical capability.


    She was shocked that he had entered a meditative state for three weeks and woke up like nothing happened. It was exceptionally rare for someone to enter such a meditative state. Tristan was now able to use manna transfer and manipulation to an astounding degree.


    Even the latest letter he sent her was transformed with manna and only when she fed some of her own manna into it, the words rearranged themselves to tell her about the ghost at Elder Jenkin''s place and the learning of reinforcement magic and his fine tuning of the control. His descriptions seemed unbelievable! Melany had never heard of anyone capable of fine tuning their control of manna to such an extent and he yet had to study basic magic! Tristan''s growth really made her feel insecure about her own abilities as a magician, but at the same time she was immensely proud if her student in being able to achieve so much in so little an amount of time.


    However she was worried. If people find out about his abilities, he would just become another pawn for the royalties and the armies into their games of warfare and politics. She was even more afraid of the foreigners. They had grown in large numbers on the continent and were openly accepted in the countries of the Kingdom Conclave. But what scared her was their immortality!


    When they had arrived, the foreigners were about the same in strength compared to the Altans. However they had a decisive advantage! The foreigners would be revived in the cities when they died fighting monsters or completing quests for the citizens! This led a few of them to grow very powerful and their numbers only kept increasing. They were also very territorial and treated the Altans like they weren''t even alive unless they needed something. If they learn about an Altan who had potential like them, they wouldn''t let him live in peace. Melany wrote back asking him to never reveal his abilities openly and always lay low to protect himself and those around him.


    ****


    Tristan now felt confident about what he had learnt till now. He now decided to begin his study of magic. He was tasked with studying and learning the elementary magic spells of water, fire, wind and earth. He had also received the twig from the elk tree from his teacher Melany which he assumed was supposed to be the wand.


    The wand is a channel to guide ones manna through the transformation process that is a magic spell. A magic spell is the vocalization of the process of converting one''s manna into an instance that changes reality. Every spell cast changes reality by invocation of energy.


    The quality of a magic spell can be distinguished based on power, scale, origin, complexity and ingenuity.


    Ingenious magic are generally processes which use known circumstances to create a completely new effect. These kinds of magic are rare and only the most talented users can create such magic.


    Magic also have different kinds of origin. The procedures to transform manna are varied similar to how different kinds of arrays can perform the same job. However, few origins are actually efficient to use in battle or life. Using magic is often a battle of wits between conserving manna and dealing the most damage. Thus successful origin practitioners rarely reveal the secrets of their magic. Elves, Dwarves, Orcs and Fairies are known to have magic that rivals or even surpass the origin magic that humans use. However linguistic, cultural and racial enmities have led to a fragmentation of the knowledge. Dragons too are rumored to have their own origin magic but few survivors of a dragon''s purge have lasted to confirm that hypothesis with certainty.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    The magic classifications elementary, intermediate, advanced, expert, sage, and magister are based on scale and power. The higher the classification, the more powerful the spell of the magician. Elementary magic constitutes control over the elements and as one rises in proficiency their manna increases in quantity. All high level spells require exceptional manna capacity and the bottleneck of manna storage is one of the greatest reasons for the lack of many expert magicians and above.


    Complexity of a spell is a controversial topic in the study of magic. Due to the ambiguous nature of what determines complexity, not much is known regarding a spell being complex. Some site the length of the spell while others site the number of intermediate steps. However, even elementary spells can be employed in complex ways to create powerful magic, however most magic of such kind fall under Ingenious spells and produced by Grand Magisters of Altan.


    The books were extremely informative for the curious Tristan who swallowed the knowledge whole. He decided to begin with the simplest spell - levitation of a leaf using wind.


    "Spirits of the wind, transform the essence, guide the desire, heed my plea - levitation!"


    The leaf did not move. The spell failed. Tristan was shocked and unable to understand why he did not succeed.


    Rhythm of the spell is as important as the incantation. It is necessary to enchant one''s manna out of the body and then imagine the manipulation of the energies to shape reality. The reason why rhythm is essential is unknown. There is a conflict in the knowledge about chanting because some advanced and all magicians above the sage level are able to chantlessly use elementary magic. The foreigners from another world are also an anomaly regarding chanting. They are unable to use magic for the first time until they chant, however once used they can subsequently deploy a spell chantlessly. This ability is referred to as <Skill>.


    However, no matter how hard Tristan tried to currently pronounce the rhythm as explained magic wouldn''t activate.


    "May be I can''t use magic?"


    Tristan was deflated. He couldn''t understand why magic couldn''t be used by him. Since he had enough manna to do complicated transfer skills as well as healing with manna, according to the books he should''ve easily been able to succeed.


    He decided to meditate over his failure to understand why. However his agitation wouldn''t let him enter a meditative state. However, at the moment of exasperation Tristan had a source of inspiration. What if he tried to use magic chantlessly. Since the rhythm''s purpose was to channel manna was already redundant the only thing left was to transform. But how exactly the transformation process worked was a mystery to him.


    Tristan kept reading through all books he could for days on end, but none of them had any answers to the idea of transformation. Tristan decided to meditate. This time he warned his family, his friends and Diane before hand about not worrying about him in the meditative state since he would be able to conserve energy. His parents were worried, but they put their trust in their genius child.


    Tristan too didn''t want to worry them. He realised recently that he didn''t act like a normal child and it worried his parents. He wasn''t emotionally attached to them. They wanted to treat him like a child, but his mindset was already at the level of a teen. He had recently begun paying more attention to them, spent more time with mom in school and dad during his work. But his ceaseless desire to advance only made it more difficult.


    Tristan decided to calm down completely and ignore all thoughts. He then focused on the word transformation. He perplexed over the word''s true meaning. In it''s essence it was a process of changing form and function.


    He thought about the lessons that Melany gave him about how the water from the seas would evaporate under the sun then condensed into clouds and then into rain and snow which fell over mountains where they cooled to form ice and hail and glaciers which melted to form the lake he sat in front of. The entire world ran on processes of transforming. He had understood the meaning of living, the cells and their emergent properties like emotions and manna. He realised how transformations too could create new emergent phenomena. He thought about volcanoes he read about in books and how they cooled to form rocks. How wind would shape mountains over millions of years and how rivers cut through hard metals to form steep waterfalls. He thought and he assimilated. Fire he realised was the most transformative of all.


    The feeling of peeling onions. The feeling had returned. Each peel revealed a deeper fresher secret that exploded in his mind. He realised how ignorant he was about the world. How he saw the world through a keyhole and tried to expand that keyhole when he could open the door instead. The knowledge he gained from the books was a pittance in comparison to his current state of mind.


    He had read through all the spells in the elementary class and was currently simulating them in his mind without actually using manna. At the same time he was improving and modifying on them. This was his greatest strength, he realised what the books meant by magical complexity and magical ingenuity.


    After what seemed like a long time, Tristan''s eyes opened. He was still in the forest overlooking the lake. But things looked different. All around him animals were scurrying around. He wasnt under the open tree, a small shed was created to protect Tristan from the elements. The lake was frozen still. Charmy was lying down beside him, looking aged. He gently rubbed Charmy''s fur which caused the dog to react ticklishly in its sleep. There were several cards made of thin bark inside a box near the exit from the shed. It had messages from a lot of people in the entire village. They seemed to be holding Tristan with reverence as if he were a saint. Wishes for good health, perennial harvest, lot of meat were common.


    "What the heck!? I''m not a god!"


    Tristan was shocked at the ignorance and herd mentality of the village. He was about to dismiss them all when he saw a lot of other cards from his friends.


    "Hey buddy? Wake up soon! When are we going to chase each other? Stop being a lazy ass! - Rudi"


    "I hope you awaken soon. For Rudi''s sake too, get up. - Miza"


    "Tristan, I know you are working hard. I hope you wake up soon. I''m taking care of the herbalist center in an official capacity now. But I''m waiting for you to return. - Diane.


    " Son, I hope you excel in what you do! We are cheering behind your back! But please wake up soon! We miss you, and we are waiting! - love, Cain and Lara."


    And finally there was one which felt very new. It was from his father.


    "My dear son Tristan, you were an adult since you were born. And it is because I trust your maturity I am leaving you to care for your mum. You will soon be having a baby brother or baby sister. You must take care of them in my steed. I have been conscripted into the military along with all other men for a big war to control the Urek mountains. You are now the man of the house. At age 7 and a half people might think you are still a kid! But I have seen you grow, you are the most talented and head strong person I''ve seen. All these years I''ve been feeling insignificant and afraid at my lack of being a capable father to guide you. However, I trust you will take care of our family. Please awaken soon! - Your loving father, Cain."

 Volume 1 - Chapter 6

    <h1>Ominous Warnings</h1>


    Tristan''s mouth suddenly felt dry. War? Conscription? A sibling? 7 and a half years? He had been meditating for atleast two years!?


    Tristan felt dizzy. The sudden blows he received with each fragment of information made he nauseous. Despite not having dated anything for over two years, Tristan felt like vomiting. It was disbelief!


    The shocked Tristan didn''t move for several minutes. He kept staring at that card shaped elegantly from bark, thin as a pin. A handiwork of his father. His father, whom he had begun to avoid for several years, because he looked down on him. Tristan was wrecked with guilt.


    He had looked down on his father. A father who could barely write, and who read with great difficulty. A father who didn''t know anything other than carpentry and making Tristan run around and exercise. A father who barely registered in Tristan''s mind. His father had departed for war. Tears exploded from his eyes. Regret, guilt, shock, love and realization. He couldn''t think straight. Right at that moment, he felt something wasn''t right with that card. Touching the card made is manna react unpredictably.


    Tristan transferred some manna into the card and discovered that his manna was blocked by a barrier. He could see in his mind''s eye a red button.


    Ping!


    "What is the first herbology book you read?"


    The sound of Melany''s voice rang in Tristan''s head.


    "Grinding through Grass"


    He thought out without doubt.


    His response was immediately greeted with another ''Ping!'' and the barrier restricting his manna dissolved and freely let it pass through into the card.


    "Tristan. You should know who this is. You have been asleep for far too long, I''m afraid to imagine what you have realised this time."


    Melany''s voice. Why did she embed a secret message? Tristan didn''t feel right.


    "As of the message by your father, it''s been over two years since you went into a meditative state. However, I returned to Sindry for the third time and secretly left a message on this card 4 years after your father left the the message. I hope you wouldn''t mind. The world has changed a lot since you fell asleep.


    Never did I imagine that you would sleep through most of the training period! But I know this would probably be the peak period of your growth in powers.


    I know you must be wondering why I''ve embedded a secret message for you here. It is to warn you. Do not return to the village right now. There are things going on in the village which you aren''t ready for. This is an order from a teacher to her faithful student. You will follow it right?"This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Melany''s voice was sobbing. Tristan couldn''t understand it all, but he was stricken with panic. 6 years? He had been asleep for 6 years?


    "When I returned a few months after you fell asleep, I tried awakening you using Manna, but you were in the deepest meditative state and nothing I did would awaken you. Eventually I convinced the village to keep your existence here a secret. It is thanks to that, that you still haven''t been found out.


    Urek mountains have become a war zone. The war consumed many lives. Including your father''s..."


    Tristan had been inundated with so many unbelievable events in a barrage that he had lost all his color. His face went deathly pale as he simply stopped thinking and blindly repeating.


    "So.. Father is dead huh."


    However the message would go on.


    "Cain.. He died a valiant death in battle. He was amongst the crew fighting right outside the mountain range, repairing catapults, he fought till his last breath."


    Melany sighed.


    "I don''t want you to go back to Sindry before you are prepared. It is my final wish as a teacher. No, to me you were a son I never had. Take the book that I encrypted, follow it''s directions. The book... I recovered it from the herbalist locker at considerable cost. I am currently a fugitive in this region. Once this message completes, the illusion over the book will stop. Follow it. You must not fail.


    Take care Tristan."


    At that moment, the cards all began glowing and began whirling around until they fused together to form a locker made of cards. The locker opened and the battered book that Melany had entrusted him once he had finished his training was provided to him. The cards then lost the light and fell back into the box.


    Tristan was conflicted. But the shock had been so great, that he stopped feeling it anymore and became surprisingly alert and rational.


    "Aunt Mel kept asking me not to go back to Sindry. The war also seems to have gone poorly. Since father was an engineer for catapults in a defensive set up, he must''ve been in the rear. It probably means Sindry is in not the same town I know.


    At the same time, she didn''t tell me anything at all about mom or my sibling. Did something happen? No, I can''t jump to conclusions right now. What about my friends? Diane.. She wrote she would wait for me.


    Why is Aunt asking me to avoid Sindry? Come to think of it, I''m pretty close to Sindry myself. How have I not been discovered for 4 years? Even the messages other than the long one from Dad which was protected by enchantment seem to have stopped a long time ago based on the dust on them.


    Aunt is a fugitive? There is a high chance that this must be due to me. The only one who came here in the last few years is Aunt Mel. That means.. She placed this area under illusion magic!"


    Tristan had spread out his presence using magic and discovered the illusion magic!


    "This was cast two weeks ago! So she was here two weeks ago... It''s necessary to collect all the data right now. Let''s unlock the book."


    Unenchanting the book was now child''s play for Tristan. He quickly flipped open the book. The pages were all a dummy. The book had a secret compartment containing a rusted key and a small slip of paper.


    Rush to the opposite end of the lake, where you will find a dungeon of unknown make, escape the traps, murder the monsters, trouble the dungeon master, steal their cores, burn their homes, avenge the large disaster.


    Tristan was troubled. His family and friends might be in trouble, but Aunt Mel was telling him to enter a hidden dungeon inside Urek Mountains? Suddenly her voice again.


    "Tristan, you''ve finally awoken. You need to go to the dungeon and defeat the master. I know this is heartless to ask of you, but you aren''t prepared to face the ruler of Sindry. Be well prepared, use all what you have learnt till now."


    Tristan realised that a lot of things were out of place. He also trusted his teacher Melany blindly. She had taken a lot of effort to hide him using a powerful illusion magic and become a fugitive to organise information for him. He decided to trust her judgement over his rage and emotional turmoil.


    He began preparations to enter the dungeon.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 7

    <h1>Preparations for the Dungeon</h1>


    Tristan acted swiftly. The urgency in Melany''s voice rang in his ears. He decided to use all the skills at his disposal.


    First he had to collect herbs. Medicinal, poisonous, plain grass, he made no distinction. Tristan used a thin veil of reinforcement along with cleverly using wind magic to make his moves inaudible. After using his manna to sense around for enemies, he swiftly began collecting.


    He first collected all the grass he could find. Using a manipulation array he swiftly arranged the grass in a checkered pattern to create a simple weaved bag of considerable size. He then used it to collect herbs indiscriminately.


    After about two hours he had collected three mountainfuls of herbs, mushrooms, roots, fruits and vines. He had run at his limit for a couple hours and now he decided to rest and get back energy. He began sifting through the herbs.


    Once he finished sifting, it was time for some herbal alchemy. He used transmutation to quickly mold a high quality mortar and pestle from clay which he imbued with manna to become extremely efficient. He proceeded to concoct potions for status recovery, health and stamina. He also made nutritional essences which would boost stamina and energy as well as provide nourishment from fruits and vegetables.he made several strong ropes using vines and used the remaining grass and vines to make a very resilient backpack.


    Next he started brewing poisons. He planned to lure and poison monsters or enemies if any inside the dungeon. But poison wouldn''t help a lot in active battle so he made highly concentrated acids that he stored in glass bottles he created from the clay using his arrays for smithing.


    He had created way more glass than he required. So he kept it aside for the moment, because he had an idea for the glass.


    Once that was done, he began with arrays. He used the silk threads he collected from silk worms to weave a pair of gloves. On them he painted ten extremely tiny transmutation circles each.


    Coincidentally while working Tristan saw his reflection in the glass. He had hair long enough to reach his the mid of his spine and he had grown quite a bit taller, however at the same time he remained somewhat on the leaner side instead of the muscular brute that his dad wanted him to become. The thought spiraled to the news of his dad''s death but he quickly set that aside for now.


    He decided to change his clothes. He made some tailored combat clothes that covered him from neck to toe and black. He transmuted the silk carefully with an alloy he prepared from all the metal he could scrape from the soil around him. It was mostly iron and copper. This made the clothes very durable against blunt attacks and even against some piercing attacks. He then imbued it with all the manna he had which left him extremely tired. He groomed his hair, cleaned himself using water he prepared from water magic earlier and fell asleep.


    The next day. Tristan woke up fresh, walked out collected some fruits and caught a rabbit which he skinned and cooked to eat. Satisfied with the outcome, he decided to smith some weapons.


    This was the part he was most worried about. Physically Tristan could be called fairly fit, however he was by no means combat ready. He had never practiced hand to hand combat or martial arts. If he used a sword he would just flail around with it and cause himself harm. He carefully analysed the situation.


    "In this case, whether it is the dungeon or Sindry, I am a lone person going against a potential army. My only advantages are using sneak attacks and guerilla tactics. I have a lot of poison and acid, throw weapons are the best choice..."


    Charmy, his dog hadn''t woken up the entire time that he had awoken from meditation an entire day. Tristan was worried about his health and tried to check his condition.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "I see... Charmy, you''ve been with me through thick and thin. I will save you."


    Charmy was suffering from an illness called Sleep of loneliness which affects dogs whose masters are too sick or die. Charmy''s brain had shut down and he was in a comatose state of hibernation beside the meditating Tristan. If Tristan wouldn''t awaken soon, he would''ve died of starvation - the dog that accompanied him since birth.


    Tristan once again went collecting for herbs. Except this time it was a special herb, one that is considered a pest for people who collect the Trivial Fern and was often found near wet rocks at the base of an oak tree. A cursed manimushroom. If prepared correctly it will cure Charmy of his comatose state.


    ****


    Several hours of gathering, scouting for enemies and medicine making later, Charmy who had medicine fed to him through a small but sharp ray of water dissolved medicine. Tristan used one if the new elementary spells he had created piercing aqua.At the same time, he flushed Charmy''s body with his magical energy pulsing along with the beat of his heart energizing and revitalizing Charmy to become more agile than ever before. Tristan''s years of intense world abandoning meditation had taken his magic manipulation and reinforcement skills to blinding heights.


    When Charmy woke up he was extremely surprised and happy! But just as he was about to bark loudly in happiness he heard Tristan in his head! Tristan smiled at him and spoke telepathically.


    "My friend, you missed me so much that you fell sick? I have now bound you telepathically to me so you can understand right? Thank you for staying by me. But now, don''t make a sound. None at all. We have work to do."


    Charmy nodded crazily and jumped into Tristan''s arms who tightly hugged him. The magic transformation had turned Charmy into a powerful ally for Tristan. Tristan had carefully turned his fur black, enhanced his muscles and cushioned his paws to make him.extremely silent. An accomplice of the night!


    By now the the weapons he was preparing were ready too. Two extremely thin daggers and a hundred throwing knives and shurikens each. His strength was so low he had very little chance of throwing weapons on target, but throwing them physically wasn''t an intention from the beginning.


    He was now prepared. He stuffed all support items into his backpack and reinforced it. He then spent the next two days meditating to improve his manna flow.


    ****


    Five days since the awakening of Tristan. Tristan finally begins his mission. Entering a dungeon!


    Tristan had read about the stories of adventurers venturing into dungeons to collect incredible prizes and rewards. He had studied tactics to capture dungeons from a lot of Melany''s books. She had taught him about the basics of party formation, luring, trapping and using one''s strengths to defeat dungeons.


    However, he was now alone. Without a party. His only teammate was his dog Charmy. He would have to rely on his instincts and quick thinking to avoid death. Tristan decided to he needed to scout carefully first.


    He telepathically beckoned Charmy who had been stealthily hunting for game in the forest and began his search for the dungeon entrance.


    Gliding over the lake''s frozen top in the death of night in his ninja-esque clothes, Tristan ensured he was keeping absolute silence by using wind magic to silence noise vibrations. This would normally be impossible for ordinary magicians because of the time needed to chant upon each step. Even ingeniously modifying the magic would require casting time. However, Tristan could cast any magic he understood the working of chantlessly. Thus, he would conserve his manna by constantly using it only at the required moment.


    It was the day of the new moon and the sky was extremely dark. There wasn''t any way by which Tristan could be noticed by ordinary people, yet he remained cautious. He slowly explored the area beyond the lake at the base of the mountain that surrounded the lake. It would''ve been impossible to see anything if Tristan hadn''t used reinforcement magic on his eyes to increase his visual capabilities in the dark.


    However finding the entrance seemed to be getting impossible.he had spent his entire life in Sindry and had explored the forest more times than he could count, but he had never come across a dungeon. In those circumstances the only thing he could think was that it was hidden either through illusion is through magic.


    Tristan decided tonscan through the area using his mind''s eye, the technique used up a ton of manna and so he couldn''t afford to do it often. He could feel the throbbing volcanic veins inside the mountain and underneath him, but then he suddenly found a large network of caves that didn''t feel like a natural formation at all. It was an extremely large network of technically carved tunnels. And the entrance...was under the lake!

 Volume 1 - Chapter 8

    <h1>Dungeon Exploration</h1>


    The dungeon entrance had been under the lake on the far side! The lake wasn''t an ordinary one. It was unusually deep and the depth did not increase gradually but with a steep drop. Tristan''s mom would tell him about her childhood when several children had often slipped in and almost drowned which was why going near the lake was dissuaded among children.


    But now, Tristan had to take the plunge into a frozen lake! He creates a sharp blade of wind that bores through a deep wedge into the glacial ice. Despite the strength of the magic he wasn''t able to completely make a hole to dive in. After four more tries an isolated chunk of ice block had been removed. Tristan could see the clear blue water spanning fearful depths. He decided to create a thin veil of wind followed by another of fire to protect him from getting wet, cold or getting a burn from his own magic. However he could only maintain this for a minute before his manna would be completely consumed.


    Before he had a chance to regret it, he created an air bubble around his head and dove deep into the lake. Searching with manna earlier had already made him aware of the entrance''s location. He reinforced his body with magic to quickly swim to the entrance.


    The lake was brimming with marine life insulated by the thick sheet of ice from the cold. Tristan could see multicolored fish that would glow in the dark. He was reminded of the times when he had to tirelessly fish for these fish and fail under his teacher''s spartan directives. As the school of fish swam around him and made vivid patterns, Tristan looked marvelled at the beauty of nature. But he didn''t have a lot of time and quickly swam towards the entrance which was submerged in water. He only had a 39 seconds left before he would finish off his manna. He decided to end the insulation of fire to preserve manna till he could find air.


    Zap!


    Right at that moment, Tristan was caught in enormous translucent tentacles which zapped him with electricity! He momentarily lost consciousness before waking up in seconds. It was a jellyfish twice bigger than himself. Tristan panicked and released a powerful blade of wind, but the water dissipated the blade before it reached the jellyfish. The jellyfish however didn''t realise this immediately and was startled by the bizarre attack and released Tristan in panic. The wind coat of magic that Tristan used had prevented him from getting badly electrocuted but his costumes metallic fibres ensured he got shocked either way.


    Tristan was thinking quickly. He needed to exterminate the jellyfish before it attacked him again. But he couldn''t use his throw weapons and his manna was depleting fast, while the jellyfish had long tentacles to make up the distance. Another shock and Tristan would die.


    He decided to quickly swim into the entrance, he needed to find an air pocket before his manna ran out. He had been overwhelmed by the Freshwater Jellyfish.Its sheer size astounded him into submission and made him flee. However, it wasn''t without reason.


    As the jellyfish entered the entrance to the submerged cave, Tristan slapped his hands together and then slammed his right palm on the wall. His glove immediately started glowing as it used the transmutation array to create extremely sharp stalactites and stalagmites of earth which pierced through the jellyfish, killing it instantly. With his final spurt, Tristan managed to escape death, however he had almost no manna left and would drown.


    Tristan swam with all his might into the labyrinth, he went in straight until he found a vent going upwards. He followed it until he came to the surface of the water. He quickly got out of the water, surveyed his surroundings and on finding it deserted he laid down in rest. Just at that moment he felt a surge of energy through his body and he felt a little stronger than before. It was an extremely unique and bizarre feeling. His depleted manna once again had a little bit moreanna remaining. Tristan was too tired to speculate about the reason for this and fell asleep.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Several hours later, he was now wide awake, scanning the labyrinthine dungeon carefully. It was pitch black darkness and reinforcing his eyes, ears and nose was the only way he could get around. He was trying to find Charmy who hadstayed guard at the hole while Tristan would scout and return so they could both enter. He telepathically reached Charmy and told him to hide in the shed until beckoned. There was no way he could return the way he came in so it felt prudent.


    He was now alone in the dungeon. Scouting had turned into a dungeon exploration in the blink of an eye. Carefully treading his steps, making no sound, he followed the rustling sounds he could hear, to find the creatures of the dungeon. He crawled through passages until it merged to a large hall. He crept to the far corner of the hall with extreme stealth as his heart throbbed violently seeing the site.


    In the center of the hall were 10 large bulls who had just one sharp horn each on their foreheads. They seemed to have poor eyesight but would react to the slightest of sounds made by the other bulls. Menacing and muscularly padded, they would randomly ram their head into a wall, creating a huge crater. Bulls on rampage!


    Tristan formulated a plan to escape from the bulls. If his presence was detected he would stand no chance against their incredible physical power and defense. He had to stealthily move ahead but the only other exit was in the center of the hall guarded by the 6 bulls at all times. He decided to put the bulls to sleep with an intoxicant.


    He slowly crept to the bulls walking near the walls and quietly injected a powerful sleep drug into the bull''s neck. But the bull moo''d extremely loudly, swerved as it tried to kick Tristan but immediately lost balance and fell to the ground with a huge thud. The other bulls immediately figured out that something wasn''t right and angrily bellowed towards their fallen comrade. Tristan quietly crept past the panicked herd and began taking them out one by one.


    After a few tense minutes it was just Tristan and the alpha bull who had still remained in guard of the exit in the center of the room. He carefully repeated the procedure of putting the bull to sleep. But just as he injected the drug into the alert cow he was flung powerfully towards the wall.


    Tristan was badly hurt, but luckily was saved from serious damage thanks to timely reinforcement at the places of impact. He looked at the bull in horror, the bull staggered for a bit but then resumed its prideful balance. It knew where Tristan was now and bellowed with a power Tristan couldn''t believe possible.


    "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"


    The air produced shockwaves which barraged into Tristan as he was hit with increasingly severe blows. The bull then galloped in his direction trying to impale him with his horn. As it ran, the horn started glowing a pale yellow.


    Tristan reacted instinctively. Powerfully kicking the wall he was embedded into using reinforcement on his right leg, he made a quick somersault as the bull rammed its horn into the wall which exploded violently. Taking the opportunity Tristan ran towards the hole in the center and jumped!


    But the hole had a transparent barrier which glowed the moment Tristan stepped on it and threw him into the air spiralling diagonally as he hit a wall and fell to the ground. Tristan was badly hurt this time since he didn''t have reinforcement prepared. The alpha bull too had need damaged by it''s reckless attack. Tristan decided to bait and switch.


    Repeating what happened the last time, Tristan lured the bull into severely hurting itself to the point that it could no longer stand. He would stand by a wall and make blinking fire signals to taunt to bull and at the last moment dodge it while the bull would explode walls and harm itself. Soon it''s limbs gave way and it fell down. Realising that it didn''t have a chance at victory and its allies all down, the bull bellowed loudly again as its horn shone a blinding red!


    Tristan realised that something was amiss and decided to terminate the bull before something happened. He took his dagger and slammed it with full force into the bull''s neck. There was a loud wail as the bull''s head collapsed onto the ground. It was dead. The horn gradually stopped glowing and turned black with sharp red and yellow lines running across it. Tristan decided to cut all the horns and collect them. Just as with the jellyfish, he felt a surge of power within himself and he felt himself become stronger.


    Deciding to spare the lives of the other bulls, he sawed off their horns and checked the hole to find the barrier gone. He decided to carefully jump in.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 9

    <h1>Dungeon Traps Galore</h1>


    The moment Tristan jumped down, the hole sealed up behind him.


    "Looks like I can only move forward."


    Tristan decided to rest for sometime to recharge his batteries. He had the nourishment drink he had made as well as healed off the scrapes and muscle aches he was feeling because of the mad bull''s attack. Within the span of a few days he had two brushes with death and was going through an emotional turmoil.


    He was worried about his mother and his sibling. He wondered how Diane was doing. She too must be 12 years old now. He tried to imagine how she might appear now. Rudi, did he become the muscular brute that Tristan always imagined him growing up? And did Miza''s world still revolve around that brute? He was puzzled about why aunt Mel didn''t tell him anything about them. Deep in his heart he was afraid of the worst happening. He had to atleast take responsibility for his dad''s last wish.


    Now revitalised, he decided to march on. There were no diverging paths. The labyrinthine maze he had sensed lasted only till the territory of those monstrous bulls and were devoid of life. But now he had a straight path that he cautiously followed. The path then ended. He had come face to face with a spiral staircase. The construction of which made it impossible to know how far up it went. With all other paths blocked he could only move forward. However..


    "Aah!!"


    Tristan shrieked and howled madly in pain. The moment he stepped on the first stair sharp spikes pierced his right foot and as he reactionarily pulled his foot out in fear he was bleeding profusely.


    "Neurotoxin!..."


    Tristan grew increasingly laggard as he struggled to search for the antidote in his bag. His face was becoming increasingly blue and he wasn''t being able to breathe. He finally found a purple vial and thrust it directly into his bloodstream through his right vein. He had no time to consume it orally right now.


    A few minutes past. Tristan began feeling better. After a few more minutes he vomitted out a green slime and immediately burnt it with a flame. He then sealed his legs with bandages and applied healing magic and consumed restoration potions. That was a very deadly poison. Traps! Tristan wasn''t the only one who could think underhandedly after all. He had to be very wary now.


    He tapped the stair with a knife and in response a large number of spikes came out, a few bloodied from the previous exposure to Tristan''s foot.tristant decided to use the walls to fashion metallic slippers to protect him from such spikes. After a few trial and error arrays he was able to create a fairly comfortable pair of slippers with extremely thick soles. Now he could be safe of spikes surprising him, but there would be other traps and so he had to be vigilant.


    He began slowly climbing up the spiral staircase, checking each stair with his dagger before climbing. Sometimes trapping the next stair caused spikes to appear on the one he was standing while other whiles stairs had traps only in a certain fraction of the surface area. He had climbed atleast 3500 stairs in this manner but there seemed to be no end to it.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    Once when he rested on a stair for too long eating food, spikes from all corners attacked him in an attempt to impale him. If it weren''t for reinforcement magic of the orcs he wouldn''t have been able to realise and escape from certain death. He thus found out that he couldn''t stay on a stair for too long.


    "If there is a gateway to hell, this is probably it."


    Tristan was mentally and physically tired. The constant concentration he needed to fend of traps as well as the exhaustion of constantly climbing with rest while not knowing when it ended frustrated him to no end. But in this life or death situation, he had to keep moving forward.


    After a couple of thousand more steps, Tristan began panting. He had never been the athletic kid in the village. He preferred more mentally stimulating pursuits, but right now he wished he had more endurance. He was constantly wondering when the stairway would end. At that moment of lapse in concentration, Tristan carelessly stepped on the next stairwhich caved in and suddenly large whirring noises could be heard. The entire column containing the spiral staircase began revolving a layer of brick at a time until a certain pattern appeared om the wall.


    "Water drains! Oh shit!"


    Just as he exclaimed thousands of pores began leaking a tremendous amount of water in. The stair suddenly transformed into an inclined spiral plane as water quickly began enveloping the height that Tristan had climbed till now. Swearing in his breath, he quickly changed his slippers to running boots, applied reinforcement, drank energy and stamina supplements and invigorate his manna and alleviate the tiredness, and ran like there was not tomorrow.


    As he ran he kept initiating traps which he tried his best to avoid, but couldn''t help getting scraped, hit or pierced by arrows or shape changing walls trying to trap him. He kept running without looking back, but he could hear the gushing water reaching ever closer to him. His speed was remarkable thanks to using wind magic and reinforcement magic to strengthen his muscles and bones. He punched through walls that came in his path until he found an opening in the wall big enough to be called an exit door.


    He jumped out but realised his folly the very next minute as it was the ice cap of the tallest mountain in the Urek range - Trapeze mountain. He began sliding down the mountain at a tremendous pace and used his daggers to stall his fall. At the last moment when he was about to fall into a crevasse he used his glove to transmute an ice basement to stall the fall completely. A huge water fall passed over his body head and flew down with incredible force right in front of him.


    Calming down, he used his glove to manipulate the ice block to move upwards again. Slowly pouring in his manna to make it move using a manipulation array on ice.


    Twenty minutes later he had arrived at the jumping spot - water was gushing out at an unprecedented rate. He couldn''t dare to go in from there. His only choice seemed to be going upwards from the outside. As he climbed he discovered a walking trail that treacherously winded around the mountain towards the peak. Unable to sustain the magic to carry him up any longer, Tristan decided to walk along the path.


    The air was bone chillingly cold. It was also becoming extremely difficult to breathe. Tristan''s manna was recovering very slowly. Soon heavy snow pounded on him as he carefully climbed along the small winding path. A fall here meant instant death.


    Tristan suddenly looked above. A badger like creature with white fur made clicking sounds before it suddenly attacked him. It''s speed was incredible and it seemed to be adapted to the cold. Tristan struggled to fend it off with his dagger which he laced with a paralysing toxin, because of his disadvantageous location and lack of manna.


    After a long battle of attrition where Tristan received a lot of bruises, he managed to hit the enemy and paralyse it. He then killed it and roasted it with a low flame to eat it. He drank a recovery potion to heal himself. He noticed that his potions were exhausting at a tremendous rate. On that thin treacherous path overlooking a fall of thousands of meters, a tired Tristan created an igloo from his books using a transformation array and fell asleep from tiredness.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 10

    <h1>Breaking Through the Unsurmountable</h1>


    Tristan woke up to the rising sun hitting his eye through the snow of the igloo melting. It was time for him to move ahead. He had to complete the dungeon and meet the master of the dungeon as soon as possible to return to Sindry.


    After prepping himself for the cold he melts the igloo and proceeds to carefully climb.


    ****


    It had been a few hours since he resumed his climb. Tristan was marked with clothes with sharp cuts and deep gashes onto his skin to accompany them. The smell of blood wafted around him, human and the blood if the white furred badgers.


    He had been constantly attacked by groups of two or three badgers whenever he neared a dangerous pass on the track path. Initially he struggled a lot against those creatures because of their incredible speed and their sharp bites and claws. They were quite fragile, but their tactic of attacking by stealth during a vulnerable moment and immunity to the cold made them ferocious.


    Tristan never liked seeing blood. He had been seeing blood from people who had been ill since he started studying medicine under aunt Mel. However, he had never taken a life indiscriminately before. He had trapped and hunted for game, but attacking them en masse was quite a new and unagreeable situation. From initially wincing each time he killed those monsters to thoughtlessly slashing them apart, he began doubting his consciousness.


    Tristan was a pragmatist. He didn''t believe in absolute good or evil. He just desired to protect people who he cared about and knew. But under that logic he always had been somewhat innocent about the world, he believed in peaceful living, undoubtedly based on his peaceful life in Sindry. The indiscriminate violent world had tainted his insides.


    "Is this what it means to become an adventurer? Killing indiscriminately? Losing concern for life?"


    On top of all the shocks he had received, he was now conflicted about his own actions. He was unable to place his own ethics in the spectrum of good and bad and it made him wonder if he was doing the right thing in this dungeon. All he had wanted was to gain knowledge. But today, for the first time, he felt the weight of knowledge. Knowing is as much a pleasure as it is a curse.


    He finally came to the end of the winding path. There was a cave leading back into the mountain at the end of the path. He was quite close to the peak.


    His lips were chapped, cheeks frozen. He was constantly shivering. He looked behind for the first time since he began climbing. The winding path he had taken was occasionally stained with blood. Carcasses lied all around. Tristan''s innocent eyes had turned cold.


    "I''m a murderer", he whispered.


    He looked down. Far below, he could see the powerful flow of water, still gushing out in full force. He had come a long way.


    He finally entered the cave after swallowing air. He was ready for an onslaught approaching. His manna sense had already informed him about the horde coming to attack.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Ants. Thousands of ants. Ants the size of Charmy. Crawling quickly, menacingly coming to attack. Tristan, remarkably, had no emotion on his face or in his heart. Just three words on his lips.


    "Let''s do this."


    He created a pocket of air in the shape of a sphere and threw at the ants. There were so many of them now that he couldn''t see the walls of the cave anymore, just a swarming black army moving along.


    The sphere exploded as air expanded rapidly and shockwaves squished thousands of ants. But the dead were quickly replaced by the incessant horde.


    Tristan didn''t wait to see the result either. He began working on several magic at once. Flames burnt the ants, and stalactites impaled them. He exploded the air by combusting the oxygen. Tristan kept on a relentless attack, but he was draining his manna very quickly. He finally decided to his his trump card.


    "Ice disaster."


    Tristan spoke the spell with a finalty to his voice. He didn''t need to speak the spell, but saying it made him feel more confident. He used up all the remaining manna into the spell he had created by combining elements of water, earth and wind magic.


    The entire cave began freezing up along with the ants. He took the small reprieve he got to consume manna recovery, health recovery and stamina recovery potions. He then took all the bottles of toxins and acid he had and broke the flasks. He used wind and water magic to disperse the toxins as a mist.


    Thousands of ands started melting from the acid. Others began getting paralysed and yet others poisoned. It was a one sided onslaught because they had been frozen stiff while decaying rapidly!


    A considerable number of ants were vanquished in this manner. Once Tristan got his process perfected, he rinsed and repeated. He kept attacking the ants, millions of them, until he finished off his manna reserves and then recovered it back using his potions.


    "This is the last batch of potions."


    There were still a few thousand more ants left. But the carcasses of the dead far outstripped the carcasses of the ones living. The ants were huge and we''ll coordinated. They disregarded their own deaths for the collective, however individually did little damage and had poor defenses. Their entire strategy depended on numbers and Tristan had cleverly used his largest area attacks to thin their ranks as fast as possible.


    However the strategy was not without faults. It left Tristan open to attacks since he completely concentrated on annihilation. Occasionally a few ants would get past and attack him with their sharp pincers. Tristan was bleeding all over, but he could see that they weren''t endless anymore and it made him go even more reckless. When he used Ice disaster for the final time he destroyed all but a hundred of the ants.


    He was out of manna too. He finally took out both his daggers and decided to engage physically. With just enough manna to cleverly use reinforcement for attacking, Tristan neglected his defence and slaughtered the ants with stabs and kicks. Unlike the previous battles with got over in an hour, the final fight took three hours. Three hours of constant fighting had dimmed Tristan''s vision.


    With the final stab that eliminated the last ant, Tristan blacked out.


    ****


    A whole day later, he was bathed in the blood of ants, as well as is own. His entire body hurt and he was full of serious bruises. When he woke up, Tristan carefully cleaned himself and his tools, patched himself with the last reserves of bandages. He felt his health had returned sufficiently as he drank his last stamina potion. He had no manna potion left so whatever manna he regained while sleeping was all he had.


    He walked ahead recklessly. After the bloody battle he had yesterday, he no longer cared why he came to the dungeon. He felt desolate and hardened. He simply wanted to see it through the end.


    He finally came to the end of the cave. He was greeted by an imposing door. He had no thoughts on his mind anymore. The endless suffering had simply made his mind go blank. Without a second thought or hesitation, he opened the door.


    A blast of warm air, the smell of molten metal, a bright light and the voice of a...girl?


    "Unbelievable. An ordinary human?"

 Volume 1 - Chapter 11

    <h1>Dark God Thespia</h1>


    "Unbelieveable. An ordinary person?"


    Tristan walked through the door to find the imagery of a large scale refinement complex. Molten lava pouring everywhere, tremendous heat pervading the air. And at the end of the path, sleeping on her left hand on a couch of white feathers was a girl who didn''t appear too much older than Tristan.


    She had jet black hair, wore a jet black frock and colored her lips black. The contrast was exacerbated by her extremely pale skin and the white feather couch.


    She looked at Tristan with eyes that showed her concern towards him was insignificant. He might as well have been to her what the ants had to him. With a single finger she beckoned him towards her and snapped her fingers.


    The entire place turned into a white glow. The molten lava disappeared and the caves streamlined to a perfect geometric shape. Excepting the door that Tristan used, everything else, couch included disappeared. When he reached closer, she snapped her fingers again and he was seated on a chair right in front of her, who was seated on one too.


    Tristan could not get a grasp of the girl''s power and capabilities. But her display easily convinced him that he had no chance against her at all.


    "Aah, an ordinary mortal. And he''s just a kid too! Is this who they decided upon? Or did you just barge in like a fool? Well I did decide on it.."


    She seemed to be talking to herself loudly. Tristan couldn''t make head nor tail of it. He decided to politely introduce himself.


    "I present my heartiest greetings to the the Lady of the dungeon. I am Tristan of Sindry. Pray, could you tell me your name?"


    She looked at him with disdain. A smirk on her face as if he were but a cockroach. She then changed her body posture to face the tall ceiling of the place.


    "Lady of the dungeon? Hmph. I killed the dungeon master a long ago. You came here looking for that bumbling idiot? Tristan huh. The name''s Thespia. I am also known as the Dark God and am the overlord of Darkness."


    A god! What was a god doing inside a dungeon! Tristan had read about gods, powerful immortal beings who were the source of all the life and powers of the World.


    Tristan decided that proceeding with caution is the best idea right now. He made a note to himself not to offend her.


    "My lord, I entered this dungeon based on the instructions of my teacher..."


    Tristan carefully explained the events that he had seen take place and showed the parchment and rusted key in the battered book that Melany had entrusted to him.


    "I see, so that witch got so desperate huh. Looks like convincing failed..hmm... You have the key!?"


    Seeing the key, Dark God Thespia got excited and began laughing like a mad woman, key in her hand.


    "Excellent. Excellent! To think a mere child could clear this dungeon and bring the important key. I don''t have to sit and wait for those foreigners anymore!


    Ok kid, I''ll tell you why you are here."


    Dark God Thespia thought for a bit, then nodded.


    "The world has been thrown into turmoil ever since the arrival of the immortals from another world - this you must know. But have you wondered why they are given a free pass to travel across the continent without worry? Or how they have such incredible skills or why they are immortal?


    The first foreigners to arrive were the 10 administrators. In an instant they defeated all the gods of this world took the rulers by their side and destroyed the status quo.


    Since that moment, the gods have been looking for a way to fight back and gain control. Once the administrators left, the gods were once again the strongest. However, given the immortality of the foreigners the probability of them eventually surpassing us again was quite high.


    However, the gods have a secret weapon. When the administrators were about to leave after a complete show of dominance, the gods were paralysed in fear. It was in these circumstances that the god of mischief Loki manipulated those 10 powerful people into fighting each other.before his ruse was discovered and he was obliterated however, one of the administrators was murdered by some of the others among them! Loki managed to steal three precious articles from the death and stored them here, in the labyrinths of Urek.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    I was later sent here to kill the guardian and protect the treasures from the immortals. Who wouldve imagined that an ordinary boy like you would clear this crappy dungeon? Immortals have been raising hell looking for it''s entrance here.


    The witch.. The other gods must have guided her to this book. Perhaps..."


    Dark God Thespia teleported to a corner of the cave, curled up in deep thought. Tristan who had been listening to her, couldn''t help get the feeling of being dragged into a battle much bigger than himself. Perplexed at the god''s sudden child like action, he sat silently looking in her direction. He tried collecting his thoughts and began wondering.


    Suddenly Thespia teleported back in front of him, their faces extremely close, and stared directly into Tristan''s eyes without blinking. She then nodded.


    "I saw your history now. Your growth is remarkable, but still within the ordinary realm of our world. Yes, I will accept this trade."


    Huh? Trade? Tristan couldn''t understand what was going on. Thespia seemed to speak to herself more than she spoke to him. Suddenly, a box appears. Rusted from.the outside, everything about it was ordinary. A cuboidal box of iron with a keyhole. Thespia gave him the key and urged him to open it using her chin.


    When Tristan opened the box, his eyes were blinded by the outrageous glow coming from the insides. As his eyes adjusted themselves to the brightness, he found 4 ordinary looking trinkets inside the box.


    A jet black rock, spectacles with green glass, spherical orb filled with purple miasma and the source of the glow - a stone shaped in the form of a tetrahedron that pulsated like a heart and emitted sparks of electricity.


    Thespia took Tristan''s right hand and bit the tip of his index finger seductively, making it bleed. Tristan winced.


    "Drip your blood on the items other than the black stone. That is my payment for this trade."


    Tristan obeyed her orders. Each time he dripped his blood on an item, they disappeared. However, when he dripped his blood om the last item, the spectacles, upon disappearing, Tristan''s eyesight changed. He was surprised and shocked.


    Thespia smirked as she saw his expression change. She then took the black stone in her hand and chiseled a tenth of the size from it to give it to Tristan. Urging him to apply blood on that as well.


    Once he did that, Thespia swallowed the nine tenths of the stone she kept for herself. A few moments later Tristan began having seizures filled with pain. He fell to the floor into a cradle position and winced as electricity surged through his body and was visible from.the outside. An incredible pain that tore the very fabric he was made out of. He couldn''t help but want to die, instead of suffer the pain anymore.


    ****


    Tristan woke up to find himself on an extremely soft featherbed. He carefully tried to get up, but his muscles were failing as he couldn''t get his lower body to rise. After several tried he finally managed to get into a sitting position, when he found that not too far away Thespia was riding a swing made from vines that looked awfully familiar. The white room was now a flowerbed and he could see the sun. It felt like a dream about summer.


    "Ohh, you survived? Huhu, I half doubted my decision to give them to you when I saw you crying like a baby from the pain. Well, all''s well that ends well, isn''t it? You made these vines? They are quite good, haha!"


    She gave him a bottle of black liquid, gesturing to drink it. Reluctantly gulping down a potion that could as well be a poison, he felt himself get revitalised and his body surged with power. He felt a little stronger than he was before he met this Dark God, but not a whole lot. His eyes however...


    Refreshed completely, Tristan got out if the bed and walked to the swing.


    "Your work here is done kid. I will seal the dungeon now."


    "But.. There is a lot I don''t understand. What were those trinkets? Where did they disappear? What was my purpose to come here?"


    "Hmm, those ''trinkets'' kid you will find out yourself what they are. After all haven''t your eyes... Changed?"


    Thespia said that with a smirk that threatened to deform her pretty face and eyes that glint like diamond. She continued.


    "Your purpose... Well you can say that the red haired Witch put all her hopes on you instead of an immortal who would help the gods with betrayal. As to how that average magician got hold of this diary, I couldn''t possibly know.


    Well that was your purpose to come here. Those trinkets are now inside of you. Haha. Don''t have to be so surprised. You are assimilating their powers into your body. Who knows how long it''ll take.


    What you should do now? Trace your past? Meditate again? What you do is your own choice. But you must get stronger, because you have been pulled into a world where the strong devour the weak. You are too weak now, but you have potential. Use your eyes...to see everything."


    Tristan stood beside her still swinging joyously, looking at the sun, his eyes distant. He had decided.


    "I must return to Sindry village. I need to find my family and friends. Trace back what has happened. I must protect those you are close to me."


    "..."


    Thespia looked away from Tristan''s gaze and didn''t reply.


    "Well, I suppose that is your path. It will be a painful path, be warned. However, I''ve taken a liking to your determination kid. Would you like to become my pupil? If you manage to assimilate the part of the black stone I gave you, look for a village called Bardem in the east. Within the tree of Bardem you will find the lair of the gods."


    Tristan nodded. He certainly wanted to get stronger, to protect his family. Falling into an trance, he had neglected his family and friends and slept through chaos. Things would change now, he surmised.


    "Okkkayyy, I''ll teleport you to another mountain on the opposite side of Sindry. You might find one of the people you seek there. Farewell, young fellow."


    Dark God Thespia snapped her fingers. Tristan felt himself slipping through time as he could see his entire past play out backwards and then once again forwards. He lost his sense of direction as he saw himself in the heavens, extremely black void filled with countless lights. He kept moving at a ridiculous pace that freaked him out. After what simultaneously felt like passage of less than a second as well as an infinite period of time, Tristan found himself at the very end of a pitch black cave. From the warmth, it appeared he was deep underground.


    It was time for him to find his family and friends.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 12

    <h1>Tristan Reborn</h1>


    Tristan appeared in the heart of a cave inside a mountain bordering Sindry, thanks to the Dark God''s teleportation technique. Soon he could hear loud rumblings followed by the tremor of an earthquake, which he attributed to the Dark God destroying the dungeon he had just cleared.


    The first thing Tristan decided to do was to collect his thoughts. There were no deep caves near Sindry that he knew of, but from the warm temperature of his surroundings he surmised that he was sent quite deep into the mountain. His instincts temptingly warned him about the possibility of arriving inside another dungeon. However dungeons never appear so close together. Tristan decided to first analyse his abilities before he made a move.


    The most radical change in his body was his vision. Everything normal about it had changed, and the Dark God made a reference to it too. His natural vision did remain the same, however in his field of view there were objects that constantly floated. However those objects were not real since they had no depth and any attempt to grab them yielded no result.


    The top left of his vision had a floating image of his name Tristan of Sindry followed by two long rectangular rows. A green one labelled HP anda blue one labelled MP.Beside his name he also noted a weird symbol Lvl 53. He had seen the name followed by the symbol and a green bar on the Dark God Thespia as well.


    <blockquote>Dark God Thespia - Lvl 525</blockquote>


    He wondered what those numbers meant. There was also a red sphere that floated to the top right of his vision and when he made the thought to press it, it transformed and expanded into a square covering his vision. There were several layers of text which overwhelmed him and he looked towards the X shape on the top right corner which had replaced the red sphere which made the square disappear. He finally pressed a ? symbol which automatically began a voice in his head.


    Welcome to the Administrator''s Tutorial. This guide will explain all the basic features available on your screen.


    As the voice spoke various texts and objects started illuminating themselves in Tristan''s field of vision corresponding to what the voice in his head spoke. It was a clear gentle voice of a woman.


    The screen is the basic field of vision that is on whenever you aren''t asleep. On the screen you can find various indicators. Your name followed by your power level. The power level is a quantised value which shows one''s capabilities in combat or otherwise and is increased by defeating opponents to death.


    "Then the Dark God was atleast 10 times stronger than me... I had no chance if she had been hostile!"


    Tristan was stunned by the gap in power. Defeating the monsters in the dungeon had made him a little confident, however it was now deflated.


    This is the HP bar. It signifies your remaining health.If it gets depleted to zero you will suffer from the status <DEATH>.


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li><<Due to STATUS ADMINISTRATOR DEATH is a temporary status and a restoration would take place with a significant penalty to level (-3) and Stats (-1 for all stats) after 24 hours.>></li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    This is the MP bar. It signifies your remaining manna. When it reaches zero, you will no longer be able to use magic or magic based enhancements.


    This is the status menu. It contains the comprehensive data about everything you would need to know in an easily accessible array.


    This is the item storage log.


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li><<Due to administrator bonus, storage is infinite.>></li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    This is your stats window. The points assigned to each stat is shown in detail. Each level up allows a bonus stat point.


    <ul>


    <li>


    <<Due to curse of Reversion an extra 9 bonus stat points assigned per level up.>>


    </li>


    </ul>


    Stat points can be assigned to basic stats, acquired stats or skills as skill points. Stat points have a limit of 100 points. When a skill has been learned, the particular skill would appear in the skill window. The number of skill points a skill has depends on the knowledge and ability to use the particular skill. The maximal skill level for a skill is skill level 10.


    Skill levels can also be advanced using unassigned stat points. Depending on the skill, the number of stat points required to increase the strength of a skill may vary.


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li><<Due to curse of Reversion 1 skill level = 1 stat point.>></li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Number of unassigned stat points - 530!


    This is your skills window, all skills learnt are listed here. Due to curse of reversion - skills can be learnt easily!


    This is the map window. It can be permanently affixed on your screen. Would you like to set map on your basic screen?


    "Yes."


    This is the identity window. Your identity and skills will be briefly described here. A person with appraisal skill can see the details of the identity window based on the degree of appraisal skill and your hiding ability.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li><<Due to STATUS ADMINISTRATOR, you can modify the identity window to display data of your choosing. Stats cannot be displayed as more than actualized values.>></li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    This concludes the basic tutorial. Would like to know more?


    "No.."


    The voice disappeared and Tristan carefully began looking at details in the status menu.


    "Status Window"


    With just a thought, the window detailing his current status is displayed.


    His level is 53, and he received 10 undistributed points for each level due to a curse! A look at his stats showed that for each level he gained, a stat point had been assigned to a primary Stat. However, this did not count in his unassigned stat points.


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Health - 5</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Stamina -5</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Intelligence - 8</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Strength - 5</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Wisdom - 6</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Luck - 6</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Defense - 5</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Agility - 5</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Perception - 5</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Charm - 3</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    He felt like improving his basic stats could be done after he checked his skills.


    Opening the skills window he realosed that had an incredibly large number of skills. Every mundane ability he had was actually a skill. He began maxing out skills he thought were important.


    <blockquote>Gathering : A skill that allows the gathering of items, herbs, inanimate objects and material unrestricted physically or using magic. Level 3


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Hunting : A skill that displays mastery in capturing wild animal using traps, tools and weapons.Level 3


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Appraisal : depending on the level of the skill, can display details about anything in the focus of the eyes.Level 1


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Herbology : A skill which augments appraisal by providing details about herbs and their properties. The depth of detail depends on the skill level.Level 8


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Medicinal Alchemy : The ability to synthesise medicines for ailments using alchemy. Level 8


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Medicinal Magic : The ability to pour manna directly to heal physical wounds. Level 4


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Magical Affinity: The ability to create magic. Direct factor in efficacy of magic spells. Level 5


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Magic Sense : Spreading a thin veil of manna in the vicinity to detect physical and nonphysical objects.Level 2


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Mathematics : capability to perform complex calculations. Level 5


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Cooking : The ability to make meals.Level 3


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Woodworking : The ability to use carpentry and shape wood. Level 3


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Sculpting : The ability to use materials to create physical art and aesthetics. Level 4


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Metal Working : The ability to manipulate metals to create complex alloys. Needs sufficient fire magic.Level 3


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Blacksmithing : Use metals and alloys to shape items, weapons and trinkets. Level 2


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Stealth : The ability to hide using illusions, shadows, camouflage and nature. Level 5


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Tactics : Using strategies to defeat opponents in physical and psychological battles. Level 3


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Painting : The ability to recreate an image reflecting reality, an imagined moment, idea or abstract thought.Level 5


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Hand to Hand Combat : The ability to take on physical battle against opponents. Level 2


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Aiming : The ability to lock onto a target with precision. Level 3


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Swimming and Diving : The ability to traverse over and underwater for longer periods. Level 6


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Sword Art (Basic) : The basic martial arts of the Sword. Level 1


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Negotiation : The ability to perceive the desires of others and strike a suitable deal. Level 2


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Lying : the ability to lie convincingly.Level 2


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Bargaining : the ability to haggle and lower prices. Level 1


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>Map Tracker : Track identified individuals on your map in explored areas. Level 1


    Increased to Level 10


    </blockquote>


    After increasing these productivity skills by leaps and bounds, he decided to invest on his magic skills. To Tristan''s surprise, each individual magic spell had it''s own skill that needed to be assigned points. However, due to his deep contemplation of magic from his meditative experiences, Tristan maxed out all the magic he knew in Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, Illusion, Nature magic and their imaginative combinations as well as the Reinforcement magic of the Orcs and Manna Transfer he had discovered to level 10 with 200 points. This was surprisingly low, considering the number of spell skills he had, but since most of them were level 6 or 7 he was able to do so.


    After he did that, he reached a section of skills marked in red. Unique skills.


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Fragment of the Dark Lord Brahmut -a small fragment of a jet black stone absorbed through blood. Gain ability to use dark magic, gain skills of stealth, gain skill Final Gambit.</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Curse of Reversion - Absorbed through the unique item "orb of purple miasma" belonging to God of Mischief Loki, this is an absolute curse of greed of immortality. Curse provides several benefits, but penalty of status DEATH is replaced by reset to level 1 and assigned non skill stat points set to 1 point.DEATH at level 1 leads to true death.</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Administrator''s Source : The completely absorbed source of the deadAdministrator Stratos, allows theSTATUS ADMINISTRATOR and unlocks the menu along with several benefits.</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Tristan finally grasped the true meaning of the curse of reversion. If used on an immortal, it would certainly cause a powerful weakness, despite its incredible benefits and allow one to kill an immortal. He also learned that he had acquired the status of an immortal because of the unique skills.


    Having upgraded his skill sets, he assigned stat points to his basic stat skills to raise them all to 20. His basic stats now looked like this.


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Health - 20</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Stamina - 20</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Intelligence - 20</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Strength - 20</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Wisdom - 20</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Luck - 20</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Defense - 20</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Agility - 20</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Perception - 20</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Charm - 20</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Tristan''s unassigned stash of points now dropped down from a staggering 530 to 18, which he left for emergencies.


    Because of the possibility of reconnaissance in Sindry, Tristan decided to forge an identity for others with the potential of appraising him.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 13

    <h1>The Tragedy of a Miner</h1>


    In the identity window, Tristan changed his name from Tristan of Sindryas the customary names in Sindry are called to simply Tristan. He changed his level to 20 and added a few productivity skills like hunting, foraging, carving, cooking and mathematics. He disguised all his basic stats as being 1 or 2 points, except intelligence which he set at 3 points. He had no official profession anymore, so he set it as gatherer instead of his previous profession of being a herbalist because of how his teacher was a fugitive in Sindry.


    There was still something Tristan hadn''t yet checked. It was the ability he felt was the most useful of all. An infinite inventory. Inside the menu, the inventory was a collection of boxes. He thought about putting his bag inside the inventory. He placed his hand on the bag and thought about storing it into the inventory. Immediately the bag disappeared along with its contents. All of them neatly segregated into the inventory. If he needed to equip his bag, he simply thought it and the now empty bag appeared on his back. He stored everything into his inventory, including his weapons. He could use them to alchemically create a new dagger from stone or whatever material he could find.


    It was now time to explore this cave and then enter Sindry. He had to find the person he knew who was stuck here according to Thespia the god of darkness. He took off his ninja like clothing and replaced it with the clothes he wore during his 6 year meditation that he had stored in his bag. After 6 years, it''s tattered state was useful to pass off as a beggar living in a cave.


    Carefully, Tristan mapped the cave with his now topped off manna sensitivity skill which provided him an echo located map of the cave system. He was fairly deep inside and began walking. Sensing through manna had shown him that there were hundreds of people in the cave system. When he had disappeared, Sindry alone had a few over hundred residents! He wondered where did so many people came from.


    He walked through the cave with his appraisal working overtime. Iron ore, magnesium ore, precious jewels and stones with magical properties, Tristan kept on stocking them into his inventory as he walked on. Appraisal would also tell him the market price of each item, which was also another reason he was gathering materials non stop. He would need money once he reached the village.


    Firebron ore - 30 gold per kilo.


    "Finally some luck shining on me.. Huh, that''s more than my parents'' entire annual savings."


    He finally came to an area very close to where the map showed the presence of people. He could see several broken pickaxes tossed to the side. Sounds of metal hitting rock rang in the air.


    "Is..this..mining? A mine? No wonder I found so many worthwhile items."


    He contacted Charmy telepathically to find out how his pet dog was doing. He was happy he didn''t put his good friend through the trials he went through. Charmy had been busy hunting secretively in the forest at night and guarding the shed at other times. He wasn''t fond of raw meat, he said. But little sacrifices are fine.


    Tristan picked up fistfuls of fine dirt from the ground and rubbed his body and clothes with it. He grazed himself along the walls a few times until satisfied with his look. He then picked up one of the pick axes that weren''t quite broken and fixed it a bit, while leaving its rust plainly visible. His disguise was complete.


    Completely into character, Tristan staggered along into the large cavern where lots of people were hitting rocks periodically. He spent a couple of hours trying to pick at rocks like the others who hadn''t noticed. When it seemed like the shift was going to end, guards came in to drag the miners out, Tristan gently tapped on the shoulder of one of the miners.


    ****


    (This section is a POV)


    I have been working in this mine for four years now. A life of a slave. Dragged out of my home after the war, I was forcefully made to stay in these terrible encampments. I wish I could go back home.


    Everyday the guards would come at the break of dawn, drag us to the mines nearby. At first people would protest, but after countless beatings and restricting us from food, everyone of us accepted the reality. I wonder why things turned out like this?


    We go into the mine with empty stomachs, work for hours. Lift, thrust. Lift, thrust. Lift, thrust. This binary ri1outine along with grunts became my identity. At nightfall the guards would come back and beat us with sticks, herding us out of the cave like we were cattle. They would give us crusted bread and awatery soup from vegetables. It was clearly not enough.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Some of us began catching rats inside the cave. They were numerous and we could smuggle them out at night and cook them. Eating meat was no longer a far fetched luxury...until we were found out. Many people caught carrying rat carcasses under their clothes were flogged. I was one of those flogged too. The whips really hurt each time they hit. I couldn''t move without intense pain for days, but the guards didn''t care. If we slowed down they would beat us even more.


    Many died. From starvation, from exhaustion and even from giving up hope. But I didn''t have such a luxury. I have to earn back my debt and return to my family. I need to know that they are alright. I need to know that she is alright.


    We began cooking the rats inside the mines. Once again we could eat meat. It felt like I had reached heaven. Eating rats felt like I was eating mom''s stews. I wonder how mom is doing? How long has it been since I ended up here? The days fly by so slowly. I think my hip bone is broken, but there is nothing I can do about it. It takes everything to not die.


    I met him in the camp. He was not from Sindry but one of the villages outside the mountains brought as a slave to mine here. He had black hair but a lot of his hair was turning white. I wasn''t surprised by that, a lot of people had their hair turning white here too.


    His name was Klaus. He was a few years older than me, but we quickly became good friends. In this nightmare, the other miners were all we had to call our own. He told me about his life in his village, how things changed after the war. He spoke a lot about his girlfriend and how they would spend time together. I too wanted to spend time with someone I loved. I wonder how she is doing now. When I go back, I will surely ask for her hand in marriage!


    Klaus and I would end up mining together. We would search for rats together. Eat food together. He truly became my brother in arms. However, one day I developed a cough. The cough wouldn''t go away. It wasn''t surprising either. A lot of miners were the same. The lighting of fires in the cave to cook rats...we should''ve seen it coming. Many miners died to the cough. I developed a fever.


    I felt like I was going to die. In the end, my life had little worth. Seeing death so often had turned me into a misanthrope. I hate the people who have turned my beautiful Sindry into what it has become now. On my deathbed, I really wanted to have revenge on those bastards!


    I woke up after a nightmare, I was still clinging to life. Klaus... I wonder where he disappeared to. If I could see his face before I died, I would be satisfied. The cough had turned into a severe pain in my chest. The guards had thrown my into a cluster of sick people lying on the ground in pain, just like me. I couldn''t bear the pain and fell asleep.


    I woke up again. But the pain was gone.


    "Am I in heaven?"


    I asked out loud.


    A hoarse laugh came in response. I turned my head to find Klaus. He was bleeding all over. As he laughed and gave a carefree smile, he coughed blood. He had been badly beaten by the guards.


    "I got you medicine from the store.", he said.


    " How?"


    "I escaped the guards and went to the store. I sold him the blue jewel I had shown you the other day to buy your medicine."


    Some of the miners around me told me how the guards mercilessly beat him. The blue jewel..he had said he would shape a ring from it and gift it to his girlfriend.


    Without realising it, tears are streaming down my eyes. Why is this world so cruel I wonder? My eyes blurry from tears, hold his hand tightly as the pain returns momentarily.


    I wake up from sleep again. I feel refreshed. Klaus is still holding my hand. I open my eyes and look at Klaus, stupified. There were crows sitting on his shoulders, nibbling his ear. His wounds blistered, his clothes covered in blood, but he would bleed no more. Klaus had died from the guards beating.


    I went crazy. I caught the crows and roasted them alive. I twisted their necks. I spent two days digging a grave for Klaus. Raving in madness. But when I returned, the guards had already tossed him into the pyre with tens of others who had died as well. How cruel is this world? I took some of the ashes from the pyre. I didn''t know who was in there, but they were all my comrades. I buried the fistful of ash into the burial place I dug.


    I was alone again. I no longer had optimistic feelings of hope. Revenge was all I sought now. I know now that they would never release me from the bonds of slavery. I will use this pick axe to impale them all. The bastards that ruined Sindry. That murdered Klaus.


    I was full of revenge then. But I was na?ve. What could I possibly do? Half my body is broken, I can barely breathe properly. I''m malnourished and overworked to death. But I can only continue hitting this damn rock. Again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. This world. It doesn''t care about good or bad. Right or wrong? They are just our projected ideas on a world which doesn''t care! Nothing will ever change in this situation. Ending my life right now doesn''t seem like a bad idea.


    The guards have come in now. Would it be a good idea to take some out as I leave this world? Those bastards who killed Klaus? It''s now or never. I pick up the pickaxe that the person beside me has dropped.


    I never noticed it before, but he looks younger than me. Except for his long hair and dirtied body he feels like someone from Sindry. It doesn''t matter now. It is time to swing the axe.


    He taps my shoulder lightly, that familiar but unfamiliar boy does. His hand seems strong and full of life. Not loose and lifeless like mine or Klaus''.


    "Rudi...", he whispers in a voice I can''t possibly forget.


    "????...Tristan??!"

 Volume 1 - Chapter 14

    <h1>The Revenge of a Hopeless Man</h1>


    "???...Tristan??!"


    Tristan shut Rudi''s mouth with his hand and gestured with his other to sew his lips. Unfortunately a guard noticed the interchange and mistook it for a struggle.


    "You want to make trouble for us you nutjobs? Do you understand how hard our work is?"


    "This one even grew his hair huh. He wants some special treatment."


    The two guards began beating up Tristan who secretly beckoned Rudi to not do anything. Rudi was already in a mental state where he was about to explode. He took the pickaxe in his hand and splattered the head of the guard closest to him beating Tristan.


    Seeing the gruesome sight Tristan regretfully nodded and caught the kick from the other guard with both his palms and swung his leg to throw him onto the cave wall. Appraisal showed the guard lose his life as well.


    Tristan had spent a few hours doing reconnaissance of the people in the area using his appraisal. He found few over level 4, almost everybody including the guards of the mine were around level 2 or 3. However, the captain of the guards was level 15, but mostly seemed to get drunk in his special quarter.


    "Didn''t I tell you not to do anything, you muscle brain?"


    Tristan admonished Rudi, but there was a smile on his face. He went and hugged Rudi tightly and whispered in his year.


    "You have suffered a lot, haven''t you? Let''s make everything alright from now on."


    Seeing the sudden death of two guards in such a gruesome manner, the remaining guards rapidly called for all reinforcements.


    "The slaves are revolting! Get everyone!"


    Tristan couldn''t care less about the guards. They were much weaker than the ants he had suffered through in the dungeon and much fewer in number too.


    He kept Rudi in an embrace, who was weeping tears now.


    "Where were you asshole!? You disappeared for six years while the village went to shit! Turning up now like a hero? Have you no shame?....I missed you a lot brother."


    Tristan calmed Rudi down. A crowd of guards had appeared with swords and spears and shields to take them down. The remaining miners had fled the mine and a few guards vomited at the gruesome sight of the head severed by the pickaxe.


    "I have been dreaming of this moment ever since that day!!"


    Rudi screamed. His eyes had blood curdling murderous intent as he swung the pickaxe wildly. It was the pickaxe repaired by Tristan but looked extremely rusted from the outside.


    "He killed them with that broken down stone picker?"


    The guards were in disbelief. Tristan, however, did not waste time humoring them. He applied reinforcement magic of the Orcs onto Rudi and withdrew his own dagger from the inventory.


    The guards only saw a materialization of a dagger in Tristan''s hands and panicked. They were clearly low level fodder. Tristan began blitzing through the guards as he struck them down their vital points causing them to instantly die. His agility stat was at 20 points, at this rate he could''ve easily killed them all within a second using hand to hand combat alone, but he left a lot of the guards for Rudi, who clearly seemed to want to settle a score.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Rudi was on a murderous rampage. He received the sudden increase in power gratefully from Tristan and began swinging his pickaxe at the guards throats. The guards were unable to pierce Rudi''s reinforced body with cheap swords and spears and the shields couldn''t withstand Rudi''s anger or Tristan''s maxed out blacksmithing skill.


    After a few minutes, the cave had become the scene of a bloody battlefield. All the guards had died. The few who tried to retreat to inform the captain were assassinated by Tristan with finding speed. He slit their throats with the dagger.


    Tristan and Rudi then boldly walked past the unguarded post towards the Captain''s personal chamber. In his anger Rudi kicked the door open with his reinforced legs. The captain looked at them in stupor. He hadn''t the slightest clue about the situation. But seeing the blood dripping off the pickaxe he turned pale and shouted for guards.


    "We''ve killed them all, you bastard."


    Rudi glared. He took the sword hanging on the wall and threw it at the captain. He then looked at Tristan, warning him not to interfere. Tristan was hesitant to comply, but he nodded. After all, he had already appraised the two would be combatants. The captain of the guards was level 15 and had a special sword skill,Triple sword.Rudi was just level 3 but he had a superior weapon, the pickaxe, and was reinforced by a very high level reinforcement magic from Tristan.


    "Remove your magic brother, this bastard killed another brother of mine. I must avenge him on my own terms."


    Tristan understood the sentiment, but he couldn''t possible dare to do that. However, he wanted to help his friend resolve his grief. He decided to interrupt the moment it got dangerous for Rudi and dissolved the reinforcement over Rudi.


    "Fight me man to man asshole. Raise your sword, let''s see if you can match the blood that has been boiling for four years."


    "You truly are a fool. You are no match for me, a trained warrior. A stupid pickaxe? Prepare to die!"


    They began their battle in the open, the miners who saw the bloodbath from afar were now spectating.


    Rudi began charging in, like a maniac! The captain tried to execute the parry, but Tristan realised two things immediately. The bizarre shape of a pickaxe confused the captain and he hesitated in being able to parry it correctly. And secondly, all the captains skill points were associated in strength, defense and 5 other skills. His agility was at 1, but his status displayed inebriated due to alcohol, which had a -1 effect on agility and -1 on strength.


    Combined, the captain failed to successfully parry Rudi''s wild swing and the pickaxe swiped off the captains left arm! This would''ve usually been impossible given the defense stat of 3, however, that pickaxe was no ordinary pickaxe. Tristan had reinforced it with with a durable alloy and his own magic for his own use in case of an emergency. By the twists of fate, it ended up in the hands of Rudi.


    The captain howled in pain as the onlookers watched, shocked at the sudden turn of events. The captain dropped the sword in shock and held his right hand over his cut shoulder, crying. Tristan, who had blended with the onlookers observed the fight carefully for any misstep. Rudi, however, remained relentless. He walked towards the captain who was panic stricken and paralysed with fear in great strides and in a pure motion tore off the captains head. After kicking away the head he screamed his lungs out.


    "For Klaus! For uncle Jeremy! For every other friend who worked here that you murdered! This is my revenge!"


    Tristan saw that Rudi''s level increased by 5 instantly. All of his stat points went into strength. A muscle brain after all.


    The crowd of miners went into a frenzy. Tristan took the opportunity of the momentary chaos to secretly talk to Rudi using the wind magic Whisper.


    "We need to leave and lay low for a while. I know a place the authorities of this place can''t reach. Let us quickly take our leave while everyone is in a frenzy."


    Rudi nodded as he followed Tristan. It was way past sundown already, and Tristan effortlessly guided him deep into the woods before changing tracks and heading towards the shed, thanks to the map.


    Rudi was surprised when he took a step into the illusion barrier and suddenly could see the shed where Tristan meditated in.


    "You were here all along! How?"


    "I think it was Aunt Melany''s work, but I''m not quite sure."


    "That witch lady sure had some tricks up her sleeve."


    Tristan created a large array and used it to guide Trees into forming a comfortable house with two beds and a kennel. He then went inside the shed and met his loyal dog Charmy, who ran into Tristan''s arms while barking in his mind.


    Tristan looked at the tired Rudi.


    "You should take your time now to rest. I have a lot of catching up to do. Let''s talk about it tomorrow."