“...”

“That metal you wield, it was what came out of the belly of the worm. A gift. You fell in, and came out. You saw your life flash before your eyes…”

“What did you see?”

Jack stood for a moment. He scoffed, but then he really thought about it.

“Death.” Jack said softly.

“Take my books.” Gor swung his arm. Faintly in the cave, were bookshelves. “You will need them, to stand a chance against the summoned.”

Jack grabbed a magic book from the shelf. It read: Food and Fun! Another read: Essential Spells for Travelers.

“Now go! Run! If Belladonna dies, the revolution will mean nothing!”

Jack didn't stop running until halfway to the forest. He frantically fished out the books. Somewhere in the back of his mind, was a faint voice urging him to drop them, most commoners never used spells or spellbooks, even non-invasive spells. Never had Jack ever known a sane village man who would open a book and start reading, learning.

Spellbooks weren’t illegal in most lands, but they were taboo. Why would a peaceful man educate himself in the art of violence and aggression?

Well, Jack wasn’t a peaceful man, not anymore.

His whole life he wondered if had real mana power, he never found out, and his interest in magic died out.

But now. he needed to know.

He opened the “Essential Spells” book, and flipped to a random page.

Page 1:

Fast scab.

Heya traveler tired of the constant monster attacks? Potions makin ya feel sick? Don't fret! Harry the Hero here! You gotta a lot the learn-

Jack’s eyes darted downward, a fast read, but he needed the spells, not an exposition.

Well, no one wants to bleed out! Fortunately for you, you can slow down your blood! You can fight harder, longer, and rake in the loot! Let’s begin, shall we?

Remember, Klomo = Stop

Now “Blood” is “Dranox”

Say “Klomo, Dranox!” This means: “Stop, Blood!”

Now, put your hand over a place you want to really stop blood.

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Now say: “Klomo, dranox, prazu!” That means “Stop blood here!”

(Fun fact: If you practice enough, you can just think it and it will cast the spell).

Now, onto lesson two!

Jack flipped far past lesson two, his eyes darting for an interesting spell, stopping on a page titled: Bolster Support.

Your armor may protect you, but you aren't really taking full advantage of it. Bolster support puts an extra shell around your armor. Whether it be a ceremonial piece you don't want damaged, or you want that extra protection just in case, Bolster Support is for you!

For passive protection: Fuzi guzuza falti, tafranu bizi, barofu, sulanu, murzi zoziru.

For Blast Resistance: Moni zazu, tronu zazu zili ki tufi. Rupriparu faluzi.

Make sure you don't forget the priming, too.

Jack squinted his eyes, Parsu text. This was the real deal. For a summoned, learning a new language was a walk in the yard. For a commoner, it would be mind-breaking, filling your head with spells.

Jack grunted, and forced himself to decipher the text. Priming?

Prime the armor.

Nonononono, he was getting ahead of himself. He should try the blood clotting first.

He unlatched his knife. It didn’t ignite, maybe because he was already controlling the object well. He hovered it over his wrist.

“Klomo dranox!” He yelled. And with that, he slit his wrist.

He prayed, silently. But in his mind, screaming. Give this to me. Just one thing.

He braced for the blood to shoot out of his arm, but nothing but a single drop fell.

He shuddered, staring at his arm, wondering how he was still alive. Of course he would never understand the mechanics of it, as the spell was probably thousands of years old, and no one ever really figured it out, but it gave him a rush.

Finally, he broke down crying. This was it. He could turn around, make a new life for himself. He could forget about Bel. He could forget about Wyatt, Kuhara, Carl, Ruben.

He could practically imagine it.

Remember what they took. Remember what more they can take.

Tears rolled down his face. There it was. A small voice in the back of his brain drowned out by stupidity and foolishness. He wanted to hear it.

He gripped his shovel, and to his surprise, it began to shift.

He stared at the shovel.

“What the…?”

The metal liquified and took new shape, becoming sharper, like the head of a spear, while still resembling a shovel.

But it turned. It turned right before his eyes. And it pointed towards the forest.

Jack was frozen in shock. He looked to the forest.

He shut the book, shoving it back into his satchel, which also had magical properties, as whatever he put inside would have no weight.

He held the shovel up. It was indeed warping and twisting towards the forest. Finally, it relaxed and shifted back to a shovelhead.

He made up his mind.

The forest was dim, its thick dark trees blocking out most sunlight. The ground was soft under his boots as he trekked.

The shovel felt like it was gravitating in a direction, he let the shovel point. Then he followed.

He did this for a while until the shovel dipped down to the ground violently, dragging him down with it.

Just as he was about to get up, he heard a voice.

“Who’s there?”