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003 - Cursed Mage

The greatest trait of humans would probably be their ability to adapt to any condition if they put their mind to it. The same went for Winter. He felt a chill from behind him. Trusting the feeling, he immediately moved a step to his left.

A roughly-shaped hand, with its forefinger extended, shot pass where his behind was but a moment ago. Winter casually continued to clean the constantly dusty shop. Adria caught the condescending smirk Winter threw at her. She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

Winter took up Minalan’s offer to look him up. He found their shop easily enough. The hanging sign said ‘Minalan’s Spellshop’. But the most telling thing would be a roughly-shaped hand that jutted out from the roof. Winter could see from the edge of the entrance to the district. He somehow had a very acute feeling that the daughter had something to do with it.

Minalan was easy to talk to. For Winter, it was an unusual experience for him to make new friends quickly. Maybe the fact that it was a game world helped?

He had an ulterior motive, of course. He was curious about magic. Both talked in great length about what Minalan could do, and what Winter knew about magic. Which was about zero for Royal Road magic. What he knew from old style MMORPG was vastly different from the current VR game.

Most spells had no automatic targeted lock, for one thing. All spellcasters had to aim manually. Then, there was actual mental focus to form the spell before it could be cast. Simply saying the word would not do.

“Sure. You can say the word. But without the focus, it will fizzle out and waste your energy.”

Said Minalan over their juices. They were seated inside his spellshop, that was rather empty for business hours. There were many more descriptions about how it was done and the effects. Minalan was full of fascinating magical facts. But being told, and experiencing it, was different.

Without realizing it, Winter began having serious interest in magic. He had a taste of how the melee class worked. Swinging swords, shouting skills, taking the hits and hitting back harder. Dodge too, when he could, and score big wins. That was the total sum, pretty much. Spellcasting, or range attacks, in Royal Road, had broader variety.

Not that he had no interest in melee classes. But after experiencing the mentally numbing scarecrow beating, he felt that being a mage suited him better. It was a lazy way to do things. After all, unlike old MMORPG where you were pressing buttons behind a screen, you need to get up close and work the virtual body with your own mind, and not only your fingers. Range classes that stayed back and did the good hits lazily, interested him.

Archery was not an option for him, as it was a rather physically demanding activity too, virtually. Healing someone? No thanks.

Therefore, when Minalan offered to train him as a Mage, Winter did not hesitate to answer ‘Yes’.

So he was being employed as a storekeeper for the afternoon, while training in the morning, then having a free reign at night. It included free lunch but no pay. Suited him just fine. Minalan’s daughter, Adria, came as a bonus. Not the pleasant kind.

The first hour he was left alone with the little scamp, his backside entrance suffered. The same earthen hand that victimized him was thrusting up his rear. If it was real life, he might be laid up in hospital with ruptured intestines. In Royal Road, it was simply... excruciating.

Excruciatingly embarrassing. He tried several times to kept the little girl that appeared to spend her time studying, within his sights. But it was useless. Putting his back against the wall was not useful if the attack came from underneath you. His best defense was to stay seated. And so he did, reading the books prescribed by Minalan for his learnings.

But as a shop attendant, he had to stand to talk to customers, and send them off. It was always during those weak moments, that he was ambushed. He quickly developed an instinct for sensing when the attack would come.

Daniel was too thoughtful in this case. The city of Cosare was full of melee class profession guilds, but no magical ones.

“Okay. Remember to keep the image strong. Good. Keep it going. I will be back in a couple hours.”

Winter did not nod in reply. He was lying down upon a bed of sharp spikes. He had no idea that Mage training would be so harsh. It was literally life-threatening. He messed up a few times, once, nearly depleting his health points completely when he lost concentration. Today would be his sixth day lying down on top of the bed. If he lost focus for even a moment, assailing pain would instantly pounce on him. The previous day, he managed to stay on the bed for two hours, before he had to get up, lest he died.

You took damage. HP -2

You took damage. HP -2

‘Oops.’

This was the sort of problem he had to contend with if he lost concentration. Adria did not help the matter, as this would be the time she chose to torment him the most. Winter got his revenge by slipping more vegetables on her dinner plate since he knew she hated them.

He became their default lunch cook, after Minalan found out he had cooking proficiency. Winter was glad to comply, after tasting the wet goop Minalan cooked. It was criminal to make a growing girl eat such bad food!

‘At least eat outside, dammit!’ Screamed his inner self.

Of course, it was an impotent scream, as the shop was not doing well enough for them to eat outside all the time. Coincidentally, meal times were the only times when Adria was not playing any pranks. She even ate the hateful vegetables with a glare, promising revenge later.

Coincidentally, he gained another stat, after being pierced so many times until near death. Fighting Spirit.

Fighting Spirit

Allows you to cow weaker monsters with the force of your will. Also allows the user to call upon superhuman strength temporarily. You cannot assign points to this stat, and it arbitrarily rises according to the user’s actions.

Winter was determined he would hold out for close to three hours this time. He had a good incentive. Tomorrow would mark his 30th day in-game. He would be able to exit the city after he completed thirty hours of the focus training. He had managed to form Mana Bolt yesterday.

Mana Bolt (Tier 00)

Mana Consumption : 1

A spell that all players need to learn to be initiated as Magician. An accepted standard used to gauge proficiency. Almost without damage, but rather difficult to cast. Can be learned by any profession with enough focus and determination.

“If you can create one Mana Bolt, you can create a Fireball and then some.” - Minalan.

0.2s Cooldown

Adria kindly provided a target for him to practice on. He had checked how a mage did things in the net. But again, experiencing it was different. An ethereal-looking blue line extended from his practice wand when he successfully manifested the spell. Minalan called the blue line moments where the spells were superimposed and he could see where the magic would form <>. By focusing strongly, Winter could direct where the bolts would strike. Roughly. He did not have an excellent control yet, unlike Minalan that could consistently hit a bullseye at a 40m distance, about the maximum range of the spell before it decayed. Minalan hinted too, that more advanced spells had further range, but did not elaborate further.

Winter had no idea how the virtual world worked the magic. It was fun, exciting. All he cared about.

You took damage. HP -10

Oops. He lost concentration again.

‘Focus,’ he told himself.

He imagined himself the sea of calm, focusing on the sound of a falling drop of water from a contraption left in the dark room. A form of meditation that Minalan taught him. He managed to keep his thoughts from wandering for longer and longer periods now. But he could not help it. His mind tired and it’s boring!

A memory surfaced. The first time he laid eyes on the bed.

“You only need to lay thirty hours here to be a mage.” Minalan’s hand flourished to the wicked-looking bed.

“That is a fine jest, Minalan,” laughed Winter.

‘Must not be as sharp as it looks,’ thought Winter inside. He subconsciously chose to ignore the sharp glint reflected by the candlelight.

As if reading his thoughts, Adria dropped an apple onto the bed.

*Pierce*

‘Holy fuck! The shit is real!’

Now, Winter rarely swore, inside or out. But it shocked him so much, that he automatically did it!

It was definitely not his imagination that there was a wicked glint in Adria’s eyes. Minalan’s face held amused smile at his dumbfounded expression. He mentioned that was how he was initiated. He also mentioned that quite a lot of players decided to pass up on the opportunity to lay on it. That did it. Ronald never could abide a challenge.

This sort of memory and other thoughts broke his focus a few times. Winter did a lot better when the timer for the end of the thirty hours of self-inflicted brutality chimed. He still had 100 health points left when he stood on solid ground.

You have completed Magician Training

You now fulfill the minimum requirement for profession change to Magician.

For reasons unknown, Adria was conspicuously absent today. No torment was visited upon him. In his glee, Winter dismissed it. He went looking for Minalan. Winter, of course, found him minding the shop.

“Ah. I see that you have completed the focus training. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Minalan. What now?” Asked Winter.

“Now we celebrate.”

TTRIINGG!

Magician profession is now accessible to you. You have converted to Magician profession.

TTRIINGG!

Congratulations! You are now a Magician.

Winter was expecting some magical light to signify the change.There was none. A bit of a letdown. He was grateful that the trial was finally over,though.

‘Thirty hours of reading books, thirty hours of sleeping on a spiked bed!’

What Winter did not know, was that the normal quest to be a Magician, was not that harsh. Initiates spent boring thirty hours reading books, and another thirty sitting still, meditating. Where the nail beds came from, would be a mystery for now.

Winter decided to check out his status window.

“Status Window.”

Status WindowNameWinterAlignmentNeutralLevel5ProfessionMagicianTitleNoneFame0Health200Mana200Strength19Agility19Vitality24Wisdom30 (10+20)Intellect30 (10+20)Stamina30Fighting Spirit10Luck0Leadership0Charisma1Attack2-3Magic Attack4-6Defense2Magic Defense4Magic ResistanceFire10%Water10%Earth10%Wind10%Holy10%Dark10%

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

+20 points to INT and WIS

+50% Magic Attack

-50% Stamina

+10% All Magic Resistance

Unable to use Medium or Heavy Armor

Unable to use Heavy Weapon

Unable to use weapons with Iron contents

He tapped the Defense stat. He found that he had higher Magic Defense now, as compared to before. Only by 2 points. He felt the loss of the Stamina stat he worked so hard, as it was halved. But that was it. The rest of the penalty was the usual kind related to the typical caster class in any MMORPG. The Iron content weapon penalty bothered him a little, though.

“Thank you, for your guidance up till now, Minalan,” Winter grasped his hands.

“No need to thank me. I am glad there is someone that gets along well with Adria. She is becoming more cheerful lately.”

’Father’s love…. He is truly blind!’

Adria chose that moment to appear. A side of her hair was covered in cobwebs. Dust clung to her dress, a fluffy yellow this time. She made a poor attempt at sneaking across the door to her room.

“What are you doing, Adria? Did you go down to the Storage room again?” Adria cringed guiltily at the voice.

Winter had seen the door adjoining to the workshop. Sometimes, Minalan disappeared there when a customer asked for some pretty high-powered magical item, and come back with several of them. Winter was expressly forbidden from entering the room. It was always locked, anyway.

“What do you have on your hand there, sweetheart?”

Minalan seemed to have an inkling of what she was doing, but put her through a grilling anyway. She was fidgeting while carrying a small cloth- wrapped package.

“It is a present for Uncle Winter,” she embarrassingly replied.

‘I am Uncle Winter now?’

Up till that moment, Winter had thought Adria was quite a nasty little rodent. He knew she had a sweet side to her. But he saw so little of it, that he could not make head nor tails of her, aside from her nastiness.

‘I cannot believe I lost faith on the innocence of youth! Strike me, God!’

Ronald had never been particularly God-fearing nor believing. But it felt appropriate for self-chastisement at that moment.

“Is it now? What do you have for him?”

“It’s a secret.”

She was suddenly very protective of the package in her tiny hands. Minalan pursued no further.

“Be a dear now and clean yourself up. It will be dinner soon. Uncle Winter is now a Magician like your father,” her eyes widened at that.

Winter was expecting something. Not her turning away and slamming the door of the room closed. The sound of a lowered latch followed after. What was that about?

Winter might have gone slightly overboard with the food preparations. Minalan had given him one gold for shopping that day. He used them all up. Both Minalan and Adria blinked at the feast before their eyes. If Minalan was supposedly rather cash poor, he did not show it. The shop was well- equipped. Their clothing looked pretty decent. But his cooking skill was terrible.

The broad dining table was groaning from the weight. A shank of well-roasted lamb. Thin cuts of beef on a platter, fried with golden sauce. One full basket of bread. A large bowl of dressed salad. Thick creamy soup of pumpkin base. Also, little cakes that he bought especially for Adria. He did not forget arrays of cut fruits too, with juice for drinks. Roland had never been particularly fond of alcohol. He doubted Minalan would object to drinking juice for this occasion.

There was no way he could make most of the delicacies with his low cooking skill. It was only at lvl.1, 90% full at the moment. He bought the ingredients and outsourced it at the Inn he learned cooking skill from. The cook was more than happy to see Winter again. He waived the 10 silver he prepared as the service fee when he heard that it was to celebrate his profession change. A promise was extracted from Winter, that he would give some rare ingredients he saved to the cook, whenever he was in the city. Winter had no idea when he would be back when he exited the city. But he made the promise anyway.

All three ate like a pack of starving wolves. Winter personally prepared the cut fruits and salad. It was probably the least scrumptious, of all the choices available. They were all gone real quick, anyway.

You are Stuffed.

Reduced rate of stamina decrease.

10% HP increase.

Reduced Movement Speed.

Agility -10%

They were sipping the chilled Orange Juice. He felt regretful to tell them he had to leave tomorrow. They probably knew it too. Nobody said anything about it. They were enjoying the silence, when Minalan suddenly spoke up.

“I have a present for you,” said Minalan after a while.

“I will go and get it,” while exiting, he looked sideways to Adria, that had been fidgeting for a while.

Winter knew what would happen next and waited patiently. He came to the conclusion that Adria was a shy, awkward child with a sweet nature, if one cared to look hard enough. Sure enough, she took out a package that she tucked somewhere on her.

“I have a present for you too, Uncle Winter.”

The smile she beamed at Winter was so radiant, that if she stuck him in the arse again, he would not object. Maybe not.

“What is it, Adria?”

Her reply was to slide the package across the cleared table. Winter smiled when he took it, and unwrapped it. Inside was a beautiful bracer. The whole of its body was completely black. A black stone was set on the opposite of the clasp. Engravings seemed to flow out, with the stone as the center. Overall, it gave a pretty intimidating effect. The coloring suited him too. There was something off despite the beauty of the item, some sort of feeling. He chose not to examine it much longer, as Adria’s expectant gaze bored through him.

“It is beautiful. Thank you, Adria. I will treasure it.”

Smiling, he equipped it.

“Winter, NO!” Across the room, Minalan was holding a staff. He dropped it in his haste to reach Winter. A flying tackle nailed him next.

“What the hell, Minalan?” Untangling himself, Winter dusted himself off after shoving Minalan away.

The flying tackle cleared the table and bowled him from his chair. Took off half his health points too. Adria had jumped aside in fright. Minalan let out a pained groan.

He took Winter’s wrist with both hands, carefully examining it. Winter had equipped the bracer.

“No! I am too late!”He shook his head in sadness

.

“What is wrong, Minalan? Is it the bracer? Here, you can have it back.”

Detecting something very wrong, Winter attempted to unequip the bracer. It wouldn’t come off.

You cannot unequip this item.

He tried several more times. Same result.

Minalan had finally calmed down enough. While now, it was Winter who panicked.

“It is a cursed item. I kept telling Adria to stay away from my room because some items inside are cursed.” With each word, Minalan grew more and more agitated. Adria was still taking it all in.

“A curse? How bad can it be?”

Winter wished he could take the words back when he checked the status.

Asric’s Cursed Bracer

Created by the Fallen Mage, Asric. Contains a strong curse. Whatever purpose left for the item by Asric, no one bothered to recall. It has intricate carvings around its whole body, topped with a black round gem on its center. A beautiful piece for its alluded reputation to bring misfortune to its wearer. No one has any idea as to what will happen when the curse is fully powered.

(151/100000)

-50% Mana regeneration

400% Mana cost for any spell cast.

Mana quantity reduced to 25% while worn

No further identification possible at the moment

He had no words to what he saw. He read it again a few more times, to be sure he read it right. At the corner of his eyes, the Mana bar was supposed to be full. But a large section of it was blackened. The bluish section that Winter assumed he could use showed 50/50 instead of the cheerful 200/200 when he had converted to the class.

Minalan promptly gave an explanation about the item’s property and its curse. Adria fled the room tearfully when she had heard enough of it. Winter took them all in absentmindedly. The obvious. His worth as a Mage now would be as good as zero.

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Author's Note:

1. Credit to -The Slacker- for the diligent PR

2. Credit to several people that helped with bouncing ideas, being good listener, and random talk that leads to some creative process. No idea if they wanted to be credited for now. But I will leave it open.