Vrill had quite the monotous routine.

In the morning he would work in the fields under the striking heat of the sun. Afterward, he would sometimes go into a bar to eat or make himself food by purchasing ingredients. At this point, it was already quite late. This is because his work usually amounts to the most time and effort spent. Especially after you consider the fact that Vrill is only 16 and his body has to fully grow and that he was by himself made this matter physically taxing.

Even so, he still had a few hours at his disposal. In the past Vrill had asked many people in the town to teach him skills such as hunting, fighting, scavenging, and others. Most people declined immediately with some teaching him something, but it was usually something useless. The rest of the people asked for outrageous costs in exchange for teaching him. Vrill had already expected this. After all, their knowledge and experience usually amounted to their livelihood. Why would anyone just share it with him for free?

This meant Vrill had to learn this by himself. More precisely the ability to fight is the most important. Strength ruled the weak! This was the rule in the rule in this world, if one was strong he could do whatever he wished. What are they going to do? Fight him? That would spell their deaths, He had to learn to fight to survive and protect himself, it was necessary for his future endeavors.

The act of killing someone, although considered a heavy crime, if one was trusted, strong, or well off could simply be cast aside. Especially after you consider Vrills bad reputation it meant, that if he ever got involved in a fight and didn't die it was likely he would undeniably be judged as a criminal. With the perpetrator walking off scot-free.

Fortunately, Vrill was cunning and had planned ahead, allowing him to avoid any potential fights, but this also meant he had no experience in combat! It's not like he could just venture outside the village since it was even more dangerous with many types of wild animals roaming the plains. Not only that, but he had nobody to spar or learn from. This was mainly thanks to his awful reputation. Although Vrill had tried many times before improving it, it only led to making it worse. Reputation takes years to build, but only a moment to destroy it.

All of this meant one thing. He had to rely on himself. Vrill had pondered long before coming up with a solution. He would imagine fake battle scenarios in his mind before analyzing his thought process and recreating movements. Each time he found a fault he would try improving it, constantly iterating on it until he was happy. This not only helped him to avoid simple and obvious mistakes one makes in the spur of a fight but also showed him which areas he had to put his focus on. Contrary to when he first started he learned that footwork was crucial and greatly increased one's fighting strength.

But there was one fatal flaw in this method. Vrill was shackled by his lack of experience and could only improve so much. Although he could spot mistakes, they were usually obvious and superficial. Vrill also sometimes saw some good decisions as mistakes instead. Even so, this was the only thing he could do.

Vrill had been doing this for the past months and is now undeniably more experienced and stronger. He had also set aside some time to do body training for physical strength afterward. Even so, the best way to learn was in an actual fight. Actual combat would allow Vrill to progress many times faster than he was at this time, but it also posed to be much more dangerous. After all a single mistake could cost his life.

In the village there were quite a few who noticed Vrills growth, his muscles became more defined, and he also grew taller. His presence grew larger, but so did the looks of others with some even showing their contempt openly. Even then, Vrill ignored their jealous gazes and walked with his head upright. Whenever he saw someone he would gauge his chances of defeating them in a fight which was another method he had found out about. He was confident in winning against the majority of the citizens in Lert.

Vrill kept at this schedule rigorously without skimping on anything. As time passed, with Vrill slowly improving, the color of the leaves changed. Autumn had come.

...

More than a month went by and today was the day that the harvest festival would officially begin. In the past weeks he he had gotten hold of a dagger which cost him one whole magic crystal. Although its original price was double that, he managed to get it down by negotiating. It was never a good idea to save on magic crystals when buying a weapon, after all, it might just save your life.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Once the magician arrives and the fest truly begins, Vrill has planned to ask for information regarding becoming a mage from him. If this didn't work out he had to take a risk and travel to the nearest village instead. Vrill never intended on staying a commoner and even if he might die during the process, he's still going to continue down this path. Naturally, the weapon was for when things go wrong when talking with the magician.

Vrill was walking down the street in the town. At this point, he would work in the fields, but all the crops had just recently been harvested resulting in a lack of work. Although they had to plant new crops this process would only really happen after a few weeks. Vrill could see significantly more people on the street than usual. Most had an elated expression on their faces. There were kids, adults, and even some elderly, but most of them liked to stay at home. This was also the same with Vrills uncle since he doesn't have much strength.

Time passed slowly. To kill time Vrill simply walked around the town waiting in anticipation, but eventually, the sun sank and the moon rose.

Outside Lert several carriages could be seen slowly approaching. As they got closer, one of them stuck out like a sore thumb. The carriage was fully white and adorned with many patterns. They were pulled by an animal that looked to be a mix between a boar and a horse.

Although he had seen this situation unfold many times before he was still surprised, quickly, a small group formed around them and cheered. The Carriages reached their destination, Lerts central plaza area. There were stands with free food and even dancers to lighten the mood.

After some time, the mayor of Lert stepped forward and seemed to be awaiting someone. Just then the door on the white carriage was opened. The crowd quickly went dead silent, not daring to make any noise.

Naturally, the person who stepped out was a magician.

All of the people gave three bows in response, Vrill included. Nobody wanted to offend such a powerful figure, if he wanted, he could slaughter everyone here.

After bowing, Vrill sneakily took glances at him. He wore a white robe similarly adorned with many swirls and patterns as the carriage and went nearly unnoticed by Vrill. They were ever-changing and slowly wriggled around. This was the first time he had seen such a phenomenon, even in the past times he couldn't manage to notice such a thing. He had brown hair and eyes and frankly looked quite ordinary.

Once the mayor and magician settled the organisatory aspects, the festival quickly sprang into action. The mood was good. Many danced and enjoyed it greatly. There were singers, dancers, and a variety of food stalls that could be eaten from for free. Of course, alcohol couldn't be excluded. Fortunately, the magician was kind and understanding which greatly relieved the citizen's stress.

This was also great for Vrill since he planned to ask the mage for information. This resolved a lot of the difficulty in it. Even so, Vrill was patient and didn't act just yet and waited for a good moment to act. As the festival progressed the magician loosened up and started sharing stories which intrigued many. Vrill took part in them, attentively listening. From time to time he would also ask questions to create an image with the magician and would also compliment him every so often.

Time passed quickly. Once the magician called it quits, the group around him quickly dispersed. Vrill decided to go up to him and ask him a question.

"Uh, sorry magician. I have a question to ask if you wouldn't mind." Vrill showed an expression of being slightly afraid yet still needing to answer his curiosity.

The magician turned back and looked him up and down before cheerfully answering "Ah! It's you Vrill. Of course, I don't mind."

The fearful look on Vrill quickly dissipated as he looked at the mage straight in the eye before asking with full conviction. "How does one become a magician just like you? I wish to know."

The magician stared back not saying a word. Seconds passed when he looked towards the ground falling into his thoughts. Vrill was already mostly aware of the reason why. In the group talk with him he had mostly talked about fake stories making magic seem mystical. Although quite convincing Vrill noticed early on that it was just a pretense.

"What I'm going to tell you now, you must not discuss with others. It's going to be a secret between us. Alright?"

Vrill simply nodded in response and focused on his next words.

"Magic is the science of truth. Finding it in things. Unlike what most think it's not something mystical it is just several logical processes. The entirety of these processes and analyzing these steps is the core of magic." said the magician. It seemed the words he spoke were the truth according to his body language and way of speaking. His expression was completely emotionless as if he simply stated something from a book.

"No, I want to know how I as a commoner although incredibly difficult can become a mage. That's what I truly want to know."

"Sigh, you'll have to go to Vermathis then. It's one of the major cities that allow commoners to learn magic as long as you provide sufficient payment. The entrance fee is one thousand magic crystals. The city is located in the north."

Vrill was wide-eyed. One thousand magic crystals is an outrageous price! After all, just one was equivalent to an average commoner household's income. It was evident that this was all the help he could get.

"Ah, thanks, magician!" Vrill looked dejectedly and discouraged. Although internally he was joyous! So, what if he needs a thousand magic crystals? Vrill was already prepared from the beginning to sacrifice everything he had to become a magician. Still, he had to keep up a front to the magician as an overeager kid.

"I hope this helps." said the magician before turning around and walking back.

Vrill simply stood there, a slight grin formin on his face.