The characteristic ping sound announced that Trevor got a new message. He opened his eyes. The bell icon in the corner of his vision was also there, waiting for him to say or think the magical words.
- Open massages.
The window popped up, and there was a new entry.
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Congratulations on finishing your mission!
The reward for success: A random spell.
To receive your reward, please focus on it.
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He did, just as the message suggested, and a similar forceful entry to his mind happened, just as when he was opening the memory pack with meditation instructions. It hit him like an invisible hammer and made him stretch out on the bed, where he was sitting and meditating just a moment before.
- Ugh… - he groaned, as he picked himself up, but there it was, a memory firmly imprinted in his brain.
He opened his eyes, blinking twice, and almost didn't notice a brief popup window that quickly disappeared.
It was just a text: Spell „Flare" unlocked!
He knew exactly what he needed to do to invoke magic, but unfortunately for him, he could do it only once with the 'Energy' he possessed according to a rough estimate, considering his newly obtained knowledge. Nevertheless, overwhelming happiness surged through his body, causing him to laugh out loud.
He quickly jumped off the bed and grabbed his phone from the desk, then headed outside. On his way, he had to pass by the living room where his parents were watching TV.
- I'm going outside – he informed them, putting the phone in his pocket.
- Just be careful, and return for dinner – responded his mother.
- I will – he agreed, and quickly put on the shoes, then left.
The day was almost ending, and the night was slowly, but surely approaching. He still had a good hour, maybe two, before he would need to come back, and that was enough to get where he needed. After all, the spell needed to be put to the test.
He started heading toward the concrete wall, which was the border between the fourth and the fifth district. Behind it were leaving people with no magic, and no future in the city, but in the immediate vicinity of the wall was the so-called 'grey zone', where nobody was living in. A perfect spot to check the spell without being seen by anybody.
Since they were actually living close to the wall, it only took him half an hour of walking to reach it. From that point, he couldn't see the giant dome protecting the city, but as he knew very well, it was possible to witness rare discharges of energy climbing the half-spheric barrier.
Blue flashes of lightning were climbing its walls from time to time, barely visible because of the distance. They maybe lacked the intensity to be seen clearly, but nevertheless existed. Sadly he didn't spot any.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
He went off the road and headed to some space behind a couple of abandoned buildings that burned a few years ago when people from the fifth district managed to get past the wall and attacked the neighborhood looking for food and valuable items, so they headed straight to the warehouses and manufactories placed close to the vicinity of the wall.
A few minutes later he reached the spot.
- Ok – he said to himself, after checking out his surroundings.
He was alone, and there were no cameras around or anything. Just the blackened ruins, and concrete wall, five meters tall with barbed wire on top, to prevent anybody from climbing it. The other side probably had some survivance too, but that didn't matter. Except that there was nothing there, just some wild grass covering the dirt under his feet.
Trevor took a deep breath, relaxed his body, and closed his eyes bringing back memories he received as a reward, but to his surprise, they weren't as clear as he thought they would be. His reward was slowly fading away.
His first thought was that it was caused by the lack of immediate practice. He made a mental note, that in the future he should only claim the rewards when it was possible to put them to practice immediately.
Nevertheless, he summoned his new pawer directing it into his right hand, which he extended, and flames emerges from his palm, forming a ball no bigger than the one used in tennis.
This view made him laugh uncontrollably, and the spell failed. Flames disappeared just as they appeared, but the boy kept laughing. He couldn't stop. The happiness was too strong to keep it at bay. He finally was magical like he wanted to be so badly for such a long time.
It took him a few minutes to calm down. Only then he was able to feel the lack of something in his body, which he immediately recognized as the aftereffect of spending all the energy he possessed.
- Open status – he said.
The semitranslucent window appeared, and he was able to confirm the zero next to his 'Energy' statistic. There was a small addition to it, as in the brackets figured a text with the number: [Max 5].
- Open spells.
The display switched to the spells tab, and there was a new entry there, named 'Flare'. He focused on it and was able to check its description. There was also a percentage value next to the spell name labeled as a 'Proficiency'. Currently at 10%.
Trevor focused on the spell, and then he was presented with an overview.
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Spell name: Flare
Description: By focusing your energy in your hand, and changing its element to fire you can create a flame that normally assumes the shape of a ball. You can toss it to attack at a short distance, which is directly linked to your 'Control' and baseline structure of the spell. You can also use it to set an object on fire by direct contact, and even burn through obstacles by redirecting more 'Energy' to the spell. To unlock the full capabilities of 'Flare' increase your proficiency by practice.
Base cost: 5
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He read the description a few times, wondering what changing elements to fire and baseline structure really meant. For him, it was merely following the instructions engraved in his brain than understanding what he was really doing.
Nevertheless, he earned himself a new goal. Practicing the spell to push his proficiency to 100% and also increase his energy and control further, hoping to receive more missions in the process.
Since it was slowly getting late, and he also couldn't use 'Flare' again, Trevor decided to go home, with the 'Status' window still open.
- Overview – he said, to change the tab, and then pulled his phone out of his pocket.
He suspected that the missing energy will replenish itself with time, and wanted to measure how long it would take. He got one point back during the whole walk back home, which was giving a single point per more or less half an hour. A pretty long time.
The dinner was already waiting for him, alongside his parents, eating in the dining area. He washed his hands and joined them during the awkward meal. They both clearly wanted to talk to him, but he didn't even notice, too deep in his own thoughts, wondering if the meditation would speed up the process of regaining 'Energy'.
When dinner was finished Trevor immediately went back to his room, sat on the bed, and began his practice, hoping to increase both the 'Control' and 'Energy'. He didn't stop until the fatigue was slowly making him fall asleep. He paused then and checked his status again.
By spending more or less the same time on meditation he earned only three additional points in both attributes.
- So it will be slower, and slower huh? - he said to himself, before finally properly going to bed.