《The greatest enchanter》


 Chapter 1: A new adventure in waiting

    This is a story about a guy who was up for an adventure that would make him more experienced in the trials of the world that is known for strange occurrences and happenings. This world is not the only one, but one of the universes¡¯ deadlier places.


    In this world known as Hell¡¯s sanctuary lives a guy which is very unusual. You could probably guess from his appearance that he would be some kind of a mage. He is a fellow in his seventeen¡¯s and has hair which goes down to his shoulders. Its color is something between light gray/light brown ish. You could see that he nurtured it well over the years. His face is somewhat chiseled and long with a normal looking nose and some strange almond shaped eyes. Theirs¡¯ color is pale green. He doesn¡¯t have a beard or anything but what he has is his Harry Potter-ish glasses, ones that would every mage out there wish for.. (Sir, there seems to be a broken 4th wall here¡­ What should we do sir?)*(Never mind it now, we will deal with that later.)


    As I was saying, this guy really looks normal. Oh wait, what is that weird energy coming from him?? Looks like he is meditating at the moment. Yes there is magic in this world if you didn¡¯t guess it already. Also we didn¡¯t mention his clothing style so this would be a good opportunity for that. He wears a black robe which would make him the student in the nearby school. He also has a belt where he keeps his bottles of enchanting and his potions too. You know, they are quite handy since there isn¡¯t like some magic space where you could just stuff all of the ingredients and materials that you find (aka. Inventory). He also has a sheathe where he keeps his strange dagger. It is small but a really handy dagger which he would use to cut up his enemies or the weeds that he would later use for certain things¡­ We will see about that later. For now that would be all you should know. Also it looks like he is done with his meditation and ready to get back to work.


    ¡­


    Hmmm, looks like I¡¯m ready for some work.. I guess I should start with my daily batch of healing remedies and some strength potions. One can never have too many of them, but the question is, which recipe should I use¡­ I gathered so much of these new ones at the school library. Unfortunately I somehow forgot to ask which are the status effects of these and if they have some bad effects in return.. Guess I¡¯ll see with that librarian girl tomorrow. Oh she is so sweet and she always likes to help people that come. Although I am the only one visiting that library. Maybe not the only one, but I don¡¯t see a lot of students coming there lately. I feel like that girl is really bored and she probably read all those books and artifacts. Our school is really known for its magic books and the rows and rows of dusty ol¡¯ books that nobody reads ever. Well I intend to read them one day, since no book is worthless. OK then, it is settled. I will use this potion to try out first since it requires the least materials to make it. Hmm so I need 2 black clovers and some eeclary¡­ Well that¡¯s easy to make really because it¡¯s just some common types of grasses that one could find over the hill. Well I do live in a village so I can say that but folks in the town would need to leave the city to get this. Fresh ingredients are always the ones to give you best effects. I should really think about planting some in the front of my old cabin.


    And that should be it I guess¡­ Let¡¯s try this out! Oh I can really feel the calming effect on this one. It feels like someone just gave me a calming sensation through the whole body. This will come in handy if I get myself some of those nasty fevers people are getting nowadays. Now that I think about it, I should definitely give this to some old folks I know next door. They will need this I¡¯m sure and since they cannot really make these kind of potions. I think I will make a batch of these and deliver them.


    OK finally it¡¯s done. Time to go I guess. Hehhehe I think they will be surprised when they feel the sensation of relaxation when they try out this themselves. Opening the door I fell a strange cold feeling on my cheeks. That¡¯s strange. It¡¯s still spring but it is kind of chilly outside. Well maybe it¡¯s time to chug that fiery potion I had since it can give you cold resistance. *gulp* Wow this is really awesome. I can barely feel any cold anymore, but I¡¯m not burning hot either.


    As I was on my way to the old folks next door I was watching the usual scenery with a smile on my face. Then I think to myself how lovely this place is. When I was younger I didn¡¯t have the time to notice it because I was usually in my house with my mother helping her out. A lot of kids wanted to play with me then but I was always considered my mom to be the most important.


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    She was always sorrowful ever since that incident happened. I sadden myself every time I think of it, but my dad did die that day 13 years ago when a group of lizard men attacked this village. He told my mother that we should hide in the secret basement that we had and that he would defend the village, but sadly he, and a dozen of men in the village couldn¡¯t since the lizard men had their sorcery and powerful weapons.


    I don¡¯t recall much of what happened since I was still a kid back then, but since then, none would come and do harm to our peaceful place. As time went along mom was more and more depressed until she caught a disease that couldn¡¯t be stopped by normal remedies. I tried everything I could to do something about it but I just couldn¡¯t find anything useful enough to stop or even slow down the disease. I even tried to find a healer who would at least try. He was a rather strange person but he didn¡¯t know the cure. Instead he did this.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry kid, I know that the cure doesn¡¯t exist but it only damages the body, not the soul. Thus I know what I should do and one day you will be able to see your mom again¡±. Then he started chanting some strange words in front of my mother who was sleeping with a pale look on her face. Suddenly I could see energy coming out of her while he was chanting and that same energy swirled into a ball over hers, now dead body. He then brought up a small ring that had a stone on the top of it and now chanted something else which attracted the soul into the ring itself. I was stunned as I couldn¡¯t believe what was happening and once the complete soul would be sealed in the ring, the strange healer just vanished in mid-air. He was no longer to be seen and I kept that ring since then.


    Mom left me a note back then which told me what to do after her death.


    ¡°Dear Skylar, I know I¡¯m going to die soon. There are some things you need to know when I¡¯m gone. First of all I want to thank you for all of the days you spent helping me after dad died. You were giving me much needed love and joy. Be strong and don¡¯t give up on life. When dad told us that day to go to the basement he also told me of a secret staff he found in one of the caves. I wondered what that staff is for but I heard that they are usually very powerful in combination with magic. Unfortunately he never did any magic and nor did I but I think it will help you in the future. It can be found in the cellar in a dusty old box. I hope you can find peace and joy in the life that is up ahead. With love, Cecilia¡­


    After the disappearance of the healer our neighbors arranged a funeral for her. The old grandpa and grandma took care of me from then and I really came to like them. That¡¯s why I feel the urge to repay them however I can. As I was growing up I needed to go to a school in the next village. Since my father and mother attended that school, one of the former professors heard about their death and decided to help me pay the yearly fee for school. Since I knew how to read and was always interested in books and the vast knowledge in them I accepted the help of the professor. Of course I had to help him so I could truly earn his help. Once a week I was going to his house and I had been helping him and his wife in the garden, in the kitchen, and in return he would pay for the school and occasionally let me have some magic books and tomes he would gather throughout the kingdom.


    He was often on his travels since he was no longer a professor in the school. I tried to come with him once or twice but he wouldn¡¯t let me go with him.


    As time went along I grew up and became somewhat of a sorcerer and an enchanter. My studies went good and I was almost always on top of the class with the grades and commitment. I would always help professors after the school and I would get their thanks later. Unfortunately I never had any friends in school. Everyone ignored me because I was a geek and nobody ever wanted to come to me for help. I don¡¯t really know why people are like that. Sometimes I wondered if I would make some friends if I were to be bad in school, but then the kind professor wouldn¡¯t pay for my school fee anymore, so I just continued to be good and it paid off quite nicely!

 Chapter 2: An unexpected acquaintance

    Authors''s comment: Thank you all for reading my first chapter folks. Im a total begginer and a scrub, but I will do my best to write consistent and unique chapters that will force you to come back for more. If you have any suggestions or grammatical flaws you wish to point out, please do so. Since English is my 2nd language, grammar isn''t my best suit. Also one more thing.. If I abuse 4th wall-chan too much, please stop me by all means. This chapter is a bit small but I hope next one will really get the story going. Enjoy!!! :)


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    As I was thinking about my past, I knocked on the door of a familiar house that I spent my childhood in. I applied slight pressure on the door and it opened which was very weird. I wonder if they are doing something and coincidentally somehow forgot to lock the door. Seems like someone is talking in the other room. I entered the room and spotted grandma and grandpa sitting on the chairs by the table with an unfamiliar girl looking to be my age. She was very pretty and had silky white hair that stretched to her back. Her eyes were big and full of happiness, as she was smiling at grandma and grandpa. I wonder if she is from the next village because I didn¡¯t see her here earlier. When grandma saw me, she told me.


    ¡°Oh Sky-dear please sit down and meet my granddaughter Lora who came to visit us after she had finished her studies in a distant land.¡±(Grandma)


    ¡°Hello Skylar, I¡¯ve heard so many nice things about you. My name is Loraine but you can call me Lora if you would like. Nice to meet you.¡± (Loraine)


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you too.¡± I said as I was looking her with a tilted head still wondering why grandma never told me about her. (Me)


    ¡°Well I¡¯m going to the kitchen to make some cookies and some tea.¡± (Grandma)


    ¡°I think I will go do something in the garden.¡± (Grandpa)


    Is it just me or grandma and grandpa did this so I could be left alone with this girl that I met for the first time¡­ A little awkward atmosphere probably because I don¡¯t really know how to start a conversation. I guess she is shy a bit so I guess I have to make the first step.


    ¡°So Lora where did you study?¡± (Me)


    ¡°I have been studying in the White Kingdom in the north where, as you would expect,  there is always snow. The school was high in the mountains. There I was learning about magic and enchanting.¡±(Lora)


    ¡°Oh really! I have been learning that too here in the school next to our village! What mage degree do you have?¡±(Me)


    ¡°I have finished the school so I now have 2nd degree recognition.¡±(Lora)


    ¡°Wow that¡¯s so awesome. I have one more year and I¡¯ll be there too. For how long are you going to stay in this village on your visit?¡±(Me)


    ¡°I planned on leaving fairly quickly, maybe 2 days from now.¡±(Lora)


    ¡°Oh¡­ that¡¯s very unfortunate.¡±(Me)


    I was hoping on asking her to share some recipes with me and also show me some 2nd grade magic but I can see that will have to wait until her next visit.


    ¡°Hey, umm, do you want to come with me to an adventure?¡±(Lora)


    ¡°WHAT? That¡¯s really sudden, won¡¯t you agree? I mean I have 1 more year and I will be a 2nd grade magician. Please give me some time to think at least¡­¡± (Me)


    That really came out of nowhere. I wonder if I would get in the way. After all I would only be a burden to her.


    ¡°Okay then, I will give you 1 day to come up with an answer. Besides I was looking for someone to help me on my journey over the world.¡±(Lora)


    She only just met me and she is now asking me completely out of the blue to come with her on her journeys¡­ I must agree that life over here has become somewhat boring, but for me to suddenly go on a journey with a girl I barely know. I will really need to think about this hard. Also I don''t think I have repaid the debt of my professor...


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    And like that our main character began to bust his head looking for a straight answer. As far as the unknown girl named Lora, she is definitely not in the least a shy person. You will see what I¡¯m talking about later. Oh boy will you see¡­..


    ~(next day)~


    What a strange dream I had. Wait.. what is that on my side just now? It feels really bouncy when I try to touch it but I don¡¯t know what material this is. Maybe a new pillow? I wonder if grandma put it there since it¡¯s the rarest of occasions to sleep at their place upstairs. Well I do feel a bit tired so maybe I¡¯ll just sleep some more. Grabbing the ¡®pillow¡¯ that seems to be somewhat small I hear a very high pitched shriek right at my ear. Well that woke me up completely and almost broke my ear membrane. As I was slowly opening my eyes I got slapped so hard that I went flying out of the bed and dropping on the floor like a ragdoll. As I was flying though, I seem to have seen a glimpse of a blushing girl who was covering her chest. Oh no¡­ This seems to be another one of those famous clich¨¦s that happen on the beginning of every ecchi novel. (SIR! We have another crack! If this continues I¡¯m afraid we will have to plead our public not to press charges!)(Hmm, I will just buy some steam keys and have a giveaway. I¡¯m sure everyone will understand immediately!)


    When I came to my senses I opened my eyes rubbing them. Ughh looks like I have a good headache from that fall. I hope Lora isn¡¯t too mad about that. EVEN THOUGH IT ISN¡¯T MY FAULT SHE CAME TO SLEEP RIGHT BESIDE ME, HOPING THAT I WOULDN¡¯T SOMEHOW TOUCH HER.


    Well now that I think about it. I did get slapped, but if she were to sleep right beside me every night on the so called journey I wouldn¡¯t really mind. I do need a new pillow anyways. I don''t know what will happen if I go on a journey with her, but I need experiance. I must face the fact that I won''t stay in this village forever.


    "Grandma, what do you think about this?" (me)


    "Well Sky-dear, I think you should do what your heart tells you to do. It will be fun going on an adventure with my granddaugther. You will get to meet her and you will gain some insight as to what this world has to offer." (Grandma)


    "That is true, but what about my school and the former professor who is paying for it? I still have a debt to repay!" (me)


    "Don''t worry dear, I know that professor and I will explain to him why and when. Afterall it''s time for you to set journey to the unknown, you have a lot of talent and will do great things in the future, I''m sure of it!" (Grandma)


    "Alright then, I guess I will accept her invitation. I''m sorry that I won''t be there for you if you need me." (me)


    "Don''t worry about such things, we know where to ask for help if we do need it one day." (Grandma)


    And so he finally agreed to accept the invitation to the journey. I mean if I were to get an invitation from a sweet looking babe that I just met! Hell yeah I would agree no doubts about it. He later on told her that he will agree to go on a journey with her but of course he had to apologize to her for her fault. What a goodie two shoes we have here folks. And so they started preparing for the upcoming travel in hope to find some wonders of the world and unravel mysteries that charm this world known as Hells¡¯ Sanctuary. They will of course have a lot of efforts traveling but no spoilers just yet.

 Chapter 3: Getting ready for the long awaited adventure

    Sorry for saying that this would be the chapter where they finally venture off, but somehow i needed to explain a bit of his past and introduce Lora a bit better. It''s small, yes, but I hope you like it nontheles. I would greatly appreciate if you would post a rating on the novel page and give a comment since I''m a total newbie to this whole deal. For now, enjoy! :D


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    ¡°And that would be it.¡± I have finally finished packing for the adventure we are about to set on. What I¡¯m going to bring will be some food that will last until we arrive to the next town, which is roughly 4 days of travelling through the forest. Also I¡¯ve brought healing potions and some bandages, and last but least the staff which I received from my mom and dad. I wonder if I¡¯m going to learn how to use it later on. It seems like it¡¯s not anything special, but on the other hand its somehow mysterious. If I find a sorcerer on my travels, maybe I can ask him to teach me since I don¡¯t know anything about staffs except that they multiply the magic output when properly used.


    ¡°Skylar, are you ready to go? We should get going if we want to catch that travelling merchant that is going to arrive in the next town. He only sells his wares for one day then he teleports to the next town to sell some more. I always wanted to find out what kind of items he sells.¡± (Lora)


    ¡°I see you have traveled a lot. What made you come back to a peaceful place like this? You are probably here to see your grandparents, right?¡± (me)


    ¡°Mostly yes, but besides that, I am here to find a really rare type of herb which only grows in the forest we are headed to now. The herb looks very peculiar and only blooms once a month when the moon is full. That¡¯s why its named Moonbloom..¡± (Lora)


    ¡°Alright then, but how are we going to get there? By foot?!¡± (me)


    ¡°No! I have my little muffy wuffy which will carry us to the edge of the forest.¡± (Lora)


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s just get going if we are in a hurry.¡± I¡¯m really eager to see what awaits us after we leave this village. I don¡¯t know what is muffy wuffy though¡­ It can¡¯t be that bad, can it? Also this Loraine here is a pretty interesting person. I don¡¯t know much about her but I definitely have a lot to learn from her. After all she did travel all the way to here. She must be pretty experienced and knows how to fight and is good at controlling magic.


    After all these years I¡¯ve come to understand how magic works, but while I have practiced, I have never been in a real battle. I¡¯ve always been that type of guy who knows a lot from books and scripts, but I was never good at melee combat which really got me one day. I remember it was cold. A guy who I didn¡¯t very much like, came to me with his friends to explain to me how not to be a know it all in class.


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    He was really furious when I just answered tons and tons of questions in that class. It was my favorite: Enchanting. He was a decent enchanter, but the teacher never liked him since he was giving trouble not only to the students but to other teachers as well. I felt sorry for him. He probably had a troublesome childhood which made him the way he is right now.


    Anyways, he came to me and, out of the blue, punched me so hard that I flew couple of meters. It hurt really badly and I was unable to get up. I spew blood once and the last thing I remember is a person coming from behind them. Then I blacked out and found myself next day in the doctor¡¯s cabinet lying in the bed. I asked her what happened, but all she said is that she wasn¡¯t informed.


    Later on I tried to find out who took them out, but to my surprise nobody knew it even happened. Those guys never approached me again and when I tried to come close to them, they would back away instantly. A mystery that would stay locked until the end of days¡­


    ¡°Time to go Skylar. Did you say goodbye to Granny and grandpa?¡± (Lora)


    ¡°Yes, I did. We are ready to go!¡± (me)


    ¡°Time to call my dear muffy wuffy fluffy.¡± *started whistling soundlessly* (Lora)


    I stared blankly at the creature that appeared before us, backing away 10 or more meters and clinging to my precious life. ¡°Is that a Wolf!?¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t be silly. It¡¯s my fluffy wuffy muffy! Okay, the name of the species is called Fenrir named after one of the legendary wolf beast which fought in the war in the north long time ago. They are usually very hostile because the war was between the humans and animals, but my fluffy wuffy is really nice. He saved me from an avalanche on the mountain I was training.¡± (Lora)


    ¡°But why would you name him something like ¡®Fluffy wuffy'' when he¡¯s ~ (me)


    ¡°ROAR!!¡± ( ¡®fluffy wuffy¡¯)


    ¡°Okay, okay, I take that back¡­¡± Even if I didn¡¯t say anything yet, I knew I was going to be in grave danger if I were to finish that sentence. Scarrrryyyyy¡­ ¡°Are you sure he is going to accept me riding on his back??¡± (me)


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he won¡¯t bite.¡± She said that while fluffy stared at me like at his favorite dish, waiting to be served with some spices and water beside.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just get going. Sun is going to set soon.¡± (me)

 Chapter 4: Through the Dark forest we go

    Enjoy!


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    At long last, we have ventured forth riding fluffy, to the forest of the dark, on our first mission to find MoonBloom, the herb which only blooms when it¡¯s a full moon. We traversed the plains with the speed of sound. I guess These Fenrir wolves are quite fast. Well, he couldn¡¯t save Lora from an avalanche if not for his insane speed. I barely stayed on the wolf, tightly holding on to his snow white fur. Somehow I felt happy that I could leave on an adventure finally, but I was sad for leaving my home, maybe for good¡­


    I didn¡¯t know where this journey will take me. Who knows, maybe I end up on the end of the world. Although I¡¯m not sure if we have chances to survive all alone in this crazy world. I imagine that we will be in a lot of dangerous situations, but my current skill doesn¡¯t have a snowball¡¯s chance in hell to help me survive. I hope we find some people and form a group. It will definitely help us get out of messy situations.


    Seems like we are about to arrive at the edge of the forest soon. Of course we wouldn¡¯t be able to find that herb if we are to go through the forest on this supersonic wolfie.


    ¡°Okay, thanks fluffy for giving us a ride. You can go now.¡± She told her fluffy as she was giving him a strange looking fruit.


    ¡°So now we continue by foot. Looks like it¡¯s time for the Sun to set, and for dark to come. How are we going to see anything in this forest when there isn¡¯t going to be any light? (me)


    ¡°We are going to use my magic of course. This wand I have is capable of multiplying magic by 5 times so it¡¯s quite powerful. Also I have a skill to wield really bright white light. No problem for the ultimate mage that is me.¡± (Lora)


    Wow, I didn¡¯t imagine she would brag like that, but at least we have a light source. Also, if it¡¯s ice magic, wouldn¡¯t everyone notice bright light and chilly cold emitting from her wand?


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they aren¡¯t going to notice us because the cold emitting from this wand is very short ranged. Also forest creatures are nocturnal so they are going to get blinded if they try to look at us.¡± (Lora)


    ¡°Oh, okay¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know she could read minds as well¡­


    So we walked, through the darkness, all alone. Red eyes were glowing all around us, scaring me to death, but Lora didn¡¯t seem to be frightened at all. I could see the courage in her movements through the forest, in her light blue eyes that were piercing through the fabric of space and time. You could see that she was experienced enough for and adventure while I¡­ I wasn¡¯t. I hope not to be a hindrance for her. I need to get stronger.


    The forest got darker and darker as we approached the dead center. The trees were tall and had a black bark. We had no sense of time. Was it day? Was it night? We didn¡¯t know. The pattern was definitely repeating itself over and over. There weren¡¯t monsters attacking us surprisingly. I guess they would be scared of the bright light that was illuminating the dark forest.


    ¡°This is tiring.¡± We haven¡¯t found any herbs that resemble the MoonBloom yet, and we have been in this forest for probably a day. We didn¡¯t have much time until the day was over. If we don¡¯t find it until midnight, we will have to wait another month, which we didn¡¯t have to spare. ¡°Hey, turn of your light!¡±


    ¡°Why would I do that?¡± (Lora)


    ¡°Just trust me. I think I saw something glowing with a small light there.¡± (me)


    She dismissed her light for a moment, after which we both saw a small light right in front of us. It was MoonBloom no doubts about it. It was a small flower with light emitting blue petals and a cyan trunk. It was fragile looking and mysterious. I¡¯ve never seen such an herb in my life.


    Lora came to the flower and then pulled it out of the ground with its roots.


    ¡°Hold this for me, would you?¡± (Lora)


    As soon as she gave me the wand it started emitting small light. I was dumbfounded. My hand did feel weaker and weaker as I was holding it longer and longer. I came to a conclusion that it worked based on my life energy. I read that long ago in a book. ¡°So it¡¯s possible to enchant something to work based on your own life energy. I never seen it in action.¡±


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    ¡°That¡¯s correct. Usually you would enchant an item to work using the mana around you, but here there is only dark mana. I don¡¯t know how to control dark mana, and if I knew, it would be still dangerous, since dark mana has its own mind.¡± (Lora)


    ¡°Yes, I know. Dark mana can be only wielded by nocturnal races such as dark elves and witches. At least I know that much.¡± (me)


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised. I did hear from grandma that you were knowledgeable, but this is something not a lot of people know about.¡± (Lora)


    ¡°Well I like reading old and dusty books, that are in the school library¡­¡± Sometimes I would stay overnight reading all sorts of books that didn¡¯t even have to do with enchanting and magic. ¡°After all, our library has a lot to offer to people who are interested in learning.¡± That¡¯s what that the library girl told me when I came for the first time.


    ¡°Anyways, time to seal this herb so it doesn¡¯t wither away.¡± She told me that, as she was reaching to her bag that she wore. She pulled out a cylinder container, which is for storing plants and herbs. It¡¯s a magic item, not all that rare but expensive. I imagine it being made with some kind of time magic. It probably freezes time in it.


    ¡°Wow, where did you get that? How much did it cost??¡± (me)


    ¡°Actually I didn¡¯t pay for it, since it was a gift from a merchant I helped once. I think he was called Laenfard. He was being chased by monsters, which I noticed and froze them in place. It was really easy, but the poor merchant was defenseless. He was very kind to give me such an item. Anyways, we have to go Skylar. We don¡¯t know how much time passed and we are in the center of the forest. We need to hurry.


    ¡°Alright! Luckily I brought some potions that will help us run faster. Drink this. It will boost our speed and stamina, but only for an hour or two.¡± (me)


    ¡°Ughhh, this has a terrible taste. Yuck!¡± (Lora)


    ¡°That¡¯s the price we have to pay¡­¡± (me)


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go that way!¡± (Lora)


    ¡°No! That¡¯s the way we came from!¡± (me)


    ¡°I am pretty sure this was the way we came from¡± She pointed her finger to the opposite direction.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t going to end well, but I will trust you since you have more experience than me.¡± (me)


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know what I¡¯m talking about. I¡¯m always right!¡± (Lora)


    ¡°Okay, show off¡­¡± I murmured silently.


    We were running like the wind which we didn¡¯t even feel in this thick forest. I must say I did a very good job creating this kind of potion. It¡¯s unfortunate that I only had enough herbs for 2 back home. It was so hard to find them and when I did find them, they were being guarded by some wild boars, which I didn¡¯t want to mess with. I was really eager to get them so I put up a distraction for them. It worked and they fell on a simple distraction as throwing a rock somewhere behind them. I quickly rushed to the plants, but to my surprise one boar remained there not caring for the rock. I readied my dagger, but I continued sprinting to the plants, that were now very close to me.


    In the last moment I grabbed 2 of them and then I was head-butted so hard, that I flew up and landed on a branch of a tree. Oh god was it close. Anyhow, I managed to escape and made these potions that are now being used by the two of us.


    As we came closer and closer to the edge of this spooky forest, light penetrated, now less thicker web of branches above us. I was happy to see the light again. I turned my head when I saw Lora being kicked by a troll out of nowhere.


    ¡°LORA!!!!¡± I shouted while she was flying midair. Slamming in a tree she fell down unconscious. Now I was left all alone against a 3 meter giant who was very happy to squash me like a bug. ¡°I am dead, aren¡¯t I?¡±

 Chapter 5: This wasnt what I signed for

    Thanks for reading the first 4 chapters and here is another one that finally contains some close combat. Enjoy ;-)


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    Damn, this troll really doesn¡¯t like me. I¡¯ve been dodging his kicks, charges, and stomps for a while now. Looks like Lora is still down for the count. I hope she wakes up soon. Come on!!! Think Skylar, THINK!


    As I was trying to think I tripped over a root that was probably put there so I could get hit a moment later by that troll. I have to say, for a troll 3 meters tall, he still hits like a carriage. I landed on the ground, bleeding everywhere. That¡¯s going to leave a mark. Ok, time to test out what I¡¯m capable of. I didn¡¯t have the guts to try this, but it¡¯s my only hope now.


    I¡¯ve hid myself behind a tree, knowing how trolls are dumb enough not to find out where I am. I¡¯ve started chanting over my left hand. It was a huge risk. I¡¯ve never tried this out. Chanting some ancient words I remembered from a book I was reading, strange marks appeared on my right arm.


    I think this is working. I¡¯m not done yet though. Grabbing a bandage from my back pocket, I wrapped it around my arm in order to preserve those runes from fading away.


    It started hurting really badly already. I knew I wasn¡¯t going to last long like this so I had to act quickly. Quickly I rushed to the giant creature which was furious because he couldn¡¯t find me. He tried to swing at me, but I had an opening. I could dash under him, between his legs.


    I barely dodged his swing by a hair¡¯s breadth. My arm was now hurting crazily. It felt like it was burning. I got behind him and touched his back with my right hand. I quickly tore the bandage from my hand and the runes disappeared. Troll was a bit confused, but he didn¡¯t realize what had happened. As he swung once more, he was forced ahead by his own physical force, not being able to stop.


    Yes, it worked! He flew with a huge speed and even the tree, which was right in front of him, couldn¡¯t stand his own gravitational pull and mass. It broke in half while the troll still flew into the dark forest behind us.


    I instantly came to Lora to see if she had regained consciousness. Unfortunately, that didn¡¯t happen. She was lying there lifelessly. I brought my head to her chest, to see if she was still breathing. Not giving a damn about the cleavage under my ear, I could hear her heart beating normally. Thank goodness. I was really afraid that kick would be fatal.


    But I realized that the back of her head was bleeding. I needed to treat her wound this instant if I wanted for her to live. I didn¡¯t have any bandage left apart from the one I tore earlier. I quickly wrapped her head with the bandage. It started soaking the crimson blood until it was almost fully red. I need to get her to drink this health potion somehow.


    I brought her up so she was now sitting and I opened her mouth by lowering her jaw down. I was really inexperienced in this. The way that I did it was so robust. I didn¡¯t think of using this chance to transfer the red liquid from my mouth to hers, by kissing her. Oh well, there will be more chances right?


    I closed her mouth and the liquid went down her throat. Now all I could do was stay with her until she regained consciousness. I waited for hours. Now there would be no chance to catch up to that merchant she was telling me about earlier. What am I saying?


    I should be glad that she is still alive. Who gives a damn about the merchant. I don¡¯t even have money to spend on items.


    ¡°Umlfjgkjsd¡± (Lora)


    ¡°Lora, are you awake??¡±


    *yawn* ¡°Yes, I am... But, who are you?¡± (Lora)


    ¡°Oh no¡­ No no no no no¡­¡± (me)


    ¡°Where am I?¡± (Lora)


    I can¡¯t believe this. Did she lose her memory? This isn¡¯t happening. Looks like that impact really hit her hard. What am I going to do..?


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± (me)


    ¡°My name is Loraine, who are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Skylar, we have been ¡­~¡±


    I then proceeded in telling her what happened, why she is here and that we are on a journey. The problem is that she doesn¡¯t remember any of the spells or runes she learned in the school. She doesn¡¯t even remember grandma and grandpa. Why did this had to happen?


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°Hey, why is your hand bloody?¡± (Lora)


    ¡°What?¡± I said with a confused voice as I looked at my bloody right hand. Oh my goodness, it must be the aftereffect of the rune. I must do something. It¡¯s probably because of adrenaline that I didn¡¯t notice it was in this shape.


    ¡°Look in your bag, and tell me if you have any bandages.¡± (me)


    ¡°Oh, I have some!¡± She took the bandage and wrapped around my arm.


    I then drank a health potion. I think I will be good. It does hurt, but at least I was able to mess up that troll pretty hard. He won¡¯t be coming back, that¡¯s for sure.


    We continued through the last bit of the forest until we arrived at the edge where hills filled with grass and flowers awaited us. I¡¯m still not sure where that troll came from, but I really don¡¯t care now that we are safe. I started thinking hard about how I am going to regain her memories. I read in books that there are people who can access the human brain, although with a large cost, and alter memories and so on, but I¡¯m not sure where to find such a person.


    If we were to go back to the village, we would need to go through the forest again, which gave me shivers. i knew that the troll I fought earlier wasn''t dead.


    Also, now we can¡¯t continue the travelling on fluffy because she doesn¡¯t know how to summon him. I guess we can just continue walking. I don¡¯t think that city is all that far away.


    ¡°Grrrhgghg¡± (my stomach)


    Looks like we won¡¯t continue walking for now, but rather sitting down to eat something. Good thing I brought that delicious food I made when we started out. Looks like health potions recover your hunger though. I did felt hungry when we encountered that troll, but I couldn¡¯t retaliate then.


    "Grrrhgghg" (her stomach)


    ¡°Are you hungry as well?¡± I asked Lora.


    She blushed and nodded her head slightly.


    I guess she has her shy side too. That¡¯s okay. I have plenty of food for the both of us.


    You might have wondered where he kept his food, and potions until now. What he failed to mention before is that his small sack, which he keeps on his belt, has a meter by meter space in it. It is small, but its magic is powerful enough to shrink space itself. He received that sack when he entered a competition in his school a couple of years ago.


    It was an enchanter¡¯s competition. The goal was to enchant one item and the judges would chose the most useful enchanted item created. Skylar was first with his levitating shoes. Everyone got a crystal which contained mana. It would be the core to power the item so that it could work.


    As a reward for the best enchanted item, he was granted that small sack. Unfortunately, as he was one day lying under a tree sleeping, a group of bunnies came to the shoes, which were lying their harmlessly, and ate the shoes and the crystal shattered as soon as the runes embedded on the shoes were damaged. The animals in this world are just too annoying. As soon as they feel a magic item nearby, they rush to eat it, since it would give them powers. Fortunately for him, they were still bunnies which couldn''t eat humans. What a careless person¡­ Loosing flying shoes like that. He could¡¯ve probably sold them for gold coins, but nope.


    And so we finished eating the meal and set forth to the town.


    We were quite tired though. We would need to rest one more night since the Sun was already setting on the horizon. The clouds turned dark orange and red, while the grass swayed on the light breeze.


    We found a rock that was slightly bent over a spot on the ground and so we decided to set our makeshift camp there.


    Lora fell asleep first, while I noticed slight carvings on the bottom of the bent rock.


    ¡°Are these runes of some sort??¡± (me)


    Still lying down, I tried reaching the runes with my hand, not thinking about the consequences that could be fatal¡­

 Chapter 6: Discovering affinities

    Hello fellow pinguines and pinguinets! Here is another chapter. Enjoy! :-)


    The runes trembled and shone with various colors upon me. In the next moment I was standing in a dimmed space. This is very strange I thought to myself. It¡¯s like there is no end to this vast space. I turned around to see if it¡¯s the same anywhere I see. I noticed then that there was no wind, no sun, no stars, no Moon. This definitely isn¡¯t Earth, I was standing on.


    ¡°That¡¯s correct, young child.¡± (???)


    ¡°What? Who are you? Who is speaking?¡± (me)


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be afraid. This is my realm, the realm of Vexus¡±


    ¡°Why am I here? I take it that you brought me here?¡± (me)


    ¡°That is mostly correct, but I didn¡¯t actually brought you here. You brought yourself here by touching those runes on the stone you were under a minute ago.¡± (Vexus)


    ¡°What do you mean, mostly correct then?¡± (me)


    ¡°That stone is called The Stone of Mastery. When you used that gravitation rune earlier you awakened one of the masteries a person can possess. The interesting thing is that you are the first to use it in a thousand years. Many have tried using it during these thousand years, but they all faltered because they were incompatible. They died as soon as they tried to put runes on themselves.¡± (Vexus)


    What I heard, stunned me. I was that close to dying.


    ¡°Why did I have that aftereffect of having my arm burnt?!¡± (me)


    ¡°That is because you still don¡¯t have the complete control over the gravitation. For your first use, I was surprised how good you did.¡± (Vexus)


    ¡°That¡¯s great news, at least I DIDN¡¯T DIE¡­.¡± (me)


    ¡°Unfortunately my apprentice 1000 years ago didn¡¯t write down a warning¡± (Vexus)


    ¡°Is that so?¡± I asked angrily. ¡°Also, you didn¡¯t introduce yourself¡± (me)


    ¡°I am Vexus, the greatest manipulator of gravitation to exist ever. I¡¯ve always wanted to say that!!¡±


    And so our dear Skylar finally encountered the wielder of gravitational magic. As he says, he is the greatest¡­ If he was the greatest, why didn¡¯t he defeat the person who trapped him here? Foolish human¡­ I guess you want to know how and why he was trapped here, right? Okay, so this Vexus was a human like everyone else once. At the age of what now Skylar has, he found out about a powerful magic that was waiting to be manipulated by him, or so he concluded. He had a gift of controlling gravitation. He didn¡¯t have the same problems Sky encountered as he was far much compatible than him.


    What happened after he graduated school? Well other than dark elves invading the school he graduated from, nothing much really¡­ The school was destroyed and most of the students were killed that day. So many talents had been lost then, but Vexus boy here didn¡¯t die. He was too powerful even for some dark elves. Then he finally unlocked his hidden potential after they killed his gf. Oh boy was he mad. He created such a gravitational field that the dark elves were squashed like bugs. Blood splattered everywhere. Only few of the dark elf mages were still standing barely. Mostly on their knees now that I recall.


    The sad thing is that one of the bloody dark elves wasn¡¯t even affected by the gravity. She was ethereal, most likely dead but the ghost remained. Vexus couldn¡¯t do anything to a ghost since they don¡¯t exist materially. Also, guess what. The ghost was a mage too. She cast some spell on da boii Vexus which trapped him in a space which he resides in to this day. Lovely story huh?


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    ¡°So what do you want from me?¡± (me)


    ¡°You are gifted my son. You could become the best wielder of gravitation, but of course after me¡­¡± he said with a stupid grin on his face.


    ¡°Look, Vexus, I¡¯m really not interested in gravitation magic right now. I have a friend which has lost her memory. Could I give you an answer later?¡±


    ¡°I see, you can. Whenever you wish to visit me, just meditate and think about those runes which you saw earlier. I will then materialize you here and we can continue our business.


    ¡°Alright then. Farewell Vexus.¡±


    ¡°Likewise¡± (Vexus)


    I then woke up under the same rock right beside Lora, who was still sleeping despite the Sun which was now rising on the horizon. I woke her up and checked how her head was. It was alright it seemed to me, but also my arm, which was hurting yesterday, was now healed. This is great! We can now continue our journey to the city of Light.


    We once again started travelling. After what we have been through, I¡¯m glad that we haven¡¯t died. I started noticing how Lora is actually beautiful. Her white hair was covering her perfect shaped face. Her blue eyes were giving off a motherly vibe, while her posture was proud and confident. Her white robe was a bit stained in blood and was a bit messy from the grass and muddy floor, but that was barely visible in my eyes.


    She had curves, I must admit. I then started imagining various things, which are quite inappropriate, but I guess that is what makes me a human boy. It can¡¯t be helped right?


    It was a days¡¯ worth of walking until we finally saw a huge wall that was clinging to a mountain. The walls were gigantic and white. We could see people who were on their way to the gate which was closed.


    This didn¡¯t seem right. It was like the people were blocked from entering the inner side of the town. When we got closer we could see what it was all about. They were protesting about something. I overheard the people talking about this.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand why they are doing this. Are they trying to kills us, farmers that work for them?¡± (Stranger 1)


    ¡°The current Earl is a madman. We should leave this place while we have the chance.¡±(Stranger 2)


    ¡°If they closed the gates, how are we going to enter?¡± I wondered. Right when I said that a man with a cart behind him came behind us and spoke.


    ¡°Loraine Lunaglide??? Is that you?¡±


    Lora turned around looking with a blank face at a stranger in front of us.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you remember me? You saved my life when those flying creatures attacked me and my cart.¡± (???)


    ¡°I know you!¡± (me)


    ¡°Who are you?¡± (???)


    ¡°Lora told me about what happened and I¡¯m a friend of hers. She lost her memories few days ago and now were are looking to stay in this city to recover a bit.¡±


    ¡°I see. Don¡¯t worry, I will get you into the city. It¡¯s the least I can do for a person who saved my life. By the way, my name is Lanfaerd.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Skylar¡±

 Chapter 7: City is where you make the real money

    Enjoy!~


    ¡°Come with me Skylar and Lora.¡± (Laenfard)


    We followed the man to where he led us.


    ¡°This way is the secret passage only for merchants in case of emergency. Of course they would let me in, but in a case like this, if they were to open up that door, all would came rushing inside. It¡¯s safer this way.¡± (Laenfard)


    ¡°But, what are those people going to do now? What¡¯s even haunting them?¡± (me)


    ¡°Lately there have been reports of seeing some strange creatures coming to this city, the City of Light. I don¡¯t know what could be the cause of this, but I know it¡¯s not good. Also it interrupts us merchants.¡± (Laenfard)


    ¡°Where can we find out what¡¯s going on in detail?¡± (me)


    ¡°You could try asking a royal guard, but they would probably be too busy and would just shoo you away. There is also a guy which tells information for money. Although I don¡¯t trust him very much because of his shadowy aura.¡± (Laenfard)


    We now found ourselves staring at the big wall in front of us. Laenfard grabbed a pole out of his cart and knocked on the wall. You could hear that the wall was shallow. Soon after the wall opened and we could enter. There being a hidden passage like this means that this city really cares about its merchants.


    We passed through the hole in the wall. When we came to the other side Lora and I were surprised to see how colorful and bright the place was. There were flowers everywhere and it gave a blissful vibe to me. Like in a fairytale.


    The people were having smiles on their faces and everyone was cheerful. Even the guards were like that, even though they still looked professional. ¡°What an interesting place this is¡± I thought to myself.


    The city was separated with 3 big streets. In the streets there were a lot of stores and guilds, just like I imagined. At the end of the middle street, there was a big church built out of, what it looks to be, marble. It was huge.


    ¡°Since I am a merchant, I have places to be, so I bid you farewell Skylar and Loraine.¡± (Laenfard)


    We said goodbye to the merchant and were now looking for a place to stay. Lora had some money on her but it would probably suffice for only a day in a city like this. If we wanted a place to stay, we would probably need to work somewhere.


    I can imagine there being stores that request help.


    We found a place where we could stay. It isn¡¯t much, but it will do its purpose. When we got to the room we were supposed to stay in, we were defeated by the look of it. It was pretty old. Dust everywhere. You could smell the mold in the air. We would at least need to clean up a bit, if we intend to sleep here. As a proper male, I left that job to Lora, while I went and searched for a job that will feed us.


    Ideally it would be, if I found a job to produce potions and sell them, but I don¡¯t have a lot of ingredients. I could also find a place to enchant items that I bought and sell them for a higher price. It¡¯s good that I know stuff like this. If I didn¡¯t, I would need Lora to go to a job.


    I was walking in the main street, looking around. Finally I found a store which sells potions and elixirs. I should definitely see if they need help.


    I came into the store, searching for a seller, but I couldn¡¯t see anyone. I yelled ¡°Is anybody here?¡± which to my response, a loud thud happened.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right there!¡± (???)


    Hmm, it seems like she is quite busy. I waited a minute for her to come down from the upstairs. She was little with red twin tails flailing from one side to the other.


    ¡°How can I help you customer?¡± (???)


    ¡°I¡¯m not a customer, I am interested in working here.¡± (me)


    ¡°You? You want to make potions and sell them here?¡±


    ¡°That is correct.¡± (me)


    ¡°Oh please, like you could do anything as tough as this. I don¡¯t have time for newbies like you.¡± (???)


    ¡°Hey, you don¡¯t even know how good I am! At least give me a try. All I need is one chance!¡± (me)


    ¡°Why should I? I can manage on my own here. Also papa will be back soon!¡± (???)


    ¡°Yes, I can see how you are managing on your own, being upstairs most of the time.¡± (me)


    Looks like I hit the spot. She just scowled and sighed.


    ¡°Alright then!!! You have one chance! DON¡¯T MESS IT UP!¡± (???)


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.¡°Yes sir!¡± I said as I instantly grabbed one of my favorite recipes and threw all of the needed ingredients for it on the table.


    I had to borrow her cauldron for making this potion, which was kind of unproductive, since you make potions that last longer with a familiar cauldron. Also, you have to infuse mana as a fuel instead of fire. Making potions out of fire is the basic way.


    The potion which was I going to make, wasn¡¯t located here in the store, so she can¡¯t say to me that she could do the same thing. For each type of potion there is the ideal amount of mana that has to be infused into the cauldron.


    Since I read a lot of books I know what kind of potions there exist and I know when to stop infusing mana. The potion I was making right now, is supposed to make you jump 5 times higher than usual. Since you can combine potions that are of the same kind, you could become a real monster with a congregation of potions.


    You need to be careful not to mix fire potion and water potions since those two negate each other. Since I am making a wind type of potion, you could drink a speed potion as well and you could then have both effects.


    In order to create the best potion, you need concentration that isn¡¯t normal by any stretch of imagination. I¡¯ve developed that throughout the years of practicing so I know what I¡¯m doing. Also I know how crazy this potion¡¯s effect is because I¡¯ve tried it once. I had a blast that day.


    Finishing the potion I grabbed the flask and turned around to see the girl looking at me like she had seen an extraordinary thing. I¡¯m not sure what is going on inside her mind, but it can¡¯t be good.


    ¡°What are you?¡± She asked me with a scared face.


    ¡°I¡¯m Skylar, nice to meet you¡­?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Suzu¡­¡±


    ¡°That would be 2 gold.¡± (me)


    ¡°What?¡± (Suzu)


    ¡°It¡¯s the price of this potion.¡± (me)


    ¡°Well I¡¯m not going to pay for it. You are going to sell it to the first customer that comes by.¡± (Suzu)


    ¡°What? That wasn¡¯t the deal!¡± (me)


    ¡°It is now. If you want to work here, you will have to be a salesman as well!¡± (Suzu)


    It was me now who sulked. I was never good with other people¡­ but, I have no choice right now. I need to make some money, so that I can stay with Lora here a little longer. It can¡¯t be that hard, can it?


    I then waited a bit for a customer to arrive in hopes of selling this potion for at least 2 gold. Of course my first price would be 3.


    ¡°Young man, I¡¯m interested in this green looking potion you have in your hands. I have never seen it selling in this store. What is the effect of the potion?¡± (???)


    I raised my head at the giant man that was speaking to me with the lowest voice I¡¯ve heard, ever. He was like a rock. You could see that his muscles were quite out of the ordinary. I say, he could lift this store up with one finger if he wanted to¡­


    ¡°Ummm, this potion will make you jump 5 times higher than normal. The price of the potion is 3 gold coins.¡± (me)


    ¡°3 GOLD COINS? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND YOUNG BOY?¡± (???)


    ¡°THE PRICE IS 3 GOLD COINS! TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT!¡± (me)


    The giant man was furiously looking at me as he seemed to judge every move I make.


    ¡°You, the girl behind the counter, yes you! Come here and drink this potion.¡± (???)


    ¡°Okay!¡± She seemed so frightened that I though she had wet her panties when he spoke to her. I don¡¯t blame her.


    She gulped down that potion in one go and suddenly she started jumping 6 meter high like a bunny on strength potions.


    The man smiled at what he was seeing and said:


    ¡°You have passed the test, young lad.¡±


    ¡°Sorry what?¡± I said with a confused face slightly guessing what could be the test.


    ¡°You successfully created a potion and sold it to me for 3 gold. Here is your money.¡± He then put the 3 gold coins on the counter while patting the little girl, who was now smiling and wasn¡¯t scared at all.


    ¡°I see what¡¯s going on here¡­ You are her father aren¡¯t you? (me)


    ¡°Yes, I am. My name is Ruftius. Welcome to the place where you will be working, the Miracle Potions¡±.


    Miracle potions??? That is the lamest name I heard in years¡­ Who gives a damn, at least I made 3 gold coins¡­

 Chapter 8: Birthday just around the corner

    Enjoy!


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    And so Skylar started working at the Miracle Potion store, having a daily salary of 5 gold, that of which 3 gold went to the place they were staying and 1 gold and 50 silver for the food. This city is indeed very pricey, but they didn¡¯t have much choice. Lora soon started working as well, because she was feeling really shitty that she couldn¡¯t help in paying. She found herself a job at a tavern.


    It was actually really awful working at a tavern like that. She needed to serve the customers, to clean the dishes, to be sexey¡­ The sexier she was, the more customers she attracted. The more customers she attracted the higher her salary was. Really simple. By now she was having twice the salary Sky boy here had. Being a woman in this world can be converted to profit quite quickly. I wish I was a girl¡­


    As the time passed, Skylar was more and more experienced. Also, recently he started buying some magical items. One of the interesting items he bought was a ring which when worn you can feel no pain whatsoever. And over powered item if you ask me.


    Now he can really forget about his burning hand when using runes. Of course he would lose a hand, but he could prolong the time using it. It¡¯s worth right?


    As far as his relationship with Suzu and the giant man named Ruftius, well every time he makes new potions they stand behind him, watching as if they are seeing a miracle happen right before their eyes. They gained a lot of respect towards him, because he might be able to get attention of more customers. Suzu would now be just a helper and a person who will try the potions and stand in front of the shop, putting the potion effect to work. It seems like the store got a mascot.


    For future plans, Skylar will probably practice more and try using runic sigils on the stuff that he finds. If I were him, I would see the information¡¯s guy that merchant (Lefraud I think his name was) was talking about. He could give him some insight about the stuff that is happening all over the world and also might be able to help find a person who could bring back Lora her memories.


    ¡°Oh my goodness, finally done with making the potions for today!¡± This could be really tiring sometimes, since if I want to make different potions, I must wait for the cauldron to cool down, and then heat it back up to the desired temperature with my mana. Good thing my supervisor is providing me with mana potions. I should definitely find a library and read some books about mana regenerating. If I could steal mana out of the air around me, or even better the sunrays, I wouldn¡¯t need any mana potions.


    Funny thing is that Sky now has 2 ladies that want him. You might guess who they might be. *cough* Suzu *Cough* Lora *Cough*.


    I wouldn¡¯t give you any hints of course¡­


    ¡°Hmmm, I wonder if Lora would like this..¡± I wondered as I was shopping in the local market for some ingredients. Lora doesn¡¯t know how to cook since she lost her memories, but I know, and I have been teaching her a bit. My grandma was really a great chef. She taught me a lot about food. She even taught me stuff she herself didn¡¯t figure out yet.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Everything in this world is built out of mana practically. It is the stuff which we all carry inside ourselves. Since we eat, we regain mana that way, but what is even better is that just like potions, having a diverse diet gives you powers. Not skills or anything like that, but more like affinity to different kinds of mana. If you eat fish a lot, you will gain aqua mana affinity, which then leads you to better understanding and controlling that same mana. If you eat a lot of herbs and wheat related meals, you will have a nature mana affinity.


    But like icing on the pie, (Yes, they still don¡¯t know about cakes) if you really have a diverse diet, you will have mana affinity for all elements equally. That¡¯s why I am purchasing all kinds of ingredients that differ. After this I will head to Lora¡¯s place to pick her up from her work, and then we will head home.


    I want to go to a park together with her, but I probably won¡¯t since it looks like it will begin raining any moment. I don¡¯t like rain. It brings sad memories. *flashback*


    ¡°NO Dad! Don¡¯t go!!¡± (4 year old me)


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Skylar, mom will protect you. You know where to go Cecilia!¡± (father)


    ¡°Be careful dear.¡± (mother)


    Damn, the rain didn¡¯t stop back then. It was raining like there wouldn¡¯t be tomorrow. Well there actually wasn¡¯t any tomorrows for my dad. I believe that he fought valiantly and bravely. He probably killed a stupid lizard or two. But they were outnumbered. Poor dad¡­ I swear I will keep my promise and get vengeance.


    Minutes later it started to rain. I was near the tavern where Lora worked. When I entered she wasn¡¯t there though. I asked the owner and she said she had already left hours ago in a hurry.


    That really confused me. Where could she be right now? She must be already in the house. The rain was coming down in larger quantities now, which really pissed me off. Not wanting to get soaked, I started running back home. By the time I got there, I was exhausted and wet. Lora wasn¡¯t here. I then came down to the reception and asked if the owner knew where she went.


    ¡°She left half an hour ago, but I don¡¯t know where. She was really nicely dressed though.


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t tell me she actually went there in this weather.¡±


    A few days ago, we were walking through a park and noticed a huge tree. It produced a massive shade and since it was really sunny and the heat was unbearable, we decided to lie down. I then told her that my birthday is right around the corner and I wanted to spend time with here somewhere. She recommended this place as it was the best place ever. The grass was soft, and the shade that the huge tree created was really incredible. She really liked her recommendation and insisted that we go there today.


    And so, I¡¯m currently almost flying to that place to hopefully meet up with her. If she really is there, she is going to get scolded for going there on a day like this.


    I was now inside the park, and as soon as I spotted the huge tree, I saw a little lady under it, completely soaked with her chest visible through her close. I had a mix of emotions welling up inside me. I was angry, but then again, I was relieved that I found her. I stopped running and was approaching the huge tree.


    Interestingly enough, a lightning bolt came crashing down from heavens and hit me with all its might. I was still alive though. I didn¡¯t feel pain. The last thing I saw was Lora running towards me, while I was collapsing from shock and falling down on the soft grass under me.

 Chapter 9: The aftershock

    I apologize for this chapter. It''s quite small, but I plan something huge on happening in the next few chapters to make up for it. For now, enjoy!


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    I began slowly opening my eyes. I was currently in a bed that was located in our poor looking room. I looked at the familiar setting outside the window on my right. When I turned my head to the left, I saw a girl with snow white hair sitting on the chair that was beside the bed. You could guess that she was taking care of me, but I¡¯m not quite sure what happened. Now that I found the memories, I was hit by a lightning bolt, wasn¡¯t I? Something is off though. Shouldn¡¯t I be dead right now? That amount of electrical discharge would kill anyone right?


    I don¡¯t feel dead. I slowly moved Lora¡¯s head from my lap, and stood up to stretch myself. It¡¯s like I was in the bed for a day or two¡­ I felt a bit strange, somehow full of energy. I have never been this livelier in my life. I started waking up Lora. She was slowly coming to the realization that I¡¯m not dead, but now standing on my own two feet.


    She couldn¡¯t believe such thing.


    ¡°Skylar!¡± She came and hugged me tightly like clinging to the only purposeful thing in her life. ¡°I was so scared that you might be no longer with me!¡± She then began crying. I was wiping her tears with my hand, and told her that I¡¯m clearly not dead and that there isn¡¯t a reason to cry. She said that these were tears of joy.


    Once she calmed down, I started backtracking of what happened. Firstly, I noticed how I was still having that ring on my finger. That¡¯s the reason I didn¡¯t feel the pain when I was struck. Then I asked Lora what happened after, and then she told me how I fell down like a ragdoll, and was burnt on the back and the feet. After that I noticed that I had bandages on my two feet, but they weren¡¯t noticeable. When I removed the ring, I collapsed on my knees, not being able to stand. My feet were hurting so much that I had to put on the ring back this instant.


    After that she told me that I had been unconscious for 6 days now, which I couldn¡¯t believe. Lora was so kind, and I could see that she nurtured me well these days, but I was wondering about one thing.


    ¡°Where did you get the money to pay for the rent?¡± (me)


    She was hesitant on telling me. Somehow I had a bad feeling about this.


    ¡°Well, I¡­ I requested a loan from my boss¡­¡± (Lora)


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    ¡°How much do you owe him?¡± (me)


    ¡°About 50 gold now¡­¡± (Lora)


    I knew what I had to do then. I would need to work twice as much, so that I could pay the loan she took instead of me. I wouldn¡¯t be irresponsible like that. She owed me nothing, and yet I owed her everything.


    Days have passed, and I was slowly getting back to shape. My burnt feet had been healed, because I had been consuming health potions, and other remedies daily. I hope my boss isn¡¯t going to be mad at me for suddenly disappearing. I needed to go there today, just to clear up some things. I didn¡¯t know if they would want me back, so I prepared myself for the worst.


    ¡°Ruftius, Suzu?¡± (me)


    Like the usual, they weren¡¯t here. Suzu might be upstairs though. I should check.


    ¡°Suzu? Are you upstairs?¡± (me)


    No response¡­ I started climbing the steep stairs, and when I finally came upstairs¡­ Well, at least it wasn¡¯t what I feared it might be the case. She was just changing. And now was grabbing a chair and throwing it at me. I should probably duck while I still have the chance. I mean I did saw her naked just now, but that doesn¡¯t mean she should do something so rash, to a person that just got back on his feet after struck by lightning.


    I barely dodged it¡­


    ¡°KYAAAA!!! GET OUT!¡± (Suzu)


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me twice.¡± I said as I hurried back down, still afraid she would throw the next thing which was probably that dagger that was on the wall, just beside her.


    I waited a bit for her to finish changing. Now that I remember the details, she is small, but she has some womanly curves, I must admit. Although I think I would still pick Lora, if it was up to me. (It will be later~)


    Ruftius too arrived a bit later dragging fish for dinner. He was a potion maker, but a fisherman too. They usually had fish for lunch. I began explaining the situation that ¡®struck¡¯ out of the blue earlier.


    They were shocked to hear that I survived.


    ¡°Are you feeling strange? Are you alright? You should go to the witchdoctor to see if you have any abnormalities.¡± (they)


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine and I will be back to work the day after tomorrow. I will go to the witchdoctor to do analysis and after that I have to check something.¡± (me)


    ¡°Alright! You have 2 more days, but please come because the business is going down as we speak.¡± (Ruftius)


    ¡°Ok, farewell for now...¡± (me)

 Chapter 10: Acquiring a new power

    ¡°Now that nobody is here, time to see what I¡¯m capable of.¡±


    I haven¡¯t been able to check out my new acquired power, since I still want to keep it a secret. After that bolt, I was feeling very strange. I had a lot of energy. I felt like I was charged by the electricity that surged through that bolt, and I still do. It¡¯s a strange feeling. I never had the physical power to lift heavy things or punch or kick hard. I think this might be a new beginning.


    I didn¡¯t say when I will be back, so I set forth to the place of crime ¨C where I was struck. I figured I would at least like to see and imagine what really happened that day. I mean, it was the first lightning bolt I heard. What are the odds? Also, I was in a forest, so why would a random lightning bolt come that far down. I was puzzled. Not many people were knowledgeable enough to know the reason, but I had to try finding out what happened.


    When I arrived there, there weren¡¯t much clues. Why would there be anyways? A lightning bolt couldn¡¯t do much harm to the surroundings. There was still burnt grass there though. Of course there would be, but other than that I didn¡¯t see anything peculiar.


    I had no idea why a lightning would focus me. THERE WAS A HUGE ASS TREE RIGHT BESIDE ME¡­ I¡¯m grateful for not dying, but still.


    Since I couldn¡¯t find anything else, I started part two of my reason being here. I had a feeling I my new power was related to electricity, so I would guess I had to think about the same if I wanted to use the power.


    Sitting down on the soft bed of grass, I started meditating first, just to see if I myself had some strange abnormalities. Of course I wouldn¡¯t go to a witchdoctor for a silly thing like that. By doing this I could examine my body to the fullest. I slowly established the connection to my whole body, and I couldn¡¯t see any abnormalities, not a thing remained damaged. After that, I went deep into my mind to see if I have gained affinity to the electric current.


    Even though I didn¡¯t quite exactly know what to do, naturally my hands went up, and I thought about the lightning bolt. ¡°Zzzt!¡±


    What had happened just now was me being shocked. Well it was more like a tinkle on my finger. Repeating the same thought I did it again, and a small circuit formed between my hands ¨C my fingers, to be precise.


    I opened my eyes, still thinking about the same thing. While I was doing this, my hands were feeling weird. It was like they were different. One felt a little off while the other felt more off. It was truly strange, but I didn¡¯t know how to describe it well.


    After that I had realized that I could control electricity almost freely. Of course it didn¡¯t create a straight path between my fingers. It resembled a miniature lightning bolt.


    I¡¯ve never read anything about harnessing electricity, so I had to research more.


    One sentence came to the thought then: ¡°You could try asking a royal guard, but they would probably be too busy and would just shoo you away. There is also a guy which tells information for money. Although I don¡¯t trust him very much because of his shadowy aura.¡±


    Laenfard told us this when we entered the city together. I wonder if he would know about this more. But paying money for the information didn¡¯t really fancy me, so I had to check out the library first. Why would you waste money on information, which might be false, when there is all you need already in the books?


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    I then proceeded to the library which was located near the center of the city. It wasn¡¯t that large, but I wanted at least to check if they would have something useful. I entered and an old geezer welcomed me, looking like he would die if he tried to talk. He had a murky face and he made a grimace when I came to him. I then said I wanted to check if they had something related to my case. He just pointed a finger that was like a dead branch in one direction.


    The interior was really old. Dust was everywhere, and a strange scent flooded the whole library. The floor screeched at the every move I made, which was really unpleasant. You could see that they have never cleaned the place. It was moderately large and had an ominous feeling constantly. I came to a row of books, which the old man pointed to, but the problem is that the books were so dusty that I couldn¡¯t even read the titles.


    If I was working here, there wouldn¡¯t be a speck of dust, but I take it that nobody visits this place so why bother, right?


    People are fools, the sooner they realize the vast knowledge located at the places like this, the better for them it will be.


    I was searching through the immense number of books, but I finally noticed the right one. A blue book, which had yellow outlined title. The surprising thing was that not a glimpse of dust was on it. Like it was added just now. I was shocked. Also the title was kind of strange.


    ¡°Harnessing the power of the lightning¡±


    This book, was really convenient in my case. It¡¯s like someone made it and put it here just now. Well, I won¡¯t question it.


    I opened the book and started reading. I learned a lot about electricity and some new words like electron, atom, and proton. Basically an electron was a negatively charged particle, while the proton was positively charged particle. Atoms are really small and they were made out of these two, and we were made out of them apparently. I¡¯ve never encountered them until now, so I was really surprised. The book didn¡¯t have an author which was weird.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how I made that miniature lightning bolt¡­¡± In the book they explained that in order to obtain an electric current, you need to have large amounts of positive and negative particles. Then a discharge would happen so that the particles would stabilize. It¡¯s a bit tough to understand, but they were attracted each other and that was the key point.


    I thought to myself: ¡°If I practice using a power like this, I could be a person who could change the weather, couldn¡¯t I?¡±


    And so he became a weather man¡­


    Just kidding, he continued practicing. I must say, he was very lucky not to die back then. If he were to completely harness the power of electricity he would be unstoppable really, then again if he were to practice using gravitation he would also be unstoppable¡­ Decisions, decisions. Also, I wonder if he will realize how long he stayed at the library and how angry Lora now is thinking he¡¯s cheating her with another.

 Chapter 11: Time to get serious

    Looks like you really want to see Skylar try hard. Alright, it was your decision anyways, but don''t come to me complaining if he dies... Enjoy!


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    After busting his head for an answer, he still couldn¡¯t decide. He is a good guy, but indecisiveness won¡¯t go unpunished later. Because he couldn¡¯t decide, he is going to practice both gravitational magic and thunder magic (Yes, THUNDER magic. Just because it sounds cooler).


    Anyways, he started meditating once again, and started thinking about that gravity mage. Naturally he appeared in the realm of a certain person, and his name is JOHN CENA tuturutu!! Just kidding, the person¡¯s name is Vexus.


    When Vexus appeared he had a happy expression on his face. He felt that he had finally found an apprentice. After all these years of nothingness, he had finally found a person to mess around with. That wasn¡¯t actually the case. Skylar could only practice gravity magic here, so thunder magic was out of bounds. Only in the real world, he would be able to practice both. This was explained to Vexus, who had changed his face to a grim one. He wasn¡¯t very happy at the decision his ¡®apprentice¡¯ made.


    ¡°You boy dare to defy me and my ways of teaching??!??¡± Vexus said with a dark voice.


    ¡°If my proposal doesn¡¯t interest you, then, I¡¯m afraid we will have to part ways and never see each other again. Also, you could kiss your exit card goodbye if I leave.¡±


    ¡°PPFFFTT, LIKE I NEED SUCH A NOOB TO GET ME OUT OF HERE >.<¡±


    ¡°Alright then, I will take my leave.¡± (me)


    ¡°¡­WAIT!...¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find another way to get out of this realm all by yourself, why would a great wizard like you need help from a newbie like me anyways?¡±


    ¡°Wait wait wait¡­ URGHHh FINE!~ I will accept your damned demands.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure that you won¡¯t go back on your word and not teach me all of the skills you know?¡± (me)


    ¡°Yes, I promise. But you have to help me get out of here. I¡¯ve already gone crazy. All I do is wank it in here. The sad thing is that I don¡¯t even have the proper material.¡±


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough, I don¡¯t want to hear your pitiful doings that you have done here.¡±


    And so they agreed to help each other out.


    ~ ~ ~


    Before the beginning of his training, he quit his current job. After all, he was only making potions and made money that way. They begged him to reconsider, but cruelty is necessary sometimes. Suzu cried and Ruftius was heartbroken. They would need to find another godlike potion maker if they wanted to make profit again. It will be hard for them, but that¡¯s how the life goes.


    Skylar returned home, where Lora was at and introduced her to the plan he made. They were going to a mountain that is not too far from the City of Light. They would live there and train together in peace and tranquility. They will eat herbs and hunt wild animals.


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    It will indeed be hard to start off with nothing, but they will succeed if they try hard enough. Lora was a bit concerned that they would live in the wilderness, but If Skylar was going, then she would go too. She became attached to him a while ago, but after ¡®saving her life¡¯ she fell in love with his capabilities. He is smart, caring, charming, and all those lovey dovey things that I¡¯m sick of.


    As for the day of the journey to the mountain, it would be the day after their shopping for supplies and stuff. From all the work they have done, they accumulated a ton of money. They are going to wilderness, so why wouldn¡¯t they go all out for supplies that will help them live there? The first place they were headed to, was a smithy. There they will be able to purchase an axe, which they will later use for cutting the trees and making a small hut for them.


    For carpentering they would buy a book that would teach them the basics. It isn¡¯t efficient, but it would have to do. Also, Lora needed a dagger for self-defense.


    After that they went to a merchant, where they found a lot of cool gadgets, which would help them considerably. One was a living spark that easily created a fire even when the wood is humid. Second were the runes of invisibility. As you can guess, they would render anything invisible for the cost of any kind of mana. Third was a rune of the beast, which as a scary animal repellent. When they create a hut, they would wrap this thing on it and beasts to a certain boundary wouldn¡¯t come close.


    The last one, apart from bandages and some basic stuff, was a full upgrade to the belt Skylar had. Besides being fancy and stylish, it had 12 pockets, that each had 12 pockets which could be used for storing herbs. So our Skylar here could hold 144 small herbs in his belt, without weight. You might wonder why without weight. Well that was because it came with a crystal which had a self-replenishing poll of mana. The mana was of course used for the gravity rune that was embedded in the belt.


    Some would argue that it¡¯s op, but this is a place where magic exists. Where flying pigs with rainbow shoes are considered normal. Where trolls suddenly appear and kick you right in the balls. That is, our lovely and unforgettable Hell¡¯s Sanctuary.


    ~ ~ ~


    The journey was long, despite the mileage being short. They have travelled for 4 days, until reaching the bottom of the giant mountain. They wanted to get up high, so that they wouldn¡¯t be bothered. It was tough getting up there. About 1.5 miles up they found a suitable valley with a pond and some trees. They decided to set their starting point there.


    And so the relentless training sessions began¡­

 Chapter 12: Our new home

    Enjoy!  ^W^


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    ¡°This mountain, my new home¡­¡±


    ¡°Here I will train to become invincible.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, for such a high demand, there is always the price you have to pay.¡±


    ~ ~ ~


    Not wasting any time, we began building the foundry of our small hut. It won¡¯t be anything fancy, but it will at least keep us warm. While she gathered leaf covered branches that would be used for the roof, I picked up my new axe and slowly marched to a local forest.


    I know I don¡¯t have enough physical strength so I naturally I brought some strength potions with me. I always had somewhat of a frail body, so I can¡¯t really do much on my own. That¡¯s why I can make potions easily and efficiently. Unfortunately I can¡¯t always rely on potions, since I won¡¯t always have the ingredients on my disposal.


    The reason we came here is to train. To train like there is no tomorrow. I know that with our capabilities, we could become really powerful in a matter of months. People normally look down on them, underestimating themselves, but the one thing I learnt by reading tons of books is that the human is an all mighty being. I can become whatever I can if I train the given amount.


    After reminding myself of that, I¡¯m ready to become a lumberjack. The tree that was first in the line was really big. It had a big trunk and it would not fall without a fight. I gulped one of the potions I brought and in an instant felt the power surging throughout my body. It was really magnificent. I never drank a strength potion in my life because I didn¡¯t have the need to do it.


    The potions that they sell everywhere are not good and are really weak compared to mine. Since I even had to practice every day doing my job in the city, I would say that I found out about some shortcuts that would really speed up the process of making potions. Besides that they are even more powerful now since I know the exact boundary of perfection.


    I gave myself a goal long time ago. It was when I experienced the ¡®death¡¯ of my mother. I promised myself that I would be the greatest mage there is ever going to be, and I don¡¯t intend to break that promise just yet. Anyways, until now I chopped down a few trees and since I have this inhumane strength, I¡¯ve been grabbing whole logs and transported them to the place where our home is yet to be.


    After I finish the exterior I need to get myself comfortable with creating furniture. I¡¯ve never dealt with carpentry before, but I won¡¯t have to pay that much attention to that, since it¡¯s not for show or anything like that. I just have to make something that will be comfortable enough for the two of us. Either way, I don¡¯t have fancy materials for the furniture, so everything I make will have to be quite simple.


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    By now Lora had acquired the needed amount of materials for the roof. She was diligent and a responsible person even after that horrible accident. I need to work harder for her.


    It had been a few days, and we have already built 75% of the hut. It was now suitable for us to live in. Although it was a little chilly a bit. It¡¯s probably because we don¡¯t have a fire yet. I mean, the whole place is built out of wood. It would burn down even with a help of a small spark. The way we were going to solve this problem is by using isolation rune around the fire. We gathered rocks and placed them in a circle. Then we put dirt around the rocks and now it was my turn to shine. I wrote down the rune on the ground around the fireplace. Now we would have smaller light, but at least our hut would be save from collapsing.


    The runes are a really convenient sometimes. If you power them with the needed amount of mana constantly, they would never defy you. Well in the case of the dark mana, they would, but I¡¯m not dealing with that stuff. It¡¯s too dangerous. The runes around the fireplace would exploit the fire that the fireplace produced. We had a lot of trees around here so the fire would be constant.


    By solving that problem, now we needed normal beds to sleep on. We slept these few days on grass, and to be frank, it wasn¡¯t comfy at all. I could be spoiled a little, but I think that making beds wouldn¡¯t be that hard.


    ~ ~ ~


    Finally finishing the house we were really happy that we would now get to sleep on something cozier than the floor made out of grass. One thing was bugging me though. Lora has been acting all weird lately. Every morning I would see her arms around me. One morning she was even close to choking me. Did you ever have such a nightmare that you were choking, but you couldn¡¯t figure out the reason behind it? Thank god you haven¡¯t.


    I could guess what was up with Lora, but sometimes I really couldn¡¯t resist in teasing her just a bit. I know I shouldn¡¯t have done those things, but everyone likes to be a child once in a while, right? One morning I woke up before her and came to an idea to hide behind a tree. When she woke up, she was really scared. She thought someone had kidnapped me. While she started crying I laughed behind the tree. That really made me into a douchebag, but the reaction of hers was priceless¡­


    While laughing silently, I observed her. Her faced was covered in sorrow and grief. She was really sad and it made me feel the hard guilt. Her cries have eventually brought me back to the real world. I got a beating from her after that, and decided I should never do the same thing, because I will probably be killed the next time.


    While looking back on past, I have finally decided to confront the task which was ahead of me. I had initiated the long awaited training. The hell was just around the corner¡­

 Chapter 13: The training begins now

    Enjoy!


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    Damn, I really didn¡¯t think Sky would be this serious about something in his life. One month has passed since they got on the mountain and when they finished their hut, they both started training to the fullest. Since I am a nice guy and they are too busy to explain their schedules, I will do it for them.


    Observing Lora, I¡¯ve came to the conclusion that she is capable of slowly reopening the enclosed memories by meditation. Her memories have been sealed away, that¡¯s all. But it isn¡¯t easy of course. She will have to spend a lot of time to regain her memories again. I don¡¯t think Sky will be happy when she regains the memories of that night they slept together hahahaha¡­


    My regaining her memories, she is learning the spells and abilities that she had earlier. They are not polished yet so she will have to work on them more. By training her body she will be able to be the queen on ice and water one day. Well that title is the best suited for her now, but if she wanted she could actually even surpass Skylar¡¯s talent. I¡¯m not so sure it will happen since Skylar seems very confident in his potion making skills and his training now. It will get interesting soon enough.


    By now Lora can manipulate the ice and water around her, but by training she could convert other elements into the two. Something like long lost alchemy. Yes there was alchemy present in this world long time ago. Alright, I will tell you about it¡­ so impatient¡­


    Once upon a time, there was a person who came to an idea to try and make iron into gold. He was bestowed with a task to do that for a greedy king. He had no choice, but to try because his wife and his kid were in danger. If he couldn¡¯t succeed in completing the task in two months, they were going to behead them. Brutality, I know?


    Anyways, he was desperate. He didn¡¯t know where to start. So he tried all sorts of things. He was a smithy by profession, but all he could do was shape the metal, not make it into something else. He tried tricking the king, by using an alloy he created out of bronze and iron, but when he finally presented his creation to the king, the king was suspicious. The shape of the fake gold was in coins, so the king took one of them and bit on it. As a result of his trickery, the king broke his tooth trying to bend the coin.


    The king was so mad that he ended up shortening the smithies¡¯ task time. He now had a total of a week to complete the task, or else¡­ He was losing his composure as the days passed. He was on the verge of breaking when he finally went to a library to try and find the solution in the books. Long story short, he found the right book and succeeded in creating gold out of cheap metal by using magic. THE END.


    Ughhh, I was never good at telling stories¡­ Anyways, the king ended up being too greedy and commanded the smithy to reveal his secret. The smithy of course stayed silent, since he knew what the king could do with such power. The poor smithy died and his family wasn¡¯t spared of course. The king himself searched for the book until his own death after. The problem is that the book was long gone. It was destroyed by the same smithy. Stupid, right?


    Well one thing we learnt from this is: Don¡¯t force people to do crazy sheet by capturing and threating them with their families. If he were to spare the smithy, he could maybe get something out of it, but NOOO! HE CHOSE TO BE A DUMBFUCK.


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    So, where was I? Yes, Lora and Skylar could figure out how to do the same thing. After all, in this world, everything is possible.


    As far as Skylar goes, he has a really tight schedule. When he gets up at the first Sun light, he eats some fruit, and begins training like there¡¯s no tomorrow. First he runs with all his might on a track he created that was a mile long. After 3 hours of constant running and not using any potions, he is on the deaths door. He takes a well-deserved breather and continues with his training by using the arms that were completely fine. Going to a nearby tree and the impersonating a monkey, he soon received splinters on his palms that hurt like hell.


    He figured he wouldn¡¯t last long in a fight, if he wasn¡¯t a tough rock, so he decided to become one. At this rate, I think he will become more of a monkey that a rock though. After tiring his arms, he would drink up a restoration potion, and after would continue with his magic. By then it would already be 11 o¡¯ clock.


    Harnessing the thunder magic isn¡¯t easy of course. One would need to realize the core of everything, even the core of themselves to completely harness it. Everything is moved by the small particles that were in every one of us. If he were to understand how to control them, then I¡¯m afraid no one would stand a chance.


    With the completely convenient book he had found, not mysterious in any shape or form, he started grasping the basics of thunder magic really quickly. He was really intelligent after all so the basics were rather simple for him. I mean, everyone would be as smart as him if they would live in the library 24/7/365. You probably never went to a sacred place like that have you? (Boss! PLEASE STOP CREATING RIPPLES!!! We will be punished for this. Well it¡¯s only the truth right? They are too lazy to read so why lie to them?)


    *cough*cough* As I was saying, our boy here created bigger and longer lightings faster and faster. He even realized the other uses of thunder magic. One of them being the ability to move at the speed of a lightning bolt. By accelerating the particles in your legs, they will be able to move really fast. But it¡¯s really mana consuming so it would be hard to keep it for long. Especially because he is just a beginner. As the time goes by, he will be able to use thunder magic more efficiently and the magic itself will become more powerful.


    Another of the abilities he learned is to manipulate someone¡¯s brain *neurons* and make their brain work faster. Unfortunately, he can only do this on himself right now. What he doesn¡¯t realize is that by doing this he is slowly using more and more of the brains¡¯ capacity. But it would be overpowered if it weren¡¯t for the ridiculous cost, which is the reduction of the one¡¯s lifespan. He would need to find a way to increase his lifespan to use this bullshit ability efficiently.


    By this time, the sun began setting slowly and the sky was filled more and more with purple and blue traces. He was already exhausted, but it wasn¡¯t the end of the training for the day. After the setting Sun, his gravity training would only just begun and stretch far into the late hours, when the moons would rise.

 Chapter 14: The useless gift

    Enjoy!


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    ¡°I¡¯m sooo tired!¡± (Lora)


    The 3rd month already arrived. Through these 2 moths we¡¯ve been through hell. I had never devoted myself to something like this before, so I really tried my best. The problem is that it seems I have been stagnating the past week. My powers have really grown, but they just can¡¯t advance further. I actually know how to breakthrough to the later levels, but in order to do that, I have to battle other humans, which of course I¡¯m opposed to.


    ¡°In order to breakthrough your stagnation period, you have to feel the power of others, to gain the battle experience. If you don¡¯t battle others, you won¡¯t know how strong you really are, even though you are really strong already. Since I¡¯m your teacher for the moment, I can say that you are really gifted in learning how to manipulate gravity.¡± (Vexus 2 days ago)


    I understand that, but it will be hard. I don¡¯t want to hurt other people. I know I¡¯m capable at killing already, but I don¡¯t want to. The sorrow that will be bestowed upon me when I take a life of someone for the first time. I don¡¯t want to.


    ¡°There must be another way!¡± (me)


    ¡°Nope, there isn¡¯t! Face it like a man!¡± (Vexus)


    ¡°So there isn¡¯t another way huh? Alright then, farewell. I hope you will find your true happiness in this realm ALL ALONE.¡± (me)


    ¡°Fak it¡­ WAIT! YOU DAMN BRAT! There is¡­¡± (Vexus)


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t hear the end of your sentence there.¡± (me)


    ¡°THERE IS ANOTHER WAY!¡± (Vexus)


    ¡°Oh really, but just earlier, you said that there isn¡¯t another way. Have you been lying to me? Didn¡¯t we agree that if you wanted to get out of here, you would do all that you can to make me use gravity magic?¡± (me)


    ¡°Yes, that was the agreement. I will help you then, but be prepared to face consequences. Since I¡¯m awesome like this, I will create the enemies artificially for you to fight in this realm. You will have to be careful though. If you die here, you won¡¯t be able to come back here ever again¡­ (Vexus)


    ¡°Whatever it is, I¡¯m not afraid of it. I need to get stronger. I won¡¯t go back on my promise.¡± (me)


    ¡°Alright, here you go! Have fun. J (Vexus)


    And just like that he spawns some monsters in here, which are really angry to see me. There were a dozen of them, which were really strong. The good thing is that, I have been training my body all this time, and now I¡¯m able to keep those gravity runes on both of my hands for a long time.


    Not only that, but now I can manipulate the ground too. If I spread the mana I had gathered and transfer it into gravity runes through the floor, I can control the gravity the floor makes it.


    Normally, I would¡¯ve been dead if it weren¡¯t for my legs that are harder than rock I imagine. God, the way I trained these 2 months really paid off. Although I could¡¯ve died a couple of times, it paid off.


    Of course when I scribe the gravity runes in my bandages, they start absorbing my mana, but I¡¯ve learned a way to keep the mana flow constant. I¡¯m really a genius. For me to figure out I could absorb the electricity and convert it back to mana and then use it as a makeshift power source for gravity controlling. Oh god, I¡¯m a monster.


    But you might be wondering where I¡¯m getting the electricity from. That is the key part after all. And what I did is create a small container out of some weird ore I found in a cave during the training sessions. It took me a while to figure out where to borrow the energy from it, but I¡¯ve came to a different conclusion. I can just borrow it from myself.


    By looking into the carpenter¡¯s book, I had also find a way to smelt and refine metal. It wasn¡¯t hard at all.


    Well for a freaking monster like you who¡¯s IQ is more than 8000¡­


    I produced a metal container out of the ore which had really good electric affinity. I experimented with it a little in my hours after training. I was dead after my trainings physically, but my mental strength was left unused, so I just experimented until I found a solution.


    By powering the small container with my thunder magic, I could store it in there, and retrieve it back later. The ore is really amazing since I have yet to find a limit to the amount of thunder magic I can store in it. It¡¯s like a bottomless well.


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    Making such an item, I could store all of the energy I needed for the later use and so I can now sustain gravity and thunder magic in one go. They both use a lot of mana, but I have it a lot stored. Having a monstrous grin on my face I created such a gravitational field that all beasts fell down slamming on the floor. Keeping the field with my right hand, I used my mouth to unbandage my other hand. Oh boy are they in for a shock.


    I powered my left hand with immense electricity and released on the poor helpless beasts in front of me, burning them alive on the spot.


    Vexus was shocked too. He didn¡¯t know I could use thunder magic here. Even if he ruled this realm, but still unable to get out on his own, he didn¡¯t use any other magic than gravitation. Nobody ever visited him here, so he didn¡¯t know other types of magic could be used. I knew though, since I have been testing it a bit when he wasn¡¯t present. I don¡¯t want to even begin imagining what he did back there. Well I can¡¯t deny the fact that he is really bored here sometimes, and that he needs a ¡®breather¡¯ once in a while.


    Anyways, slaying the beasts in front of me, he appeared and the dead things disappeared. He congratulated me¡­


    ¡°Congratulations on passing your first test! You are really gifted my young apprentice.¡± (Vexus)


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡°Your first test¡±? You are still hiding something from me aren¡¯t you?¡± (me)


    ¡°Of course I am, I can¡¯t tell you everything right off the bat, can I? The truth is that this really was your first test, and you¡¯ve passed with shocking colors, literally¡­ These monsters were legendary monsters I used to fight 1000 years ago when I was training. Of course it was nothing for me, but somehow you have killed them faster than I did. Well let¡¯s say that you have cheated right now. Using your thunder magic like that was really sly, but it¡¯s kind of my fault, since I didn¡¯t mention any rules. So since I¡¯m a good guy, I will keep a blind eye and let you pass this time.¡± (Vexus)


    ¡°Now, you will be presented with a little gift. *Drums in the background* Tada! Your very own! GAUNTLET OF THE INVISIBLE FORCE¡± (still Vexus)


    Only one word escaped from my mouth there. ¡°Wow¡±


    ¡°Wow indeed my little apprentice. This gauntlet will be able to amplify your gravity magic by -50%, but that¡¯s not all! If you buy it now you will get¡­ Just kidding, it¡¯s a gift.


    ¡°So it will reduce my power? Why would I accept it???¡± (me)


    ¡°The important thing is that if you accept it now and it accepts you as its user, it will evolve over time. Every time you use gravity magic, it will take 50% of the mana used and it will keep it for itself. By accumulating a large amount it will transform! When it evolves it will be much stronger, I guarantee it.¡± (Vexus)


    ¡°I see, then I will gladly accept it! Thank you for your kind gift.¡±


    ¡°No worries, you will need it more than I do, I¡¯m sure of it. Why would it collect dust here when it could evolve with you?¡± (Vexus)


    And so our dear Skylar got another overpowered gift. LOVELY! WHY CAN¡¯T I GET SOMETHING SO NEAT? >.<


    Not that it would be of any use to me, but still. I wouldn¡¯t mind a free souvenir¡­


    Now that he finally broke through the stagnation process he started training once again, with new vigor and a new acquired item, which is actually useless for him now. Well if he wants to become stronger, he need to train harder. As for Lora, well she has slowly begun regaining her old memories, and with that a lot of spells she used to know. Soon she would be more powerful than Skylar.


    I hope Skylar is still praying for her to not regain that memory of that night. He shouldn¡¯t actually pray now that I think about it. He might get something he would never regret after from her¡­

 Chapter 15: A minor setback

    Enjoy!


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    The end of the 3rd month is just around the corner, and our training is slowly saturating. We have made incredible progress and we are planning on taking a few days of break. We figured that if our training is saturating then we would just need to chill out for couple of days and get back to training. In the meantime, we would visit the city of Light again, to go shopping for new clothes and some other things. Also, I am planning on getting a few more books for smelting and so on.


    ¡°We leave tomorrow morning right?¡± (Lora)


    ¡°Yeah, we will leave as soon as our eyes see the trace of light. Did you think about your shopping list?¡± (me)


    ¡°Yes, I would like to buy new clothes and some potions¡­¡± (Lora)


    ¡°Potions??? Why would you spend your money on potions, when I can make you potions of better quality¡­ You don¡¯t even have the money for better quality than mine.¡± (me)


    ¡°I will acquire the amount of money needed for that potion! Don¡¯t look down on my abilities.¡± (Lora)


    ¡°I¡¯m not! It¡¯s just that I want to help you. What is even the potion you want to buy?¡± (me)


    ¡°Well that¡¯s a secret!¡± she said with a blushing face.


    I am really clueless as to what kind of potion it might be¡­


    Through this one month of hard work, besides training like a maniac, I was creating various types of potions, since I don¡¯t want to forget the process of making them. This mountain is really plentiful so I didn¡¯t have the problem of not finding the right ingredients. I even came across some ingredients which I¡¯ve never seen before.


    It made me curious so I wanted to try them out. By experimentation, I¡¯ve succeeded in making really good potions. The best potion I made out of these new ingredients was the one that could instantly regenerate your whole mana poll. It was really powerful, but I only found the ingredient to make it once, so it was gone. The flower was really rare, even if the other rare ones were just lying around waiting to be picked and made into a good potion.


    I gathered so much herbs that my belt is full of them. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯ve gathered 144 different herbs that of which 100 of them are rare and I only saw them on this mountain. For some of them, I¡¯ve heard the name, but others are really a mystery. I would need to search for the properties in the city library tomorrow.


    Also, since I knew we would need money, I made a lot of those mana containers, but smaller. I was hoping to sell them to a merchant for some money too.


    ~ ~ ~


    ¡°Ah, looks like it¡¯s already morning. Lora, wake up¡± I said as I was stroking my fingers through her beautiful white hair.


    She was slowly opening her eyes while I was already up and at our bathing pond. Of course we would bathe with our undergarments. She was staring at me like she was expecting something. I figured she wanted to get in without me looking at her.


    While on this mountain, we had never bathed together because of our different schedules.


    As expected I couldn¡¯t keep my promise and turned around to see her beautiful body. Luckily she didn¡¯t see me looking at her just now. I would be frozen if I were to be seen. She is now 19 if I¡¯m not mistaken. She was my age when I first met her back then. She really developed luscious curves. My remembering of her godly body, something warm appeared to be in my stomach. Looks like I really fell in love with her¡­


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    When we finished with the morning bath, we left with some fruits in our mouths. We have been eating fruit since we arrived here. Also once or twice we had fish as well. It was hilarious really. I couldn¡¯t catch the god damned fish 2 hours. I didn¡¯t want to use my magic, since I need to practice my reflexes and my precision. Everything was almost a training here and now we had a few days to enjoy ourselves.


    On the way, we enjoyed the morning Sun that was shining with half of its power. The breeze was coming down the mountain and evaporating as soon as it came to the dessert like road to the city. I felt reborn. In these 3 months I haven¡¯t had the chance to enjoy the light breeze nor the warm Sun. I was too occupied¡­


    Unfortunately, looks like I won¡¯t have that chance for too long. Feeling the parched earth shaking, we both looked at each other worriedly. We didn¡¯t know what to expect. On our way to the city, earlier we didn¡¯t encounter any disturbances. We took a guarding stance and awaited for the earthquake to end.


    Too bad it wasn¡¯t an earthquake, but a huge dessert worm, that came out of the ground like a pillar. It covered the Sun almost completely, and I was a bit scared. We hadn¡¯t a plan in this case so we just had to improvise. We were indeed really powerful after our training, but not training together, we didn¡¯t exactly know how to fuse our attacks.


    The worm had really tough scales, and my electro shocks did nothing to it. Lora tried to freeze it, but with the Sun being here, it wasn¡¯t as effective. We were mostly dodging its attacks, but we couldn¡¯t dodge forever. The sand under us, was slowly sinking and we decided to go all out. I¡¯m not sure we could win if we don¡¯t try hard.


    We nodded each other as a sign to try combining our attacks. I quickly tossed her a power potion in order to boost our output and we started attacking. She casted her water on the worm with ice following right after. The worms head froze, and I knew what I needed to do. With my right hand I touched my legs and I became light as a feather. I leapt to the worms head and prepared my most powerful thunder attack. While in air, I concentrated on a single point located on its head. I charged my hands and the dagger in them, and slammed right into the monsters head.


    I was right, and the scales between the monster¡¯s eyes were too soft for the brute force. This attack didn¡¯t kill it though. Predicting something like this could happen I charged my hands again and casted a lightning bolt right at the dagger and it looked like the worm started bleeding from the huge electrical surge.


    It collapsed, rising a lot of sand from the ground. We coughed, but as soon as the sand died down, we could see the worm lying dead on the scorched ground. Realizing our victory we rejoiced and sighed. We were really exhausted after using our entire arsenal.


    Although we had won, we needed to be reminded about other monsters, which were probably lurking around. We needed to be cautious still, so I quickly retrieved my dagger and some scales of it. I also grabbed the eyes that it had as some kind of a reward. We thought about our next plan, and we figured it out. I will drink a small potion of mana regeneration and I would carry Lora to the castle. Since I practiced on using my lightning speed. I applied the ability to my legs and took Lora like a princess.


    I was moving very quickly and at last we saw the huge walls of the city yet again.

 Chapter 16: The aftermaths of a battle

    Im really sorry for this chapter going out so late. I was stopped halfway beacuse of some ''problems''... I''m sorry that this chapter was a little smaller than the others, but hey. You can''t force inspiration after all :p Enjoy! "_"


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    I¡¯ve been almost running with Lora in my hands for half an hour, but already we can see the huge white walls that we once saw. I was at least prepared to use 2 or 3 potions for this, but I didn¡¯t have the right sense of space. We came closer and closer to the gate and we saw no one. We were both surprised at this sight, since the last time there was a bunch of people outside who waited.


    Coming closer and closer, we noticed 2 guard at the front of the gate with their spears. We didn¡¯t really know what the situation was, so we were cautious and came to them with a kind smile. Of course we were just pretending. When we came up to them, we introduced ourselves as some merchants, even though we didn¡¯t resemble ones at all.


    They were eyeing us suspiciously, but they let us pass through the gates. After we got in, the people at the streets were sad and there was a sorrowful atmosphere. It resembled a giant funeral. As for what they were doing, they were picking up bricks and cleaning the streets. We didn¡¯t notice what happened to our surroundings at all. It seemed as this place was a battleground of some monsters. Buildings were half demolished and the colors that were previously here were all dead looking. It was really sad. We hurried to a random person and asked what happened, but she didn¡¯t even look at us.


    ¡°Don¡¯t try asking what happened here. They will only give you a response like that. Or should I say no response at all.¡± A strange person with a brown colored fur jacket came behind us. Then he continued: ¡°My name is Alex, and I came here with the same intention as you two: to make some money selling. When I got here 2 days ago, they were even gloomier. Luckily someone has already told me actually happened here.¡±


    We were looking at him with expecting look as to suggest that he should continue.


    ¡°What? You think I can just tell you stuff without anything in return?¡± He raised his hand at us, expecting some money to be there so that he can continue talking.


    Instead of money, what I gave him, which he accepted with a confused expression on his face, was a potion that was able to make someone go into the state of fear. It was kind of a poison, but I didn¡¯t really find any use for it. I figured he would like to take it.


    ¡°This is a type of poison that would make a person fear everything he sees for a day. It isn¡¯t easy to make and you probably never seen it before, right?¡± (me)


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    ¡°Right¡­ I never heard of such a poison. So, as I was saying, what happened here is that the dessert worms and their king finally came to devour the whole city. Who let them in you might be wondering. Well if it wasn¡¯t for the stupid merchants who desperately were awaiting for them to open the gates. When they finally breached in, they brought in the worms too. They were really smart, those worms. They knew something like that would happen sooner or later, so they awaited the exact moment and used it perfectly.¡± (Alex)


    ¡°The city wasn¡¯t prepared for it at all. There were the guardsmen, but they only had spears and bows to defend against them. Of course they have lost, but when the Earl heard what happened, she herself came and demolished the pitiful worms. They didn¡¯t stand a chance for her incredible magic. Seems like her fire was too hot for the worms. Too bad that she couldn¡¯t finish off the king worm. If she were to finish him, these people would be happier right now. The worms were too smart at the end. They ran and broke the gate that you just passed through.¡± (still Alex)


    ¡°People here all started collaborating to fix the gate as soon as possible, not to give the chance to the worms again. They managed somehow to fix the gates, but everything in the front of the city was in pieces. A lot of people died that day as well. Now everyone is in deep sorrow because of that. Earl went all out that day, so her powers are now really minimal. She is not in a good condition. During the last few days she tried every medicine there is, but none helped. Looks like she will be crippled to the end of her days¡­¡± (you know who¡­)


    ¡°I see, thanks for the brief. We greatly appreciate your cooperation. It¡¯s just that you should all be happy. The reason being that we just killed the worm king!¡± (me)


    ¡°Wait, did you just said that you killed that giant worm?¡± (random guard number 1)


    ¡°You must be joking, you two can¡¯t even harm an ant. How can you possibly kill that giant thing and get away alive?¡± (the guard next to him)


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to believe me, you can just ask these purple eyes that are the size of my palm.¡± (me)


    Everyone looked amazed at the two large eyeballs. They couldn¡¯t believe what they were seeing.


    The people did hear that, but they didn¡¯t feel happiness. They were still sad.


    ¡°It¡¯s great that you managed to slay that giant worm, but you didn¡¯t bring back their loved ones.¡± (Alex)


    ¡°At least they don¡¯t need to worry about it returning.¡± (me)


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Look, if you managed to slay that worm, maybe you could do something about the Earl?¡± (Alex)


    ¡°Hmm, I do have some healing potions, which could maybe help¡­ Alright, lead me to her right away!¡± (me)


    ¡°Follow me then¡­¡± (Alex)

 Chapter 17: The earl of the Light city

    Sorry for the small break that I took. I had to gain some inspiration somewhere. I finally found it and wrote another chapter! Enjoy! :D


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    The merchant named Alex led the way in a hurried fashion so that I could quickly see the condition of the count, which saved the city the other day. All that I knew was that the earl was a powerful mage that had dealt with the worms in a moment¡¯s notice. She must¡¯ve known some powerful spells then probably. We traversed the cobblestone streets that were leading to a large castle type of mansion. My guess was that that mansion was probably the home of the rulers of the city.


    The mansion was really beautiful. It was located on a small hill and was observing the entire city. It had a few keeps, which stood next to the main building. They were built out of stone bricks that were packed very tightly. You could see that no air could be brought in or out so the isolation that it brought was really good. If a wind or a hurricane would barge in the city, it would probably stop when it hits this mansion. Of course the mansion had some windows with colorful glass panes over the gaps. Since this is the city of light, the paintings that were on the glass panes were similar to those of the churches that were nearby.


    I never had the opportunity to see such a beautiful building, so I was in awe. I wonder how long it took to build such a magnificent structure. It was probably built by the work of magic since no one can put bricks close like that. The mansion also had magic protection while other houses in this city didn¡¯t. To protect a mansion requires a lot of high level magic so it seems that this really is the earl¡¯s mansion.


    We were now standing near a huge double door made out of fine wood. The door opened as soon as we came closer to it. We were expected apparently.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Skylar, the earl already knows that we are on the way.¡± (Alex)


    I said nothing, but instead just followed Alex in the mansion. The exterior of the mansion was marvelous, but when we came in, we noticed how the interior was really out of place. The mansion was huge, but it was really humble looking. The floor was made out of wood that couldn¡¯t bare our mass and could only crack under our feet. The main area wasn¡¯t large as we though. There were stairs that were really worn out and in a bad shape.


    It was really unusual to see a sight like this. I had a second thought about this. I couldn¡¯t believe that this was the place where the Earl lived. The exterior and the interior were the complete opposites, almost contradictory of each other. I wondered what had really happened. Why wasn¡¯t it maintained and why did it look like the earl had no money whatsoever. Weren¡¯t they supposed to be richest in the city?


    ¡°The earl is right up these stairs.¡± (Alex)


    He proceeded up the stairs, but I was cautious and didn¡¯t follow, because the stairs would probably break under my feet.


    He successfully climbed the stairs and I followed soon after. We were now inside the room where the earl was living. The room was probably in the worse condition than downstairs. There was a cupboard, a bed, a chair besides the bed, a table and a single window that was showing a beautiful sunny day outside. It was all so weird. We spotted two persons, which were located in this room. First one was the earl, who was currently in his bed. The second was a lady, most likely to be either a daughter or a wife. I figured it couldn¡¯t be the maid because of the poor looking interior.


    ¡°Greetings Earl Thomas, I¡¯ve arrived with the person that could heal you.¡± He then turned to the lady that was sitting on the chair besides the bed. ¡°Greetings my lady Diana.¡±


    ¡°Greetings, my name is Skylar.¡±


    ¡°Hello there boy. I¡¯m sorry that I can¡¯t stand up and welcome you, but I am really exhausted.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, you don¡¯t have to force yourself. You have done a great deed by helping the city of Light.¡± Alex interrupted.


    I started taking out the potions I have prepared for the earl. He looks very weak right now, but this could bring him back on his feet. The earl was actually quite old. His face was filled with wrinkles as he observed me with his eyes that were radiating harmony. You could look at him with certainly knowing he would be a good person. I smiled back to him and told him: ¡°Drink this potion please. It will help you regain your mana faster.


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    He sighed after hearing this because he couldn¡¯t even sit up properly so he insisted I hand the potion to the lady beside him. She was mildly cold and gave the feeling of worriedness when I looked at her. She was somewhat skinny and she looked like she would be the earl¡¯s daughter. She was far too young for the old man to be his wife.


    She took the potion I handed to her and gently helped the earl up. She was really caring and dear to him. After he chugged the azure blue medium sized potion, he felt a power surge through his body. His face was changing expressions so fast.


    ¡°Young man, did you make this potion yourself?¡± (Earl Thomas)


    ¡°Yes, I made it myself. Don¡¯t worry about the cost, it will be free this time.¡± I said because I really didn¡¯t think he could pay me even for the ingredients.


    ¡°Why thank you young man, your potion is really phenomenal. I can feel the energy rushing back into my old bones.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really glad I was able to help. Well if that would be all, I have other things to do now.¡± (me)


    ¡°Wait, I can¡¯t have you leave just yet. I¡¯ve heard that you had defeated the giant worm who attacked us last time. Is it true?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is true. I even have the proof right here in my pocket.¡± I reached for the pocket to grab the two purple eyes that were once in the giant worms¡¯ head.


    The earl looked in amazement. He couldn¡¯t believe that I had killed the worm that he couldn¡¯t finish himself. Of course I had the help of Lora, but I didn¡¯t see the reason to involve her into this. If I would get some kind of a reward, I would gladly share it with her.


    ¡°How in the world did you beat the worm king? He was really strong. I was only able to finish off his underlings, but you really killed him. I remember those demonic purple eyes, which stared right at me in the moment I would unleash my deadliest spell.¡± (Earl Thomas)


    ¡°Well I can¡¯t say it was easy, but I managed to defeat it somehow. I did train a lot so I have some power.¡± (me)


    ¡°Look young fellow, I don¡¯t know how I can repay you. I don¡¯t have any money right now, the reason being my lack for fortune, but I know a place where you could find some things that would suit a fellow like you.¡± (Earl Thomas)


    That sentence really peaked my interest. I¡¯m not sure what it was going to be, or what could I face there, but I bent over so that I can listen to him better.


    ¡°After you leave this city, you need to go southeast across the scorched desert. After 2 days of walking you will be able to notice a river that separates the desert from the forest, which is on the other side. The river has one bridge, so I advise you to find that bridge and cross it like that. Don¡¯t go into the water, because despite its appearance as a river, it is very weird. I heard the stories of people drowning in it, even though they were experienced fisherman, which of course knew how to swim.


    After you cross the river, you will be in the mystic forest and there will be a thick fog probably. In the mystic forest there are powerful beasts which could be stronger than the worm king so I advise you to run if you notice something out of the ordinary. If you maintain a straight path from that bridge into the forest you should arrive, after some time, in front of a cave. When you enter this cave, you should find divine treasures.


    Like every other dungeon there of course is a catch. When you enter the dungeon there should be all sorts of treasures like staves, swords, shields, golden coins, rubies, diamonds¡­ DON¡¯T TOUCH ANY OF THOSE. I¡¯ve been there when I was a youngling like you, and went through the dungeon. The mistake I made was that I touched one of the swords, which looked pretty awesome. It was just an illusion. When I touched it I was teleported to somewhere in the mystic forest. I tried to find the cave once more, but alas it wasn¡¯t meant to be.


    If you don¡¯t make the mistake I made, the dungeon will definitely reward you with something of worth. That is all I know about it and I hope this pays off this potion that I just drank. Good luck¡± (Earl Thomas)


    I was really curious. I¡¯ve never heard of such a place. I¡¯m definitely going there!


    And so he left the mansion and departed from Alex the merchant. He was really eager to leave for the adventure to the dungeon, but he had to do what he already agreed on with Lora¡­ SHOPPING TIME