Florian used to love folktales and fiction stories and had even read many books about them—Locke made him like them. But things about him started to change since he had become the eldest boy in the house. One of which was his love of fiction and folklore books.
He just considered those stories to be things for a kid, even though he was still a kid.
And folklore about a painstaking war centuries ago was one of the bedtime stories Rebeca told him and the children.
“The universe is like a honeycomb, each of its chambers a different realm, with living beings, rulers, and law within it. And it’s naturally forbidden to interfere or even dominate the other worlds,” Rebecca told him once.
Replaying the memories of a few years back, under the roof of an old, warm house, with the pattering sound of rain and prickling of the fireplace as the background music, and one big blanket for all, the time for folklore began.
“So—are you ready to begin the story?” asked Rebecca as she started rocking the chair.
The four children, except Florian—who was busy reading his own book, How to Invest vol. 2—nodded their heads, excitement and anticipation on their faces.
“There was a single human called the Sole Sovereign in the past, long before the ancient war. They existed to—"
“To judge,” Lita interrupted in a whisper, and someone continued.
“To punish, protect, and eliminate,” Zed added in his weak voice.
Rebecca nodded.
“They were said to be the ones who stopped the last big war between the otherworlders and beings in this world—a war that had violated the laws of nature, between the otherworlders, demonic race, and beings in our world,” continued Rebecca. Her tone seemed to be colored with something that made the story thrilling.
“What could be the reason the otherworlders began to invade other dimensions of the world?” asked Kieran in a whisper. It was his first time listening to this folktale.
Rebecca thought carefully, then turned to the new boy, Kieran. “There could be many reasons. The greed to rule, to seek more power, or maybe the demonic race has fully invaded their world.”
Kieran snuggled down in his blanket at the word demon.
“Don’t worry. The Sole Sovereign has locked all the gates and paths to prevent the otherworlders or demonic races from entering our world. And when there’s one gate unlocked, the Sole Sovereign will again show themselves in this world.”
“But the sole sovereign had gone in the past—so how can they return, Maman?” asked Lita, her eyes reflecting the golden light of the fireplace.
Rebecca hesitated; her fingers tapped the armchairs a few times. “There is a legend saying that the Sole Sovereign divided their power into five, which made them unable to use their full power and turn them back into mortal beings: humans. And they sealed their powers in the heart of five sage dragons. So, in order to return, perhaps the Sole Sovereign must gather all the power they sealed in the past.”
“While the existence of sage dragons is only legends,” Florian chimed in with a scoff, causing everyone to turn to him with a frown.
Rebecca quietly nodded despite how Florian had ruined the atmosphere.
“They had to do that because after the war ended, humans accused them of being part of the cause of the war. Some even said they were part of the demonic race. Especially because of the dark, terrifying power they had.”
“The flame of destruction,” Lita stated, an edge of eeriness creeping into her voice. “It must be a scary fire.”
Rebecca shut her eyes closed for a second and smiled indulgently. “Indeed,” she went on again, “and as long as this world is safe from the otherworlders or demonic race, the fire will stay in hiding.”
“But Maman, how did the Sole Sovereign get their power? They were human, right?” questioned Kieran, his head pinned to the side like a confused bird.
Rebecca took a deep breath. “Other than the sole sovereign title, they were also once called the Treachers. It was because they were humans—but immortal and had a power that matched the power of a powerful being from hell. And, of course, they got the power obviously from the Gods—as they were one of the chosen ones.”
“Treacherous humans…” mumbled Kieran, and Rebecca nodded in agreement.
“Humans were jealous of them. Therefore, they were called traitors to their own race.”
…
“But I already know that story,” snapped Florian, frowning.
‘Yup, Maman Rebecca told us!’
‘Florian, you don’t think that we know much about this world, don’t you?’
Florian was silent for a moment. “You don’t?”
‘For the revolution and destruction! He doesn’t know!’
‘It’s because he grew up in the forest!’
‘Pathetic.’
Florian exhaled heavily, mouth agape with incredulity. He felt like rebutting but somehow couldn't. Even speaking to spirits that no one could see and hear except himself honestly did not make any sense.
Maybe I have lost a few screws in my brain after the explosion, Florian capitulated and made sure he wouldn’t talk to himself when he was not alone.
‘Alright, let me fill you with what I know, Florian,’ began the fire spirit, and Florian perked up and listened to the generous fire spirit, clarifying his confusion.
The four nature spirits. Again, they were spirits born and grew up with Florian. Everything they knew came from Florian’s development. But since Florian was not a horned faerie, it was indeed peculiar for Florian to hear and even see them.
“Then do you know about my parents? Or anything about my background?”
The nature spirits fell into silence for a few seconds.
‘Florian, we aren’t human, but SPIRITS. We develop according to what you know, and when you were a baby, we were too.’
It was the fire spirit who explained, so Florian unquestioningly believed.
Florian dropped his gaze and blankly stared at the ground, but his legs kept moving towards the south, with the stars twinkling in the sky illuminating his path. In his calmness, he wondered about his actual background—the things he often avoided asking Rebecca—and the reason he had dark mana and normal mana, which was impossible after he recalled one book he had read.
Normal mana represented life, and dark mana represented death. They were nature powers that could not be together.
Just how do I have dark mana? The weird system?
“Also, how did you know the faerie kingdom is beyond the Forest of Gluttony?”
‘We found out from the weedy boy, Zed!’
Zed? When did Zed mention the faerie kingdom? He rubbed his chin, fiddling with his brain for clues when Zed mentioned something about faerie land.
“Then, if you know I can’t control nature element, why are you still staying with me?”
But he asked that question instead.
‘We were born with you, Florian. We can’t leave you, even though you have no control over us!
‘Little fire is right! We are together forever!’
Florian began to form a smile, somewhat sly. “Then, can you use your power? The nature element?”
‘But we can only use our power through the element-bender,’
Only the fire spirit gave a response, and that silenced the surroundings.
Florian took a few seconds before asking again.
“Then, when I use any nature element-magic, you guys can use your power through me… like how?”
‘Use wind magic. I can help you strengthen your wind!’
‘For future revolution, I shall help you to create the greatest attack with my mighty water!’
‘Let’s fucking use earth element to stab someone, and I will be excited to help you!’
And by those responses, Florian giggled creepily, low and suspicious. But one nature spirit seemed to have a good intuition.
‘I’m starting to see what’s the actual intention of your question.’
At the fire orb’s statement, Florian let out a fake cough several times, quickly touched the corners of his lips, and shifted his expression.
“Teamwork, I love it.” Florian nodded rather beamingly.
‘Absolutely, weird half-fae! Teamwork is the best!!’
‘For destruction! The now not-so-lame half-fae will know how mighty my water element is!’
The whirlwind and crazy water ball answered.
If I can’t control them, I can still use them.
As he kept smiling while strolling towards the south, a tweet from the dark nymph startled him. The dark nymph hovered around his face as though telling him something, but the screen in front of him clarified.
[Danger! A Giant Spider is approaching! HP:2000/2800]
“Wait, aren’t giant spiders mostly monsters in the second or core region?” Florian groaned, his face hardening. Though the pain of his wounds didn’t bother him much, being in a fight requiring many movements could make it worse.
Stats! He demanded.
Statistic
Player
Florian (12)
Level
1
Class
Warlock (tier I)
Race
Faerie/Human
Rank
Mugler
Title
The Coward Warlock
Experience Point
50,25%
Hit-Point
980/3000
Strength
26
Endurance
21
Mana Power
740/2800
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Charisma
30
Wisdom
21
Dark Mana Power
800/2800
Dexterity
25
Intelligence
18
Is this enough mana for me to fight?
Hissing, Florian turned to the side, the direction where the dark nymph told him by pulling his ear.
The screeching sound coming from the woods grew louder and louder, nearer and nearer. The sudden eerie breeze gave him shivers, raising the hair all over his body. He drew in a shuddering breath, with his legs slowly staggering backward in the process. The dark nymph hid behind his neck.
Fire. He wanted to use fire magic this time. Recalling how he easily burnt the kitchen last time, and without needing to remember any magic runes, both of his hands already emitted rose gold flames. The forest grew brighter because of it.
[Skill – Fire Magic lv. 2]
[Creation – Fire Blast]
Florian took a glimpse of the fire in his hands and recalled his title: Warlock. I have violated the law of Sorcery Arts that I don’t need any stupid rune spells to use magic. The realization made him giggle, his lips curving his lips into a wicked, taunting smile.
When the loud shriek finally reached his ears, the sight of the giant spider appeared. It was about two and a half meters tall and four meters wide—terrifyingly huge. Florian was sure that it wasn’t an adult giant spider. Based on the book he once read, an adult giant spider from the second and core region could reach six meters in height.
Terror thundered down on him to see the real giant spider approaching him.
“My god—I just wish I could eat a bar of chocolate before I really die by that spider,” he muttered, sweat running down his back despite the cold weather.
Although it was a young giant spider and looked as terrifying as it’s described in the book, Florian had not fathomed the horror of its visage. Eight eyeballs were dark, two eyes bigger than the other six. Its chelicerae were around forty centimeters, sharp and poisonous. It had thick, hairy skin, with somehow a few cuts all over its body.
[Special Identification lv. 1]
Race
Baby Giant Spider
HP
2000/2800
Strength
45
Dark MP
900/1500
“And I should say this—your grilled legs taste worse than a stale baguette.”
Ignoring the screen, Florian channeled a mana force into his feet, enough to make him jump higher since using skill [Mana (Strengthen, Flow, and Deform)] quickly drained his mana. And yes, because for some reason, he preferred to use his normal mana than his mysterious dark mana.
Ferociously, the spider lunged at him, and so did Florian. As the distance got closer, Florian jumped into the air and blasted off his flame. The spider shrieked, with flame blazing its thick, hairy back.
Landing behind the spider, he rolled on the ground and groaned as the pain started prickling again. Ah, the stitches! Damnit! He mouthed a curse while bearing the sudden ache from his right leg, but the screeching sound snapped him back again to look towards the spider that didn’t seem to be in serious pain or distress.
With an even more terrifying look, the baby giant spider slithered toward him again.
“Oh, lord.”
[Baby Giant Spider 1550/2800]
Swearing, Florian centered all the fire to his right hand, creating a head-size fire orb.
[Skill – Fire Magic lv. 2]
[Creation – Fire Orb]
“My fire didn’t seem to be strong enough, huh?”
He commented on his previous fire, then drifted his gaze down to the fire orb.
I used so much mana to create this orb.
“So you better die, lil spidey.”
‘You seem to duplicate my form, but this one is indeed stronger than the previous one.’
“Of course,” Florian corrected the fireball’s statement, then lifted the orb in his hand, bathing the forest with golden light. “And I guess you would be enough to fill my stomach,” he sneered, and then shot the fire orb but did not expect that the spider would launch an attack as well.
His fire orb broke through the grey cobwebs that lunged at him, but he did not have enough time to realize or eschewed himself from the cobwebs coming to him.
BOOM—
A moderate bang occurred as the fire orb hit the spider.
The giant baby spider reverberated through the forest with its loud screeches while frantically wriggling around with the flames blazing its body.
Florian was both relieved and terrified to see it.
Also, in pain.
“Shit!”
The dark cobwebs trapped him. It was heavy and stung his skin.
[Baby Giant Spider 950/2800]
[The cobweb is poisonous. Your skin is exposed to spider web venom. Your HP decreases by 0.5% every second.]
“Ahhhh, damn it!”
Struggling to try freeing himself from the poisonous cobweb, the loud, angry shriek from the spider approaching him made Florian jump in utter shock, letting gooseflesh ripple across his body. The spider's sight was so terrifying that he could even hear his chaotic heartbeat despite the creepy noise of the spider. Florian felt his knees weaken at the clashing chelicerae, as if the spider was ready to shred him alive.
Feeling death coming closer, Florian reflexively stretched out both hands and shouted, “SHIELD!” Then a golden transparent shield appeared before the spider crashed into it—BANG! He bounced quite far backwards. His back bumped into a sturdy tree, and the spiderweb was still trapping him, biting his skin and leaving dark black streaks all around his legs, hands, and some in his face.
[You have received so many injuries.]
“Don’t bother telling me that!”
Florian wanted to cry as loud as he wanted, but only little moans and sobs came out of his mouth. His eyes welled up. His whole body trembled in pain. But recalling how Yves had mocked him because of being a weepy boy, he held back the tears, succumbing to the agony taking over his body instead.
In the distance, he could see the giant burning spider still jiggling around. Rising, he cast fire magic at the cobwebs to burn them and succeeded; the cobwebs slowly burnt and left nothing but ashes. Then he thought about the next attack but sensed there wasn’t much mana left. Damn. He sighed sharply and decided to use the remaining mana efficiently.
Of course, Florian would use fire magic again, but it wasn’t a fire orb that required quite a lot of mana.
“I don’t know—but attacking with arrows seems cooler than sword or dagger,” was a statement coming from a person who hated close combat that used more movement and caused fatigue quickly.
This time, a fiery arrow was ready in his hand.
[Skill – Fire Magic lv. 2]
[Creation – Fire Arrow (+Special Effect)]
‘Oh, it seems very cool! Do you want me to help strengthen it?’
A question from the fire spirit surprised him a little. “Oh, you do?” But the fire spirit huffed at his response. “My apologies. I mean—I would be so pleased if you’re willing to help me.” Florian completely changed his mocking tone into a polite one, so the fire orb replied.
‘I may be a young spirit, but using the fire element is as easy as breathing. And of course, I would help you if you ask for help POLITELY!’
Florian chewed his lips and nodded, thinking the fire spirit would be more challenging to handle than the others.
Then, the fire arrow in his hand felt stronger and bigger, splashing even wilder flame.
“Cool,” Florian commented, earnestly impressed, and the fire orb hovered around excitedly. “And I will make it even cooler.” He put on a crooked smile and brought his hand up and close to his face, the stance of throwing a spear, though it was shorter.
Noticing the light emitted by the fire arrow, the spider slithered towards Florian while echoing the forest with its loud and angry squeals.
‘How would you make it even cooler than my fire?’
A half-smirk twisted his lips as Florian answered, “You will see.” Then he shot the arrow at the spider — while it was in the air, it multiplied into five arrows, just slightly smaller but not weaker.
This better works as I used nearly all my mana into it.
*BOOM* *BOOM*
[Baby Giant Spider 8/2800]
‘Very cool! I will learn to do it now and get stronger!’
Florian ignored the fire spirit’s amazement and inspected how the arrows pierced and burnt the baby giant spider, causing it to wriggle and scream weakly. But it’s still alive, barely.
“I guess I only need the last strike to kill it?” said Florian, chuckling viciously, and approached the spider with a fist ready.
It would be nice to have a punch as the final blow to kill it, wouldn’t it?
With dark mana, this time, slowly emitted from his feet, he strode over, starting at a slow pace that gradually became a sprint. Giving the last strong a potent on his foot, he hopped toward the spider and launched a powerful blow on its blazing body, specifically the spider’s head.
His powerful blow hit the spider’s head, followed by a fairly crisp cracking sound. The baby giant spider squirmed, its eight legs throbbing before wholly stopping. Then the flames blazing its body slowly diminished, dark blood drenched the ground, and its bitter and musty smell rode in the air, causing Florian to rub his nose several times, but his hand didn’t stop from getting closer to it.
[You have killed the Giant Baby Spider! +65% XP]
[Congratulations! You have levelled up to level 2!]
“Absorb,” he said through panting.
[Absorbing the dark mana failed. The monster is too strong.]
“What?” He frowned and refused to give up. “Absorb.”
[Your level is too low to absorb the dark mana. Absorbing the dark mana failed.]
Florian hissed in annoyance. His appetite was gone, the pain slithering over his body had overtaken him, and his failure to absorb the dark mana made things worse.
“I’m tired!” he grumbled, wobbling to a tree to lean on and rest. “And oh, I’m in pain!” he shouted to no one, then dropped his body to rest his back on the tree. Feeling frustrated, he heaved up his chin and stared upon the dark blue sky, searching for help or some miracles from the uncaring universe.
Silence filled the woods. Even the nature spirits seemed relaxed in the air—none of them arguing over unnecessary matters as usual. And the dark nymph rested on his lap. With this calmness, Florian felt both relieved and drowsy. But he urged himself not to lower his eyelids because otherwise, the memories of the past would play and sink him into sorrow again, or another monster would suddenly appear and eat him alive.
Florian couldn’t mourn anymore—not when he had started his new journey. He had to pull himself together and think about what he needed to do once he reached Arcsvere.
“Stats,” he asked.
Statistic
Name
Florian (12)
Level
2
Class
Warlock (tier I)
Race
Faerie/Human
Rank
Mugler
Title
The Coward Warlock
Experience Point
15,25%
Hit-Point
810/3000
Strength
26
Endurance
21
Mana Power
140/2800
Charisma
30
Wisdom
21
Dark Mana Power
710/2800
Dexterity
25
Intelligence
18
“Mugler?” he mumbled, just realizing it.
Given how powerful his magic attacks were, it clarified that he most likely had surpassed that rank.
Then how am I still in Mugler rank? I believe my Mana core is at least close to the orange shade.
Sorcerers determine their strength level based on their Mana core colour.
In the shade of Red: Mugler, Orange: Moyner, Yellow: Lycher, and White, as the strongest mana core: Grand. On every level, divided into three more. For example, if the mana core were the darkest shade of red: they would be a Mugler III (the weakest), red: Mugler II, rosy: Mugler I (the strongest in Mugler level), and so on.
And the only way to determine the colour of my Mana Core is through the Maneuxler.
Maneuxler was a Magical tool, mostly spherical, which was usually in the School of Sorcery or the Magic Institute.
A long sigh came out as Florian rested his head on the back of his neck, his eyes blankly staring upon the sky, perhaps trying to ask the uncaring universe for a piece of miracle.
“I couldn’t even go there because I have a faerie characteristic,” he cooed. A half-faerie with no family, house, or definite destination. So great. Very very great.
With another frustrated sigh, he ducked and bit his lip. His hand rubbed his grumbling stomach. Oh, he was famished. Not to mention the pain from his wounds, the spoor stitches, and the spider attack that made him feel intoxicated with suffering. What could be worse? Entering a new country with no clear background while looking this miserable? And what if the knights patrolling the south found out if there was a lost, pitiful half-fae? Florian was sure he would appear in the newspaper the next day.
Damn. He closed his eyes to calm himself, but the calmness did not last long. Too soon, in fact.
‘Florian, I…I feel someone strong is coming. This is…’
Florian jolted his eyes open at the nervous words coming from the fire spirit.
‘A faerie who can control tree elemental! A faerie who is loved by the great tree spirit!’
‘Good God! A tree Elementalist!’
The whirlwind and the flying stones continued.
Vigilantly, Florian rose and tried to focus on his sharp sense. But only the gentle howl of wind filled his ears, apart from the crazy sound of his heartbeat.
The real faerie? And even a tree Elementalist?
A strange anxiousness swept over him, starting a tingling sensation along the neck and intensifying with every passing second. Florian examined the sight before him, his amber pupils cautiously scanning around the woods. Then a step of someone far ahead of him tensed him up. His heart seemed to spasm.
The dark side of the woods still drowned that person. Then the crisp sound of leaves and pebbles being stepped on grew louder and closer and slowly revealed a person with her long, shiny silver hair, then continued with her clear green eyes that were as calm as the vast grass field in spring. She had sweet bronze skin and pointed ears, and could have wings or a tail hiding beneath her dark blue cloak that had the silver bird crest on the chest, which was clarifying it was an official symbol of an organization or household.
“Oh god—I thought I lost you, Florian,” she began, an edge of relief and longing flowing into her elegant, silky voice.
Before Florian could react, the female faerie had ambushed him, surrounding his body with her sturdy arms. She embraced him tightly as though she had been waiting to see him.
[Special Identification lv. 1]
Name
Unknown
Race
Faerie
HP
12930/13000
Strength
95
Nature Power
1
This faerie is extremely strong!
Despite his shock, Florian felt rather lucky because that faerie didn’t seem to be an enemy.