Chapter 7
Danica pushed my shoulder in an attempt to awaken me. I reluctantly opened my eyes and looked around only to find the bright sun in the sky and Danica sitting near me on the ground.
“I have been trying to wake you for the past many moments. Is the bed in your quarter not comfortable?”
I guess I fell asleep on the grass last night while trying to regenerate my mana for the 4th time or so. I didn’t quite recall. Beating up immobile trees was an exhausting business.
“Good morning, Danica,” I greeted her back. Wish I could get some of that coffee that they sell in restaurants in this world. Nothing better than the fresh aroma of a hot black coffee. Still miss that like crazy.
Danica looked at the trees and then back at me and then at the trees again, “what did those poor trees ever do to you?” she said jokingly.
I had destroyed several trees throughout the night while practicing with my spell. Danica explained that her mother had been asking where I was and if I was ok. Apparently, no one had seen me since Danielle had left me late at night and she became concerned, so Danica had ventured forth looking for me on the grounds. Danica led me to the dining area where her mother was meeting with someone.
“Will you teach me magic now that you are able to perform spells? I have been so wanting to be a Mage for years now and it would honestly make me the happiest ever. My father had started but unfortunately, we didn’t get very far in my studies before he…before he was gone.” A tear had started to form at the corner of her eye.
I stopped and looked straight at her, “Yes, I will. I promise you that I will help you become a Mage. But right now, I am nothing but a novice Mage; any tutoring I give you will not help provide you with the benefit you need. I will look for a basic level zero spell for you to practice with but in the meantime, you promise me to continue your other education. And continue to read the basic arcane book you had let me borrow.”
Danica smiled and gladly agreed.
The Dining area had several people in it including Demira, the twins, Daniel, Daniella and two other gentlemen named Rogger and Timothy.
“But your ladyship, we cannot ignore the infestation. It has already grown to a dangerous degree. I fear if we wait any longer, the district, perhaps even the city will be overrun,” pleaded Rogger to Demira as Danica and I walked in.
“Don’t look at me, I hate rats. I would combat spiders, snakes and even politicians before I would step near a place with rats,” Daniel added before he was volunteered for the position.
“Your people would be appreciative if you were to take this on yourself, your ladyship,” Rogger pleaded further, “We need help.”
Demira turned to look at me and nodded. She introduced the two men to us as I sat down on one of the chairs at the dining table.
Rogger belonged to the Gunther family that had been in the politics business for several generations and Rogger was himself the Senator and a councilman of southwest district. Each of the district held a councilman to manage the affairs of the particular district under the governor who was responsible for the entire city. Rogger and even more so his family would have preferred if he had obtained a higher title than a councilman much like the rest of them who resided in the capital but unfortunately Rogger just did not have the charisma to make that happen. He would have done just about anything to be in office back at the capital instead of this god forsaken border city but that was not in his cards. Hell, he would have even been glad to have been a councilman of one of the northern districts but unfortunately again he was beat out due to the current councilmen having more affluence and political capital. He also held the title of a senator for the southwest district. Senators helped create and vote on special laws specific to the city that did not supersede the laws of the nation. There were about a half dozen senators from each of the districts.
“Well Sir Rogger, perhaps you should grief the ears of the Governor more so than mine if that is the case.” Demira snapped back.
“The Governor has all but made me a pariah of this city since I gave my vote in your favor at the last Meeting. Please, you owe me. If not for me then consider the people,” Rogger added.
“I owe you nothing for that vote that you placed which was in your favor even more so than mine, but I do feel for the residents of this district and this city,” Demira answered sternly.
I was lost so Demira explained that there had been an uncontrolled infestation of large rats. They had been coming up from Under tunnels through to one of the buildings and the entrance to the Under tunnel was blocked. Now somehow, they had managed to find another way through, but no one knew whereas they came out primarily at night.
Rogger had sought out her help in eliminating the threat. She herself could not leave her manor, she explained, due to certain threats against her. Her daughter, Daniella, was schedule to travel to the Dark-green forest to rescue some individuals that had been held captive by a group of goblins. Her son, who was deathly afraid of rats had refused to go. Demira knew that there was a greater chance of making the rats sing a lullaby than convincing Daniel to go after them. He also claimed that he had to go help his sister with the rescue from the goblins and to keep her safe. Coincidentally this thought had only occurred to him when the rats were mentioned.
“I can do it. I will take care of the rats!” Everyone turned their head to look at me.
“No, friend. I cannot allow you to do that. The rats are many and you have only begun your journey as a spellcaster,” Demira said.
“Yea and the rats are the size of dogs,” added Daniel with slight shudder.
I eventually convinced her that I would be able to take care of the rats. Rogger protested saying that I was too weak and someone at the power of Demira should handle it since she was the Lord. His protests did not work. She reminded him that he was asking for help, and he would need to settle for how it was given. She then asked Rogger to show me to the building and provide any information or equipment I needed for the job.
Rogger wasn’t much help. He said that the rats were the size of small dogs. There was quite a bit of them though he couldn’t say for certain how many. He said that perhaps twenty at most. Immediately after Rogger told me about the rats, a new Quest popped up for me.
New Quest: Rat Infestation
Reward: Experience, 50 gold, renown
Failure of the quest could result in: Possible death or disease, district being overrun by rats.
Description: You have been tasked with removing the rat infestation or at the very least finding the source of it by the councilman of the Southwest district. Rats had somehow managed to travel up from the under tunnels through an entrance and into the old town hall building. The entrance as well as the town hall building was closed and blockaded, but the rats have somehow managed to come out of another unknown entrance.
Rogger provided me with a blueprint of the townhall building as requested. In addition, I was reluctantly provided with a potion Of Cure Disease, and one to restore mana as Demira had instructed him to do. I was also given One magic light stone that could be used in the dark to provide light. I asked Rogger to get me several bottles of Baccanial Wine. Rogger protested and reminded me that this was job and not a reason to drink. He finally gave in and got the bottles of wine telling me that the cost of those bottles would be coming out of the reward. I just rolled my eyes at the comment. There was no point in talking to him about it. Rogger, like most politicians, was a douche of the biggest variety.
I was back in my room working on memorization of the spell. I had tried to say it many times but there was always something wrong with either the pronunciation of one of the complex words or I would miss something small. I was ready to try it again and I held the ring to my forehead. I closed my eyes trying to visualize through the ring’s eye. I slowed start the chant first, then second and finally a third time. Nothing happened and I was trying to figure out what may have gone wrong and suddenly a screen popped up.
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Congratulations, you have unlocked The Soul of Amalya. This ring held part of the soul of Amalya and as you are bonded to the ring, the soul is bound to you. By performing, the chant, you have unlocked the Soul of Amalya and now the Third Eye is opened to you.
Congratulations, you have acquired a new skill, Mana Sight.
Mana Sight – With mana sight, you can sense mana in surrounding areas.
This description of mana sight did not help in the least bit to explain what it did. I guess I’m just going to find out more about it as I try it out.
Congratulations, you have acquired a new Title.
I brought up the status page to get a better understanding of what I had obtained.
Name: Gatsby Lark
Race: Human Avatar
Primary Class: Common
Level: 4
Experience to next level: 22
Primary Attributes
Strength: 25
Dexterity: 30
Speed: 27
Constitution: 33
Endurance: 26
Intelligence: 79
Wisdom: 33
Willpower: 30
Charisma: 27
Unused Attribute Points: 0
Secondary Attributes
Health Points (HP): 355
Mana Points (MP): 409
Stamina Points (SP): 320
Psychic Defense (PD): 63
Perception Points: 142
Skills:
Arcanum Studies - Novice
Mana Sight - Novice
Spells:
Mass Sleep – Novice
Magic projectile – Novice
My attributes had skyrocketed between the two boosts first from the coin and then the Title. My attributes had increased enough to possibly rival someone that was maybe 20 levels higher than me. Of course, mine were spread out and someone that was a fighter for example would be focused just on their physical stats. I pulled up the description of the new Title first by focusing on it.
Title: Amalya’s Blessing and Curse
By discovering a hidden skill, and a Quest, you have turned a curse into your favor. Part of Amalya’s power and blessing are upon you.
+10 to all Attributes
This title was fantastic, and I hoped to get as many as possible. All my physical stats had gone up substantially. Even though I was focused on being a spellcaster, having a powerful body alongside it couldn’t be a bad thing. Ten was the average strength for an adult male and each point of increase, made the strength go up by 10% so going from 10 to 20 as an example meant that a person was twice as strong as a regular guy and my strength was at 25. Most physically based classes at my level wouldn’t have the strength that I did normally.
I felt my body change to accommodate the increase in strength. The muscles in my body became not just bigger but also denser. My dexterity and speed had increased substantially as well, and I will likely fast an Olympic runner and dexterous like an Olympian. I tried to shoot with the Magic projectile to see if the difference was obvious and the aim had improved drastically.
With the increase in constitution and strength, my health points had increased as well. They had more than tripled. This was a very good thing since I was supposed to be facing a ton of rats very soon. The higher constitution would help my defense and hopefully keep me from getting diseased while the increase in health points would keep him alive to survive it.
Willpower, which was often a neglected stat was crucial to my upcoming fight and any combat as well. Most people who had poor willpower did not last long in a fight even if they had strong defense or a lot of health points. Strong willpower kept you from succumbing to the trauma of any significant damage that was done. A high willpower could keep a person from going into instant shock with severe damage and also keep them from feeling as much pain. Some people with poor willpower would pretty much be out of a fight if they lost even a fifth of their health. Conversely someone with a lot of willpower could fight tooth and nail till their last breath.
My mental stats were already high, especially intelligence, so the change had not been as dramatic, but it was still greatly appreciated. The accompanying increase in secondary stats was even more important. Now I can cast 4 sleep spells in a row if needed and put up to 16 creatures to sleep or cast Magic projectile 8 times in a row without having to wait for mana to build back up. I could essentially damage 32 creatures for 79 points of damage each. Not only that but my mana regeneration had increased quite a bit as well from the increase in wisdom.
With my status updated as best as possible, I reviewed the blueprint of the Town hall building and committed it to memory. With the high Intelligence attribute, I had to look at it for barely a few seconds before the entire thing was memorized. I gathered my magical and nonmagical gear and collected a large bag which he could use to carry the wine. Before I placed the magical gear, I used the new skill mana sight. It was not anything impressive at this point. The magical items gave off a glow that only I could see. The weaker powered items had the weakest glow and the stronger ones glowed brighter. I focused on the items to see if I could sense any further information from them like their specific stats through the Mana Sight but unfortunately it did not reveal anything further. I knew there was much more to this skill than being able to sense magical items and their power level based on their glow. There was no way that this way an epic level skill and didn’t do more. I was going to find out what I could about it. Perhaps it revealed more as it leveled up?
I acquired another bag and filled it with pebbles from the Manor. I was glad for my strength to have gone up or I would have had to severely limit what I could carry between the weapons and all the pebbles which sat in a backpack for the most part and weighed a ton. I also placed them in a small bag off my belt for easier use and access. There was no way I would have been able to carry all this very far previously at my normal strength.
Rogger had been waiting for me outside the Manor at the front door. He looked irritated and his already annoying face had taken on an even more annoying look.
“Are you ready to leave? I have been waiting ages for you,” Rogger said to me in a snarky way.
I wonder if it was illegal here to slap politicians in the face.
“I’m sorry to have made you wait. Danica said you had only arrived few minutes ago.”
“That child clearly cannot tell the difference between minutes and hours.”
I knew he had only come a few minutes before, but I chose to ignore his comment. I didn’t want to because what I really wanted to do was ring his neck but I chose to ignore the comment as me being violent would probably reflect badly on Demira.
“Are you certain you want to do this. At your level it is most certainly a death sentence. You do not even look like a fighter of any consequence. Where were you trained?”
“I will manage.” This was going to be a long walk if he kept on with his idiotic comments.
“Well, we should go then.” He started to walk then looked back again at me, “This is your last chance to ask lady Demira, to go in your stead. Plead with her. I would hate to be the one to have led you to your death. It is not a pleasurable thing to have your flesh gnawed off by giant diseased rats. You do not even have any armor on.”
I ignored him and kept walking. I wasn’t sure where I was going but maybe he would take a hint and shut up.
“I guess the lady must not care much for you if she’s sending you to die like this,” Rogers said loud enough for me to hear.
We had not walked off the grounds yet when I heard Demira call out to us. She came up to us and asked if I would have a short walk and a discussion with her prior to leaving. Rogger once against urged her to do this and she calmly explained that she could not and had utmost confidence in me to handle the ten or twenty rats that were down there. Rogger developed a face of annoyance but agreed to wait for us to come back.
“Are you sure you wish to do this? It is not too late to back out. This will not be something simple. It is not without risk, and you will be in there alone,” asked Demira during our walk.
I smiled at her obvious concern, “Yes, I must do this. I cannot advance and become stronger if I choose to sit out the hard challenges ahead of me. I know I’m only a caster and vulnerable. Certainly, a warrior clad in full plate would likely fare better but I’m what we have at this time, and I will do what I need to. Don’t forget, I have managed to survive for over a couple hundred years.”
“Yes, that is most reassuring. I ask you though that you do not brave yourself into unknown threats. If they seem too much, then find a hasty retreat and we will uncover another solution in due time,” said Demira.
I smiled and nodded, “Rogger seems intent on wanting you to go. It’s another reason that I don’t think you should. Something, about him just doesn’t seem right.”
“Rogger is harmless. He knows you don’t have a class yet and likely doesn’t have the confidence in you that I do. I have been familiar of him for many a years. He has many faults, but he would not wish us harm.”
“I did mean to ask you about something. Do you have any maps of surrounding regions or know of anyone that may have them for sale? If you know someone that has a map with locations of any dungeons, that would be even more helpful.”
“I have a map of the city and its districts but unfortunately not much beyond that. At least nothing that would be helpful. Does it have to do with your quest from the coin? I know my daughter must have told you of the terrible curse it carries.”
“Well, I do need some direction for the quest but that’s something I’m not even sure how to approach yet. I just wanted maps to possibly find dungeons or other areas which I could use to level up. In my last life I had beaten maybe more than a hundred dungeons and outside of wars, they are the best and often the quickest way of getting stronger.”
“Are you not wanting to get rid of the curse as soon as possible?”
“I am but for now its fine. The curse is worth it. The coin has provided me with a skill and a title and in the end that is far better than not being to carry large sums of money or buy properties and such.”
With a look of surprise, Demira spoke, “I was not aware of any such special properties of that coin. That coin and its curse has been well known and studied throughout this city but if you have discovered something so tremendously beneficial from it then it truly does belong with you.”
Demira promised to look and see if she could find some maps or find anyone that had some. She told me that there was a cartographer shop in the city. A while back, however, it had a fire and went out of business. Many of his maps were lost to the fire but some did survive and may be held by his family.
I met up with Rogger and we made our way to the building. Rogger had come on a carriage, and we rode up to the Town hall building in such fashion. He continued to grumble about how Demira should be the one doing this quest. He also informed me that any harm that came to me is not any responsibility of the city in any way. As in a proper politician fashion, he asked if I would like to donate any part of the gold reward towards his future election runs. If I managed to survive and finish the quest that is.