"I'm here for my plate." Max walked to the counter. Liz put a silver plate on the table.
"I congratulate you on becoming a silver rank adventurer. Pick whatever job you want from the board. You can't take jobs that are two ranks above you. Your limit is gold." Liz explained while pointing at the board. The quest board was just a wooden square on the wall. That had pinned papers on it. Max walked toward it, and looked through quests.
"Hunt wolves in the forest, reward 5 silvers. Bring purple snake eggs, 1 silver per egg..." Max read through, all the quests for his rank and gold rank. Finally, he took one of it, and put it in front of the Liz. She looked through it, and looked deeply into Max eyes.
"Are you sure? Even for gold rank quests, it's extremely difficult." Liz asked.
"I'm sure." Liz sighed.
"You know that we aren't responsible if you die during that quest?" Liz tried to convince Max.
"I understand that, and I want this quest." Max didn't change his mind. Liz just took the paper and registered it on Max name.
"If you fail the quest, you need to pay 5 gold coins." Max nodded and exited the adventure guild. He headed towards the forest.
....
"Stone bears, should be somewhere around here." Max hid on the tree. Quest he took is to kill and bring, hearts of stone bears. They were powerful opponents, for people who aren't knights or mages. Max could fight them head on, but it would be stupid, when he can just create traps. First, he started to dig a big hole in the ground. It took him some time, but he was able to dig the hole with diameter of 1m and deep for 3m. He started to plant into the ground, spikes made from metal, that he bought using money. Max also took a bottle and poured its contents on the spikes.
After that, Max created cover using branches that were laying on the ground.
"It is enough to support small animals, the stone bear will fall through it in a few seconds." Max then searched for the stone bear. It took him a few minutes to find one. The bear had dark brown fur, and stone covering its body, like an armour. Stone bear isn't much stronger compared to average bear, but its durability is a problem. Max throw the stone at it to draw it attention. It started to growl, but didn't run towards Max.
"Just the stone will not be enough to make bear chasing me." Max said, and throw a dagger towards bear eye. Eyes, paws and other places weren't covered, by the stone. They are most exploited weaknesses against stone bear. Another weakness, is how slow the stone bear is.
"Growl!" The bear started to growl in pain, when the dagger stabbed his eye. The dagger felt down, but the eye was permanently damaged. Bear looked at Max with an eye full of hate, and started to run towards him. Max led the bear towards the pit. Max run through the cover, because he didn't want to alarm bear. He then stood still, and acted as if he was out of breath.
"Growl!" Bear was excited, that its prey was already out of breath, and walked towards Max, but then it felt into the pit. The spikes penetrated it paws, and joints. Max waited. A few minutes later, the bear stopped moving.
"Poison took some time." Max jumped into the pit, and cut open the bear chest, and took out a stone bear heart. "One gone, I need two more" He jumped from the pit, and prepared the trap again, in a different place.
....
"Oh, look who's there? Aura? A person who can't create a magic circle or aura ring? How pathetic. She is a disgrace of her family." Young girl, mocked Aura. Aura, on another hand, just quietly endured it. The girl wasn't happy that aura didn't react. And tried once again.
"What, you lost your hearing? It's the best for you to just drop out, or go to civilian path, but I don't think they would even want someone like you." Aura didn't respond, and the girl went to her another victim. After the lessons ended, Aura went to her room in the academy dormitory. She started to meditate, but very soon she started to caught a blood, after that she started to cry.
"Why can't I, create circle or ring. I am disgrace. She is right, I can't do anything." Aura looked in a mirror she had in her room. Her short blonde hair were in a mess, and her red eyes were wet from tears. She took a chair in her room, and throw it at the mirror, which upon the hit shattered. She took a piece of glass.
"I'm sorry father, mother. Your daughter is a disgrace, I will leave that world to not bring any more shame." When she touched her skin with a glass shard, she found everything around her became black.
"Do you want to become stronger?" She heard a voice. She looked around, but couldn't find anything.
"You will not find me, I will ask you again. Do you want to become stronger?" She couldn't tell the gender of the voice, but the voice calmed her down. She clenched her hands, and looked deep into the abyss.
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"I want to become stronger. I will do anything you want." When Aura replied, she felt that some energy surrounded her body.
"Good. I will give you opportunity to become much stronger, but remember everything have a price. I will engrave a spell on your soul, it's your last chance to refuse, after that there is no coming back." Voice warned Aura.
"I understand. I, Aura from the clan of magic and sword, pledge my loyalty to you." After that, she felt some powerful energy entering her body, and when it finished, she found herself back in her room. She stood up. Aura didn't feel any change.
"How stupid of me. How could someone give me an opportunity." She mocked herself, but then she felt that something is strange about her heart. She started to meditate, and moments later she felt that some strange informations are entering her mind. Few moments later she opened her eyes.
"No, it can't be! It's impossible?! How?!"
...
"Young master, you can't go there alone. If you fall, your bones will break." The maid pleaded with her young master.
"Fine, I will not go." He agreed. The maid bowed and exited the room. When he was alone, he threw a pen towards the wall.
"Why I was born with such weak body." He lamented. His mother forbid him from going outside without protection. 'Benjamin, your body is fragile. I'm worried about you.'
"If only father didn't die." Benjamin father died, when his mother was pregnant, and news caused her to give birth to him prematurely. Which caused him to be very weak.
"I can heal your body, and even allow you to get one that is beyond the limits of humans." Benjamin heard a voice, when he turned around he saw a translucent figure.
"Who are you?" Benjamin asked.
"You aren't afraid of me?" Curious voice asked. Benjamin nodded.
"I fear you, but I can't do anything to you with my body." He said. Although the figure didn't have a face, Benjamin felt it smiled.
"Interesting. So what is your answer?" Figure asked.
"Why should I trust you?" He didn't trust some figure that appeared from thin air, and is proposing some powers. A translucent figure started to walk around the room.
"I can swear on true name, or create divine contract." Figure said.
"I want contract." Benjamin knew the contract was better, because he could control the details. Figure snapped it fingers and gold contract appeared. Then figure pushed the contract through air towards Benjamin. Benjamin started to create rules. He then pushed it towards figure, which took contract into its hand and started reading.
"So I can't force you to do anything against your conscience, or influence you. I can't go against your country, and I can't harm your relatives." Benjamin nodded. Figure started to write it rules, and handed it back to Benjamin.
"What do you mean engraving spells on my soul? Are you thinking I'm an idiot? You will have control over me." Benjamin knew that spells, engraved on the soul, are extremely hard to erase.
"And? My spells will not influence you, in any way. They have different tasks. I don't need to explain it. Let's sign the contract, and you will see my spells can't influence you." Figure shrugged. Benjamin nodded and then they signed the contract.
"So what's now?" After Benjamin asked it, he felt his entire body is falling apart. "What did you do to me?!" He shrieked in pain.
"It's the part of transformation. You need to endure it. After its finish, you will be reborn." The figure disappeared, leaving Benjamin alone.
....
The explosion ravaged the room, which caused Herman to be hurt. His old body hurt him a lot.
"Failed once again, at this rate I will die from old age." Herman was an old mage, his body was slowly dying, and he feared death, and that he will not accomplish something big.
"Someone as talented as you can't die. You should reign supreme over other mages." Herman shoot lighting towards the voice, but he saw something that shocked him. He saw a small cat that had its paw in the air near the ball that contained the lighting he cast.
"To cast this spell so quickly, you really need to be talented. I want to help you become powerful, so powerful, the entire royal academy will bow their heads to you." Cat said with human voice. Herman was filled with greed.
'If that is a mage, that means he or she knows
polymorphy, that person is at least archmage.' Herman kowtowed in front of the cat.
"I will do anything, oh great being."
"Your problem, is limitation of human soul and human mind. I will give you a chance to break those shackles." Cat said. Herman was joyful.
"Thank you, great being."