“See you next time, Uncle Ronald,”

said Julianne while she hugged me. Her avatar, Odette, being excessively tall due to her racial trait, left my legs trailing off the ground. I was the only victim of this particular treatment as she spent time joined with Daniel’s group. Julianne was oblivious to the undercurrent of excitement most of the male players have. They were expecting more girls from Julianne’s school to join them within a week or so game time. I would too, if I was sticking around. But I have something else to do.

“Take care of yourself too, Julianne.”

There was no need to say more. I now had Daniel and Odette in my friend list. Also, bothersome Tolan, that I could not shake off without being overly rude. Upon further enquiry, the receptionist was attached. So I lost interest in her quickly.

It took us 72 days to finish up on the punitive force quest. Killing 1000 monsters could not be done in a hurry, after all. I picked Blessed Silver Ring as my choice of reward from the fat Bishop Leeroy. It had 10% Mana regeneration property with bonus of +100 Mana while equipped. Unfortunately, I could not equip it. It had a level limitation of 80.

Status WindowNameWinterAlignmentNeutralLevel63ProfessionMagicianTitleNoneFame120Health450Mana150Strength125 (100+25)Agility190Vitality60Wisdom75 (55+20)Intellect75 (55+20)Stamina50Fighting Spirit14Luck0Leadership1Charisma4Attack25-30Magic Attack15-16Defense24Magic Defense22Magic ResistanceFire10%Water10%Earth10%Wind10%Holy10%Dark10%

+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

That was how my current status window looked like. I had leapt 15 levels from finishing up the quest alone, while 24 levels were from leeching from the group, with a 10 level bonus from participating in the boss kill.

After the demise of the event boss, I was relegated back to my useless role of being a cook helper and permanent leecher, with the occasional dash of firing arrows at mobs. My current defense was decent, since Daniel had gifted me with his old gear.They were pretty rare items, judging by how much defense they had. I was now wrapped in a black leather shirt, pants and gloves, with the same for boots. Julianne helped me to resize it properly. Her tailoring skill was already intermediate, and she could handle leather goods easily.

“Let me know if you have more cool magic!” Said Tolan excitedly. We parted with him throwing those words.

I believed 200g was too much for my current level. But who complains about having too much money right? It made me wonder what other event bosses they had in Royal Road, if they would be as lucrative after killing. (Author: He decidedly ignored that it was not him who did most of the work)

“Uncle Winter!” Yelled Adria when she spotted me. She was skipping around the street, playing a game with other children of her age. I lifted her and spun her around, leaving her squealing. Unwittingly, I laughed at her joy.

“Is Minalan in?”

“Yes. He is back at the shop. I will take you there.”

“No need, little one. Go play with them.”

Her expression said she was disappointed. I picked that up pretty quickly.

“I can use a guide, you know. I sort of forget where the place is,” she brightened at that.

Bidding farewell to her playmates, she showed me a shortcut to the shop. I could have taken the main street without getting lost. The large hand still stuck out from the edge of the district, after all. Impossible to miss.

“We are here.”

Adria waved her hand with a flourish. We had arrived.

“Here is a present for you. Don’t eat all of it at once,” I put a bag of sweet candy in her hand.

“Now shoo. I have business with your Dad,” I did not need to try. She had already gone through the side door to spend her time consuming the sweet goods.

‘Hope you can’t get cavities in Royal Road’

The bell jingled with my entrance. Minalan was serving two customers.

“Identify.” Blue glow enveloped a shield one of the two players was holding out to him.

I stood at a corner while they were finishing up their business. Money exchanged hands, as the other player bought an item, and they left with happy expressions.

“I see that the shop is doing well.”

“It is. Thanks to you, Winter,” he was of course, referring to my scheme of ‘Free Identification’ service.

He flipped the signboard with a gesture of his hand from across the room. The sign obeyed. Now we had privacy.

“You arrived at a good time. My distant friend came through faster than I thought they would. This arrived a week ago,” Minalan took out a book with ornate runes and gold gildings at the side. The leather was thick and heavy. He marked the book with a strip of leather.

“Is that the Master’s Journal?” I asked. He nodded in reply and handed it to me.

Opening to the marked page, I read it carefully.

The bracer was rumored to be a container of magic. Of vast proportions! A significant amount of evidence also pointed to one or several other abilities. But at this point in time, I am not interested in writing more wild, unproven conjectures.

Rumor as it is, when there are twenty different written accounts, it is hard to discount. All accounts spoke of Asric’s tireless ability to continuously cast spells, outlasting his challengers, and to keep on going. I do not have the ring on hand, nor have I ever seen it, to confirm the supposition of the accounts. Those that wrote what they dare to put on paper about the ring, claim possibilities that the ring has the ability to heal injuries.

Asric had survived numerous duels, ambushes, assassination attempts and various other contrived methods to hasten his death. There were bound to be times some came close, as no person could be vigilant when they are asleep. It becomes plausible with one of the two items in front of me. The bracer clearly wholly relates to Mana.

Like my apt pupil, who is a genius of his generation, I dare not test the strength of the curse. I am not arrogant enough to believe in my prowess, despite the praises heaped on me. Nor do I believe that the curse seeks to completely harm its wearer. For some odd reason, I feel some sort of purpose to the curse, yet am unable to puzzle it. Perhaps I am right. But I could be completely wrong.

I sympathize with the magic practitioners that had the bracer forced on them, as to our kind, only our magical strength should eclipse our wisdom and knowledge, for it is the goal of all magical learning. To improves our magical prowess through our learning capacity. What tale they would tell, we shall never know, for there is no written account reliable enough left.

The journal went on a few more paragraphs. Praising the ingenuity and construction of the bracer. Then Winter found what he was looking for.

The curse is strong. But a curse has to be powered by a magical source. Which I think the bracer already has in minute quantity, and continuously draws from the wearer. A curse, like a blessing, is an expression of magic. While a blessing is positive, a curse would run negative. I thought of two possible methods to remove the curse.

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The first one would be to wholly negate the magic. It will also, unfortunately, negate its enchantment properties. The bracer may as well be a pretty ornament. There is also the problem of summoning enough Mana to do it. My personal effort in full, did not diminish the curse at all, in any manner I could detect. I believe a collection of some hundred with my strength might be able to do it. Yet who would claim the bracer then, for there is only one of it. For myself, while I hold no interest, nothing could be said with regard to others.

The second choice would be to put a strong enough blessing to counter its negative magical state. I unfortunately dismissed this choice, as the whole might of Freya’s church would be needed for such an endeavor. The members of the church are indeed benevolent. It would also be the reason for their rejection, for there is no wide ranging benefit aside from personal curiosity to fuel the endeavor. In fact, it is very possible the removal of the curse will rekindle a more tragic tale than Asric’s.

In the progress of writing the second choice, my mind latched on the idea that this bracer should be returned to its owner, though he is long from this world. So should the cursed ring. Perhaps Asric, in his final act of genius, deliberately cursed the pinnacle of his works to be an exercise of futility. One final laugh he claims against magic practitioners with warped greed or ambition, that searched for and will continue to search for, the elusive method to use his tragic legacy, when he probably provided none.

I believe the answer to the unfortunates who had the bracer forced on them is a simple one. It is so glaringly obvious, that it is laughable. I shall let my most excellent pupil give it careful thought, for it shows his lack of analytical ability to miss such an obvious clue.

I cursed under my breath. For all my angst, it turned out to be nothing. I could wait until the counter maxed out, in about three months and the bracer would come off on its own. The game creator really has a cruel streak.

“What will do you with the bracer, Winter?”

A quest window popped up with the question.

Cursed Bracer of Asric

After receiving Minalan’s assistance, you finally obtained the answer you seek. You have free reign from the choice between attempting to remove the curse and returning the bracer to the maker’s tomb. The reward you receive will hinge on what action you take, and so will the nature of the quest, with every interaction with other characters and clues you obtain.

Difficulty level: C

Quest Requirement: Good relationship with Minalan and Adria. Equipped Asric’s Cursed Bracer

Reward: Unknown

Automatic acceptance

Quest accepted.

I pondered on the quest for a second, before answering.

“No idea. I will think of something when it is ready to come off. For now, I think I will stay for a couple days before heading out again.”

The counter had already hit about 45000. It had gone faster since my Mana pool increased from my level ups. I expected from a rough calculation, that it would take about two more months before it was ready to be parted from me.

“That is good. Adria missed you. She kept asking when you will be coming back.”

In response to that statement, I decided to spoil Adria with the tale of my exploits, grandly overblown in proportion. The golem was larger, the minions more, and I was the hero of the day. The last part was true. But I made it much more of course. Story telling was my past time activity since I had to content with Celine once and a couple more. So I was well practiced. Adria was enraptured with the story for the whole time.

“But I have the last say in the fight. With protection from my comrades, I managed to have time to cast a powerful spell. A thousand bolts of lightning were summoned to strike down the large golem. The force of the blow was so strong that a crater was left when the spell was done. We happily went down the crater to claim our reward. And your uncle here received this sword.”

I unsheathed my new sword. It has better balance than my old Copper Sword and a lot better damage. Killing a wolf was as easy as how fast I can get to it. Adria clapped at the ending. I let her hold the sword carefully. Minalan clapped too.

“Okay, Adria. Time to sleep. Don’t forget to brush your teeth.”

“Aww. I want to hear more.”

“Sorry, Adria. There is nothing else to tell. Uncle Winter needs to go for more adventures to have stories!” I roared in menace and chased her around the table. She pretended to be scared and ran to the kitchen. I reclaimed the sword she left on the table.

I did the cooking again for our dinner. My cooking skill was at Beginner level 3. But as before, it was still better than the criminally terrible food Minalan served. We cleared the table while Adria prepared herself to sleep.

“Good night, Uncle Winter. See you tomorrow?” I bent for the kiss on my cheek. That was new.

She wore a plain shift with her hair bound in a single neat braid. A sleeping cap with stars circling the top, ending with a fluffy bulb, decorated her head. I had never seen her in her sleeping attire, since I never stayed this late.

“Good night, Adria. See you tomorrow. Promise.”

She reluctantly parted with my neck and went to her room. She still glanced at me furtively from behind her door, before closing it firmly. She reminded me so much of Celine when she was younger,before she grew up and became a devil.

I had quiet words with Minalan regarding his training method. He was puzzled since that was how he was trained, and it was a first for him to hear it was done differently. I let it drop, since he appeared to be genuinely puzzled. We traded stories of happenings since our parting, for a while.

“By the way, do you have any more of that scroll?” I asked. I was of course referring to the magic scroll he gave me.

“No. That was the first one I saw. I will ask around if you are interested.”

“Thanks. Let me know if you find some. It might be useful in the future.”

I bid him good night, since it was getting really late, and promised to visit for lunch tomorrow.

“Okay. I think I will take this and this,” the fat cook that had helped me, was choosing what ingredients he wanted from what I had in my inventory. A promise was a promise, for me.

“19 Forest Tree Fruit and 52 Tree Snake Meat. Okay. Thank you for sharing them with me.”

“You’re welcome. Thank you too for your help. I expect more in the future.”

She laughed at my comment. I spent a little time helping her to cook. It was late at night anyway, and I had nothing to do.

“By the way, have you heard of Rainbow Fish?” She asked me a question during our break.

“Rainbow Fish?”

“It is a wonderful food ingredient. I heard it gifts those that eat the fish with good luck. It is also very delicious, I heard.” I nodded and beckoned her to continue.

“You see, soon there will be a cooking competition. The theme for this year is fish. I need to collect that fish to have a winning chance. Therefore, I will be grateful if you can go and collect it for me.”

‘Why not? I have nothing to do for now anyway.’

I told her as much and agreed to do it.

Rainbow Fish

You are tasked by Sella, the Inn’s cook, to retrieve this particular fish.

The fish can be found two days south of Cosare, within a lake at the top of a hill.

It was said this fish has seven colors,shines and is the sacred food of lizardmen.

Please beware in your adventure to not attract their ire!

Difficulty: E

Reward: Familiarity with Sella. Intermediate cooking ingredients. Sella’s personal cookbook recipe.

Time Limit: 28 days

I accepted the quest and logged out.

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Author's Note:

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

2. Special Credit to Veresliosi, Vim1inc, Saxenas1 for bouncing stuff around

3. Do let me know of mistakes you find. Try as me and my PR to spot them, we might miss some.

4. This is the last chapter of Volume 1. Thank you for reading the whole volume.

5. Enjoy the read, everyone!