"Beri Lee."
"Beri Lee." A group of female voices called out. "Hey, nerd. Hurry up and pay up. We don't want to stay around you and contaminate the air."
"I swear her name sounds like barely. Like she can barely pass anything. The lowest of the low."
"Kahahahahaha." The group of girls laughed at their jokes.
I was on the ground, splashed with dirty water in the bathroom. An awful smell of old fish and stale water mixed together with my clothes.
"You assholes." I barely was able to voice my opinion.
"What did you say?" The largest girl out of the group pushed down with her foot on my back, making it impossible for me to get up. "I dare you to say it louder." She hissed.
The pain of her crushing foot made it difficult to breathe. Looking around, I glared at her evilly. With all my strength, I pushed up, but her weight was so heavy that it made it difficult to even move.
"You dirtbag. What are you doing? Are you trying to get up?" A sharp kick was shot towards my guts, and I felt a sudden pounding pain.
"Ugh." Coughing up bile from my throat. I was disgusted by my weak self. I tried to fight for what was right and help someone that was in trouble, but I ended up being used as bait and thrown away for the person I tried to save.
I was foolish to try to play the hero, but I felt it was the right thing to do. Damn it, it was stupid of me to jump in without thinking of a single plan.
No. What I did was right, even though it was foolish to act. Holding my stomach, I gritted my teeth to bear the pain and instead tried my best to blow it off.
"Gahaha. Did you see that? She made a funny face." A beautiful girl with blonde hair reached over and pulled up hard on my hair. "I remember you."
She sneered at the pain that I was giving. "You have that good looking boyfriend. I don't understand how someone as ugly as you got him. Did you use your body to persuade him? Doesn't matter; I'll be his replacement girlfriend soon anyways."
Kane? Hell no. She was not going to touch my boyfriend. I spat in her face.
A shock overwhelmed my senses from the yanking of my short hair and made me tear up. Their vicious attack started as they clawed and jabbed at my face and body. The pain was intense, but even still, I held on. Like a snake, I whipped towards the girl's neck with a palm fist, making her choke. They let go.
Ducking downwards, I jumped in-between the two girls that were reeling up to pummel me once again. They crashed into another and swung. Their fist made contact with each other, temporarily knocking each other into a daze.
This was not the time to fight, but to escape. I am no hero, and I had escaped. My job was done.
I ran out of the bathroom and into the street. The bright city lights dazzled my senses, making it difficult to temporarily see. My heart was thumping so hard it was making it very difficult to run. This wretched asthma. I pulled out an inhaler. Shakily pulling it up to my mouth, I took a couple of whiffs.
"Get that bitch!" The large girl shouted, and she ran forward, boiling with anger.
The other girls sprinted after me and were catching up quickly. I zigzagged between buildings as I tried to lose them, but my asthma was not helping me in the slightest. There was no way out of it, and I needed to rest. Stopping for a brief moment to catch my breath, I felt a sudden push from behind.
"Gotcha, you bitch!"
I turned around too late, and instead, I faltered backward.
"Beeeeeeeeeeep!"
Bright white lights were seen off in the distance. Damn. I don't want to die. An explosion of momentary pain could be felt and then complete blackness. Was I dead? I couldn't move and instead embraced the darkness. Floating in the void, I heard a female's voice.
"Hey. Hey. Hey. If you move like this, you're not going to be fully healed. Calm down pipsqueak. I'll take care of you for sure." A woman's voice called out towards me.
Who? I could barely open my eyes, and I saw a silhouette of a female wearing a white dress tower over me. I couldn't see the bright light.
"Don't worry. Don't worry. You're going to have fun where I'm going to take you. I saw how you stood up to those bullies, that was a nice shot to the throat." She giggled. "I kept your body as it is with some minor adjustments. You'll be back to your younger self. Let's say sixteen. Yea that should be fine. Your world and our world will be converging very soon, so I need you to....."
I could not hear the rest. Sleep overpowered my senses and instead brought bliss.
#####
With a bolt, I got up sweating. What the hell was that? Was that my past life, or is it my present? All the old memories rushed back in my head. I have never had such intense dreams since I got here till now.
Squish. Huh? I look around, confused. My eyes were bleary from waking up, and on my left hand, I felt a soft cushiony bed.
I'm in bed? When did I even get here? My right hand was wrapped around a hand. Glancing quickly towards the right, Phil was sleeping comfortably next to me. His dishevel face and natural clean skin staring back at me in blissful sleep.
Why this cheeky little brat! With a swift kick, I kick him off the bed. Thud!
"Gah!" Phil screamed. He rolled over and got up from the ground fuming in anger. "Why did you do that?"
"What do you mean, why?!"
"You're the one who would not let go of my hands." He glared.
"Me?" I gave him the innocent eyes as if I didn't know what he was talking about. I should've known I was too quick to judge, but I have never had a guy sleep in the same bed with me before. This was indeed a shocking moment in my life, what was worse was that I supposedly kept him from leaving. Was this what you call animal instinct taking over one's body? I gasped.
"I'm not contaminated, am I?" I sob quietly.
"You make it sound like I have some kind of disease."
"But, but we slept in the same bed." I cried out in distress. "Something bad happens."
Phil gave out a sigh. "Look. I don't touch little girls. You were the one that would not let go."
"I was?" I looked at him innocently.
"Don't give me that look." He fumed. "You seem uncomfortable in the library, so I came and picked you up to bring you to your room. I was nice for once, and this is how you repay me?"
"I am sorry." I gave him the teehee look of embarrassment and bowed for forgiveness. "It was just a startled reaction. I promise I won't do it again." I knew when I was wrong, and I was embarrassed to even lift up my head.
Phil gave up on whatever he was going to say next. "Just go to bed instead of sleeping uncomfortably, or you are going to catch a cold.
"I will."
With that being over and done with, we both quickly grabbed a bite to eat. I once again headed towards the library. I sat down and opened the first book. It was the history of the world of Torren.
In the beginning, six famous intellectual races occupied the land of Torren that was created by the God of this world. They were Dwarves, Elves, Orcs, Beast men, Divine, and Humans. These six races never saw eye-to-eye and, instead, disputed among each other through war. Their constant bickering with each other caused hundreds of thousands to die. Finally, the gathering of darkness pulled from all races created six unique monsters to control and quell the population's savage blood lust.
They were the Leviathan, the Black Gryphon, Phoenix, Dragon, Hydra, and the Titan. Each monster was created solely for the purpose to control, destroy, and recreate new cities, and even empires.
The first of the creature that was born was the Leviathan. It's power caused tsunamis and hurricanes and even made the land shake and quiver in fear from its presence. Lands were swallowed, cities were swept underwater until half of the area was submerged. It wasn't until a hero from the Divine race, Tokeum, took up the challenge to slay the great sea serpent. They clashed for forty days and forty nights until finally, the Hero Tokeum slew the giant beast. He reclaimed his people's land and brought together the people of his race under the banner of the Kingdom of Leviathan.
The next to come forth after a thousand years has passed was the Hydra. A monster known to sprout out countless amounts of heads if one were sliced off. The acid spray was known to instantly go through flesh and bone. Death followed wherever it sprayed into the clouds. A brave Elven Hero, Legali, was the next to take up the challenge and slew the mighty beast. They, too, wanted a profitable land that they could call home, where green flourished and thrived. The Divine People took the best of the best, and the Elven took the second. Kingdom of the Leviathan was the next kingdom to be brought under one banner.
The Dwarves did not like the Divine and the Elven people taking down the legendary beast, so they waited patiently until the next legendary creature was born a thousand years later. Once again, a new mythical creature, a phoenix, sprung forth from the fiery depth of the volcano where the Dwarves mined their gold and crystals. Its fiery flames and devastating power decimated their homes and wealth. It took three Dwarven Heroes Doron, Guthur, and Bimbar to quench out the burning flames. From their victory, they took over the mountains and brought together the new Kingdom of Phoenix, ruled by three Hero kings.
Next was the Black Dragon that came from the fiery depths of hell. It was the last monster to be created from the abyss. It destroyed countless cities, burned down kingdoms, summoned thousands of undead creatures, and even decimated all six of the populations to the brink of extinction until finally the first six human heroes Kyron, Dena, Abagail, Rose, Sol, and Queen had the power to stand against the black dragon. With their skills and might, they slew the dragon. On the day the dragon died, the human Heros each divided the land they had conquered. It took another five hundred years until one king brought all his people together and created the Kingdom of Dragon. For the next five hundred years, peace resumed.
Until once again, the different races began to quarrel. When the passing of the first thousand years passed, the next creature was the Black Gryphon. The Black Gryphon first appeared from the sky on the night of the full moon. Its screeches would drive any animals and beast kin alike into a torrent of rage and anger. It took tremendous effort for the beast-kin to stand up against the Black Gryphon, and only the most savage and brutal Beast-kin was able to battle one-on-one. It only took one Hero, Silver, to slay the Black Gryphon. Under the banner of the Kingdom of Black Gryphon, the beast-kin population once again stabilized.
The final and last creature that was born was the Titan. Its power was considered astronomical for a creature that was considered the smallest out of all the legendary creatures. One knew when a titan was coming from the awful stench of its body odor that it would emit. The slightest hint of its smell could paralyze and even kill a weak animal in seconds. Two Orc Heroes, Bo, and Ko challenged the Titan and won, for they were the only race that could ignore the awful stench that is emitted. The orcs were the type to live separately, but still, they killed the Titan, they were able to come to a consensus to create the Kingdom of Titans.
With the cycle completed, every six thousand years, the six legendary creatures would begin anew. New heroes are born and killed from the ongoing struggle for life.
I closed the book, satisfied at learning the history of Torren.
For weeks, my habit of staying cooped up in one place until I finished my task took over. I scoured and tore through the books that were in the library and quickly learned the necessary information about this kingdom's history.
What I did notice was that war rarely happened in the Kingdom of Leviathan, and the Kingdom of Hydra. Both races were considered a very peaceful race, but the Divine race was considered the strongest out of all the six species. The most heavily warring Kingdoms that always shifted its territories were the Beast-kin, Humans, and the Orcs. New Kings appeared and fell, but the boundaries of the six Kingdoms did not change.
Not a single book in the Duke Hon's Library had any information about magic. I was extremely disappointed because I was looking forward to learning how to use magic properly.
"Berry?" Phil's voice rang out as he knocked on the side of the door. I looked up, wondering what he wanted. "Do you want to go out and explore the town? You've been cooped up in here for three weeks now."
"That actually might not be a bad idea, though I haven't totally been cooped up in here. I did help out a bit with some maid work around the mansion every day." I got up and stretched. "Would there be a bank nearby?"
"Bank?"
I should have known, using modern terms was my ignorance. "I mean a place to change currency to the current ones."
"Yes, we do have something like. Follow me, my grandfather should be able to give you the currency that you need."
"Thanks." I quietly followed behind Phil and ended up back in the room where I met Duke Hons. He was still bent over underneath the sunlight doing paperwork.
Duke Hons looked up. "Welcome little lady and Phil. I am surprised that you have stopped by. I heard you were at the family library this whole time."
"Well, yes." I stared back in the same intensive gaze that Duke Hons was giving me.
"What is it that you need?"
"I'm wondering if you could exchange one of my Ancient Draconian coins for the current currency here."
"You have another one?"
"Yes, I was just saving it for later."
"Ah, I see. Then I am assuming that you still do not want to work?"
"Absolutely not, I just wanted to have a variety of different currencies at my disposal. I realized that it might be a bit dangerous to hand out Ancient Draconian Coins to the locals."
"That is true. You are quite cautious."
"No, sir. I am just lucky that I was able to meet you, who was kind enough to tell me how expensive Ancient Draconian Coins are."
"You have quite a way with words."
"Not at all." I humbly replied. It was just an unconscious answer.
"Well then..." Duke Hon rummaged through his drawers. "I had a hunch you would be coming back to me, so I have already prepared it ahead." A large sack of coins was brought out and placed on the table.
"In it are two gold, 50 silvers, and 100 coppers."
I rummaged through my pocket and handed him one Draconian coin.
"Thank you."
"Remember this one gold equals fifty silvers while one silver equals one hundred coppers."
"That's pretty simple."
I took the bag on hand and put it into my pocket. I could feel the weight of the bag in my pocket.
"Where would you be going today?"
"Um..."
"We're going out to the town for a little. Thought it would be a good chance to show her around."
"That's a splendid idea. Well, then, I hope you enjoy what you see."
"I will." I bowed and left with Phil.
Rummaging through the new coins, I picked out one copper, one silver, and one gold. I could feel the unusual tug in my guts telling me to eat all three of them. I took a bite out of the copper coin first. What the hell, it tastes kind of bland. There was a bit of sweetness, but it did not compare to what I usually ate.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"I should've known." Phil shook his head in defeat.
"What?" I ate the silver coin next. Ohhhhhhh~ this one has an entirely different taste. It was mixed with a bit of tanginess and sweetness, all combined in one. It was not bad.
"You're just eating the currency as if it's a snack."
"It's food to me." I shrugged. Finally, coming to the gold, I stopped and stared. With a sniff, I smelled an unusually licorice-like smell. Here I thought it would feel like money, but for some reason, it didn't. I popped it into my mouth.
Crunch. Crunch. Gulp.
My mouth watered, and I gave off a blissful sigh. Another great taste, though it did not compare to the Draconian coin, it did give a whole different flavor. It reminded me of licorice, while the Draconian coin did have a similar taste close to an apple with a mix of a strawberry. Maybe that was why apples seemed to curve my appetite a bit for gold.
"Don't you get sick from eating that?"
"No. My mouth has a natural disinfectant ability that completely melts the gold turning it into a liquid. No virus or bacteria can survive in my mouth."
"Virus? Bacteria?"
"I shouldn't have said that. Now I've got to explain it, don't I?"
Phil gave me a look that said to explain.
"Let's see, in a straightforward term, they are small invisible creatures. They are trillions of them around the world, and they are the gift and a curse to this world. They become food for the smaller species of creatures and plants, or they're invasive species that could cause you sickness. To stay healthy, I suggest washing your hands and taking baths more often. While many even live on your body."
"What? Isn't that dangerous, and what are you talking about?" Phil looked around himself, bewildered.
"Look, you're fine. It's modern science."
"Modern science?"
"Okay, let's just stop here. If I go into it any deeper, it's going to take days. Instead, I'll give you some books for you to read later down the line and you can learn from that. I'm not great at explaining things."
"I would like to understand more of these so-called little creatures."
I couldn't help myself but chuckled at his reaction. Phil was not a dumb person, in reality, he was highly intelligent and caught onto things pretty quickly. When compared to my memorization, he was pretty high up there. I didn't know how his mind worked, but I knew for a fact that Phil was a quick learner, astute, and conniving. Well, I say conniving because he is a demon lord.
"I would look forward to this so-called book you are talking about."
I would gladly share the knowledge, but the problem was that those books were back at the castle. I wonder if he would be able to understand it when he reads it. I shrugged it off. That was another problem to figure out later. Right now, I'm going out to enjoy the day.
The town wasn't too far. We took the carriage and stopped in the middle of the town square. It wasn't like what I expected. No clean streets, or beautiful looking houses, but more on the line of dirty, stinky, and battered looking. To my sensitive nose, it made me slightly sick in the stomach.
"Are you alright?"
"I-"
"You look pale. Why don't you sit down?"
I raised my hands. No way in hell am I going to sit down on the dirt where it looks like the horse took a dump on.
"Let's just go to the nearest store, please."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." I hope that the other city or town squares weren't as dirty as this place. I am ashamed now that I am comparing this world's sanitation to the world on Earth. There is just a huge difference.
Phil took me to the first shop, a rickety run-down herbal store. The smell of the wide variety of herbs was so strong that it drowned out the smell of the sewage outside.
"Welcome." An old lady called out with a smile.
I nodded in acknowledgment and went around looking at the variety of exciting things.
The inside of the herbal shop was quite fascinating. From left to right, there were a variety of plants that I had never seen before. Colorful and even strange to the point if it was dangerous. What was more fascinating was that there were rock collections that ranged through an array of different colors.
"Rocks?" I asked, piqued by the strange collection of rocks.
"They're not rocks."
"Then, what are they?"
"Magic stones."
"Magic stones?" I asked awed. "What are they doing here in the herbal shop? Aren't these like rare?"
"Well...."
"Young lady, you have quite the eye." The old lady from the counter spoke. "Those magic stones are one of a kind. Taken from the core of the magical monsters or are found and mined in high-density magical areas, which turns the common rocks into magic stone. They are used for a wide variety of things."
"Really? Like what?" I was fascinated by the rough texture of the stone.
"Magic."
"Please stop. You know as well as I that the output of these magic stones is only small. It is called a useless trinket for a reason." Phil spoke, cutting the old lady off.
I was confused, "Wasn't that the purpose of using the magic stone?"
"Well, no. The monster's magic stones are useless, the common magic stones as well. They output a large amount of energy and dissipates before one could even use it for practical use. It's considered a novelty or a trinket for collectors. Though what the magicians use are the actual Magic crystals that are found deep underground in the land of Torren. Those are much harder to find."
I scrutinized it and felt a warm pulse. I couldn't help but cup the stone with interest. Thinking it over, I remembered the strange ability that I had. Programmer, was it? There was nothing wrong with trying it out.
"I'll buy all the Magic Stones, please."
Alarmed, Phil spoke. "Weren't you listening to me?"
"Yes," I spoke. This was a trial and error that I definitely wanted to try. Who knows what would happen. "How much would that be?" I turned around towards the old lady.
The old lady was staring at me in delight. "32 silver and 56 copper."
I rummaged through my pocket and counted out the coins. I pushed it towards the old lady.
"Thank you for your business. I was wondering when I would finally get rid of the crystals. I believe that I should give you this." The old lady pulled out a box that looked like a wooden jewelry box. "This is an enchanted box, you can store a large number of magic stones in this."
Ecstatic, I picked it up. On the wooden frame, I could see small markings of letters that I did not understand.
"I'll give this to you for free because you have bought all my magic stones. Young miss, I don't know what you are going to do with those magic stones, but I hope you succeed in whatever you are thinking about."
"How did you know?" I asked, giving her a suspicious look.
The old lady chuckled. "It's the eyes. You seemed to radiate when you had an idea just a moment ago."
"Was I that obvious?" I blushed.
"Yes. It seems like your brother thinks you're quite a handful. His disapproving look tells me so."
"My brother? Ah." Turning towards Phil, I understood what the old lady meant. Yep, she got that right. His eyebrows were knitted, and he let out quite a lot of sighs. "Well, you'll just have to deal with it, won't you, brother?" I snickered.
Phil gave up and shrugged.
"There are 350 different Common magic stones and 100 Monster Magic Stones in the box. You can go over to the shelf and take the rest."
"Thanks a lot." I happily smiled and literally skipped over to the magic stones on the shelf. I grabbed them off the shelf and dropped them into the wooden box. It disappeared magically into a space that I could not see unless I put my hands in it.
With the task done, I left the store delighted.
"What are you going to do with all that magic stone?" asked Phill.
"You want to know?" I mischievously smiled. Already, I caught him in his curious gaze, but he looked away.
"Do I really want to?"
"Nope."
"Then, don't answer."
"Will do." I whistled.
We continued touring through the different shops. From the general stores, alchemist shops, the armor and weapon store. In each shop, I bought more of the Magic stones and stored them away. The only other things that I purchased were more books about magic.
"Here," Phil gave me some kind of sweet bread.
I took it gratefully and bit into it. The soft, gooey texture of a wet apple-like surface erupted into my mouth. Apple pie! Heaven! Eating it slowly, I savored all the exquisite pieces and the excellent taste.
"That was delicious. Thanks."
"I'm surprised that you like it that much."
"It's an apple. Who wouldn't?"
Phil coughed and looked away.
He doesn't like apples? Sacrilege! To say no to the sweet juicy taste of ripe, an apple could be considered a blasphemy act to all apple lovers! I must train him! Wait, what the heck am I thinking about? To train a demon lord, no, better yet it would be torture the demon lord, wouldn't it? An idea struck my mind. Torture. I diabolically chuckled. My mind spun into many different ways to torture him with apples.
"You're doing that creepy laugh again." Phil took a couple of steps back.
"Hmm? I am?" I tried my best to straighten my face back to its usually happy-go-lucky smile but failed miserably. I could feel the edge of my lips, turning into an upward curl. Wretched smile! Don't give it away.
"I don't know what you are thinking about, but I'm going to stay a bit further away from you for a while."
"Go ahead."
We continued on throughout the town square. I saw many exciting things, the busy life of the people, and even a few small magic shows done by actual magicians. With our tour over, we headed back towards the mansion.
"Do you have any place where I can work without being disturbed?"
"Yes, why?"
"I want to do some experimenting."
"For some reason, that sounds dangerous."
"It might be."
"I do have a place that I used to work in when I was a kid."
"Really?"
"Yes, I can lend it to you."
Excited, I followed him off the carriage and through the mansion. We ended up behind where a small hidden shack was located.
"Here."
"Not bad." I looked around, quite pleased with the ample open space, even though the shack looked small on the outside. There were tiny little trinkets here and there and an old table with a crooked chair.
"What are you planning to do?" Phil took a moment to look at me quizzically.
"When I succeed, I'll show you."
"That doesn't sound reassuring." He crossed his arms.
"We'll see." I pulled out the box of magic stones and books and set it on the floor. "Do you, by any chance, understand the concept of magic? It's been a little difficult finding books on it."
"Of course, you won't find much on it. I told you before, the nobles keep a tight rein on such knowledge. I was taught when I was young."
"Why didn't I just ask you in the beginning," I grumbled. I should have known. It just slipped my mind.
"Can you explain it to me on how to use it?"
Phil pulled up a wooden chair that was leaning against the wall. "Well, magic is abundant in the world of Torren. Every creature has a little bit of magic running through their body. Some species have more while monsters are known to be made purely of magic. Monsters bring out their magic by using their magic stones, while humans actually need a source of conductivity to use the magic around them."
"For example, I have to use a wand. Humans usually only have a small amount of magic in them, but they are rare instances where they are born a lot like monsters. Humans have developed a different way of fighting using skill arts, where it merges combat and the little amount of magic that they have in themselves. Though to become a pure magician, one needs to go through the Magician Academy to become certified."
"So, how do I draw it out of me?"
"You have to imagine and feel it from your guts. It's like a sixth sense."
"I see." I crossed my arms, sitting down in a lotus position. That would make sense on how I was able to use a metal manipulator on the treasure chest.
"Though you need to be careful about using one's own source of magic. It can become detrimental if you use it to the point where you kill yourself. Everyone has a limit, you need to make sure to know where yours is."
Thanks for the advice." I got comfortable. "Do you, by any chance, have ink and quill or a knife around here?"
"Yes."
"May I borrow it for a bit?"
Phil looked around the room and found what I needed. He handed it to me without question and sat back down. Breathing in deeply, I closed my eyes. Instead, I once again look through my status window that always appears when I think about it.
Name: Berry Drakel
Title: Greedy Gaming Dragon
Race: Dragon
Blessings: Blessing of the Ancient Dragon, Double Trouble, Great Sage, Curse of the Dragons
Abilities: Transform, Magic absorption, Metal Manipulator. Ice and Fire Magic. Coder.
Where is that skill that I wanted to try out...Found it. Coder.
"How do I even use this skill?" I mumbled to myself. "Maybe I should try activating the word itself?"
I felt the energy in me. Thinking of the word Coder. A rush of heat swept over me. Opening my eyes, I saw many different names and symbols in front of me like a transparent screen. The common magic stone was glowing blue in my left hand as the screen danced around it.
"What is that?" Phil asked startled. He leaned over and saw the screen and the magic stone glow.
Welcome to Origin. To start, one needs to draw a circle with a line in the middle. From there, please connect the wires to the alphabet of choice to inscribe the words that you desire. To end the code, please put a period and a line reconnecting back to the circle.
Origin? I look a bit confused. Was it a type of magic or just a name? Whatever, let's just try to figure this out.
"What language is that? What skill did you use?"
"It's called Coder. You can't read it?" I tilted my head confused.
"No. It's neither elven or human language, nor did I ever heard of that before. Are you sure you're an elf?"
"Well… It's my country's language, I guess. Here, I'll quickly show you if you hand me something to write on."
Phil grabbed an old parchment lying on the table and gave it to me. When I wrote the first letter of the alphabet that I know of, I saw it morph into a message that I've never seen before in my entire life. What the heck just happened? I could still read the same lettering of the words, and I understand it perfectly, but the font changed on parchment? Was it because I was using a whole different language, and it was translating it on paper to the correct way the world sees it?
My head was hurting. Nevermind, I'll just write the alphabets down for him. Jotting it down, I quickly went over with him. It didn't take long for him to catch on, and he nodded in understanding.
With that over and done with, the magic display was still floating over the magic stone. Bringing up the pen, I dipped it into the ink. The moment the pen made contact with the stone, a small electric spark went off, causing me to reel back in surprise.
"What was that?"
"I'm not sure, but I can see that you are embedding your magic into the stone. I don't think you would even need the ink at all for this."
"Really? That's even better." With my resolution resolved, I drew a circle with a line in the middle. The screen changed to the embedded picture magnifying what I was doing. What word should I test out?
Explode? Was that even a good idea?
Without thinking much of it, I drew a line and the connected alphabet word of Explode. After that, I placed a period at the end and drew a path back to the circle. The screen disappeared, and the magic stone glowed hot red. Out of surprise, I dropped it onto the floor, and a small scale explosion insured, causing me to be pushed back hard onto the wall. Even Phil was thrown back from the blast.
I groaned. What the hell did I just do? My naivety caused a small scale bomb that left burns on my body.
"What did you just do? That was equivalent to a beginner level fireball." Phil's eyes crinkled with a grave expression.
"I'm not quite sure."
"Not sure? That's even worse. I'm glad that was only a level E magic stone. I would be afraid of what would happen if it was an S class magic stone, in which case that could have easily been 10x worse, and we could have died."
Alarmed, I was glad that I pulled a low level magic stone. How was I supposed even to know what level magic stones I even pulled out? I looked back into the wooden box; on the inside were specified numbers of magic stone left gently glowing in white.
I felt stupid. It wouldn't make sense if the magic container didn't have some kind of indication. They were 3 S class magic stones, 50 A, 150 B, 240 C, 360 D, and 1023 E. To be on the safe side, all new experiments from now on would be made with the E class. I seriously did not want to die. Maybe I can even set up some kind of force field if I learn how too. That gave me an idea.
Reaching into the magic wooden box, I pulled out a level E stone that was blue. Once again, I sat down and repeated the same process, but this time wrote 'Barrier.' The stone glowed blue, and a small blue forcefield appeared around me.
"A forcefield?" Phil touched the blue barrier, and he could not get through. For the next minute, the force field continually outputted the full energy force of constant magic until the stone became dull. The blue barrier faded and disappeared. "That's quite extraordinary. I have never seen the magic stone do that before."
I was giddy with excitement. Now I was curious if I could write more words onto the stone itself. Picking out another E level stone that was red, this time, I wrote '5-second barrier interval.' With the words finished, the barrier turned blue. It did the same thing and turned on and off every five seconds until the energy was depleted. My eyes sparkled with excitement with the discovery in hand.
This told me one thing that I could write commands on the magic stones to do specific things; the problem was the regulation of output of the stone itself. Even numbers could be written without a problem, so did that mean symbols could be used as well?
I dived into this problem and added a percentage of constant output. The barrier strength was at 30%, and it lasted for another extra three minutes. I was ecstatic. This was a fascinating way to use the magic stone. Now with a goal in mind, I had a specific idea that I wanted to create, and it was a light source that I could turn on and off.
Working with the magic stones, I noticed many different colors of stones, each with their properties and strength. It took me a bit of time to find out that the only stone that could emit light was the white-colored magic stone. For hours, I played around with words, letters, and symbols and found the right combination to keep the light going on for a couple of hours though the problem at hand was that depletion of energy.
Throughout the whole time, Phil was watching without saying a single word. He was so enamored by the strange use of the magic stones that he even gave a couple of valuable inputs.
"Berry."
"Yes?" I temporarily stopped what I was doing.
"I would like to use my first favor."
I froze. Crap.
"Teach me how to read, write your language, and do what you are doing."
"Now?"
"Anytime, in exchange, I will teach you how to defend yourself."
Defend myself, that was a valuable life lesson in this world. Security was pretty lenient, which could cause some severe problems.
"Okay." I was glad this was not too drastic. Working by myself on this was a slow process. On the other hand, having help could be beneficial. "How about this. I'll do my job during the morning, practice for a while, and then come here to learn how to read and write while I do some experimenting."
"Deal."
I continued on a bit longer until I felt utterly drained. I did not expect such a sudden backlash from using my magic for so long. I wondered if the feeling of being drained would increase depending on the magic stone level. It was a theory I needed to try out until I understood a bit more about the principal of the coding system.
With that, our life became busy and exciting. For the next couple of months, the routine that we scheduled was done in the order that I had suggested. My life was a bliss tackling an interesting puzzle that challenged my mind, eating, and working out. Phil, on the other hand, memorized the alphabet, symbols, and numbers. He could even write small sentences. He learned extraordinarily quickly, soaking everything like a sponge.
I let him do the writing of the words on parchment. It was turning into a thick book. His notes were immaculate and neat. I was glad that I remembered the rules of grammar. He wrote that in an entirely different parchment. It turned into his first volume that has been translated into his people's language.
"Finally," I leaned backward onto my hand. I solved the mystery of the depletion of energy from the crystal itself. "The answer was right there."
Phil curiously looked at me, waiting for my answer.
"Bringing magic back into the stone. The stone can not do two actions at 100%. Instead, it has to be divided into two from the 100%. By coding for the natural speed of revitalizing the magic to increase by a certain amount, the stone can do multiple actions at the same time. This solves the extension of the magic to be extended, though one still needs to be careful of depletion."
"So the problem is that going 100% is out of the question when it's divided into multiple tasks."
"Correct."
"Though the problem lies with the Common Magic Stone and Monster Magic Stone. I can't use the Monster Magic Stones for everyday use. It rejects and erases everything I have written. Only the Common Magic Stone works fine."
I held up the clear Common Magic stone in hand, already the written words on the stone itself look like the wiring of the motherboard in a computer. I placed it on the ground. Clapping it once, the light from the magic stone illuminated at 30%. Clapping it twice, it turned off, making the room turned dark.
"Kuhuhuuhuhuhu." I chuckled, pleased at myself. I reached over towards the premade watch lamp that I designed. It was a simple lamp with a hood covering over the copper wire where the magic stone would be placed. No more would I ever have to use a candle to light up the night.
Reaching over towards the magic stone, I placed it on the monumental spot. Today was a breakthrough achievement.
The number of different lamps and light fixtures I could make and sell. The amount of gold I could accumulate to satisfy this obnoxious hunger. I sighed with bliss. My mind was buzzing with excitement.
"Let's start a business," I spoke. "Together."I grabbed his hand in excitement.
"You want me to become a merchant?"
"Why me?" Phil was a bit skeptical about the offer.
"Why not you? I look like a kid. Do you think anyone would want to do business with me looking like this? Plus, you know the economy of this world. I don't."
"Well, you are right on that level."
"Mhmm, though, I would like to go into an actual written contract with you."
"I'm okay with that."
I nodded, satisfied. Then it struck me; I was so greedy that I forgot I just made a bargain with the future demon lord. Gah! I just can't take back my words. If I'm not careful, he might kill me later in my life. I need to rethink this over. Wait for a contract. Yes, that was what I was going to do. Instead, I should write a couple of extra lines saying, don't kill me. The name gaming greedy dragon truly fits me now.