The house was silent.
I couldn't hear any noise or voice but my own. I could only hear the creaking of the wooden doors and a click of my footsteps on the marble floor.
Walking around made me feel uncomfortable. Even shivering at the cold breeze blowing through the creaking open window near me.
I don't know how long would I stay here.
I wanted to leave because the area I'm in was too dangerous for someone like me to stay. I wanted to go outside and get away from this strange area, but what point in going back to that unforgivable world if it meant reliving the horrors and trauma I endured for so long?
What was the real answer to escaping this relentless cycle of abuse and betrayal?
Over here.
Before I knew it, the house wasn't silent.
That voice was soothing. I couldn't tell who, but it was too relaxing, alluring, refreshing...
I noticed a door creaked open. Was it locked before when I passed through it?
Not that it mattered to me anymore as the voice kept repeating those two words and the smell of lavender lingered in my nose. I let out a gasp as I stepped into the door.
Over here... Over here...
I came in, repeating the words they gave me.
And then...
----------------------------------------
I gasped as I opened my eyes. My head was pounding a bit, yet I felt refreshed for some reason. I looked around my surroundings and realized where I was.
"Why am I...back here?"
I slowly got up from the bed as I saw the same golden chandelier hanging on the purple ceiling and the dark purple regal wallpaper plastered around the walls. Odd... Was I touring around the house by myself a few minutes ago? I thought I did, but why am I...
Fledgling, are you awake?
I gasped again at a familiar voice ringing in my head, nearly screaming in horror and falling off the bed. "What the hell, Casia?! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!"
Fufufu... It seems like you haven't gotten used to my telepathy, huh?
I groaned verbally and mentally. "You're only lucky that you're not here for a second round. And no, we are not having a rematch."
I heard Casia chuckling again. At least you're more energetic than yesterday. It seems like your tour around the house seemed to exhaust you a bit.
"Yeah, that's saying so-" My thoughts stopped, recalling what happened. "Hold on. I was touring around a few minutes ago. Why is it already yesterday?"
Hm? Didn't you recall how you spend the whole day inside after our talk about the Demon Territory? I haven't seen you get out of the house until I saw you sleeping back in the guest room.
"But that's impossible. I was touring around for an hour and...and..."
I tried to recall what happened next. I was touring around and then... And then...
What's wrong? What do you mean you toured around for an hour?
I did tour around for an hour. But after that, it was all blank. I tried to remember and remember. But all I got in return was a big headache.
Fledgling, maybe you should take a deep breath. I think you might misremember some details.
"But I'm sure it was only..." I groaned. There was no way this migraine would go away if I keep remembering in vain. "You know what. Forget it. Let's change the subject. I don't think you called me via telepathy to say hello."
I'm afraid not. Are you free this afternoon?
"Yeah. What do you expect me to do here? Sleep all day?"
Right. Is it okay for you to take a small course in magic?
Well, that was an unexpected request. Now that he mentioned it, I wonder how the magic in this world work compared to the ones I read in my novels. I did manage to cast some of them thanks to the strange system installed in my ring. I might need some pointers in case it might fail me or something.
"I'll take you up on your offer later. As long as you don't make it too dangerous for me to deal with." Yeah, if he lets me fight a super-strong demon, I'm getting the fuck out of here.
I promise it won't be too dangerous for you to deal in our magic course. Besides, your feats were enough to prove that you have the potential to become a great magician.
A great magician, huh? That might be true if I was still wearing the ring. But I couldn't help but blush at his compliment. Something I noticed out of embarrassment. "Don't you have a garden to tend to?!"
Right, right. I'll see you later, Fledgling.
My head was silent once Casia's voice dropped. I'm surprised that underneath his scary facade was a troll wanting to mess with me at every moment. Well, it's not like I'm complaining ever since our fight. As long I get more information, the better. Now that I think about it since the lesson would begin this afternoon, I would have time for myself. I wanted to reread that novella and...
Oh, yeah! My stats! I was so focused on the sudden change of events that I almost neglected my stats and [Talents] the ring's system gave me. Might as well check on them first.
"Open [Status]."
It seemed like my commands went through swimmingly this time as the UI appeared after I said them. I read through the contents as slowly as I could. If I get hasty, I might miss some details I may need to know about what's inside my ring.
> [Name: *%*$&]
>
> [Species: *$*@]
Of course, this stupid ring was also glitchy. It couldn't even log into my name and species! And for some reason, the Jobs section vanished like it didn't exist there at all. At least the rest of it wasn't affected by it.
> [Stats]
>
> [STR: 2]
>
> [DEX: 3]
>
> [VIT: 3]
>
> [INT: 8]
>
> [CHA: 4]
>
> [WIS: 9]
>
> [Available Stat Points: NaN]
So these were the stats representing my strengths and weaknesses. And it seemed that there was a message attached to the new window.
> [About Stats]
>
> [I think you know all about them due to your past experience, so we will save our breath. But at least give us some of your time explaining what each stat is all about.
>
> [STR] is Strength, which is obvious to you. But it's not only to determine it but how much damage you deal to your enemies and how compatible are you with some weapons.
>
> [DEX] is Dexterity. It determines your ability and nimbleness. It also determines how fast can you move in any area.
>
> [VIT] is Vitality. It determines your physical health and endurance against any status condition you might be inflicted.
>
> [INT] is your Intelligence. As it says, it determines your knowledge in any general field, including the [Knowledge Talents] you possessed. It also connects to your magic abilities as well as your current Mana within you.
>
> [CHA] is Charisma. It represents your force of personality, meaning how much you influence others through persuasion, diplomacy, and more.
>
> [WIS] is Wisdom. It determines how much common sense you possess in this world as well as your ability to perceive, strategize, and create.
>
> The stats are already determined based on your previous life in your world.
>
> Since you are currently on [Tutorial Mode], you cannot gain [Stat Points]. The feature will be unlocked as soon as you completed it.
>
> That is all. Good luck, Seeker.]
That was a lot to share, but I think I understood everything including some small notes below it. The only problem was the last few paragraphs of the tutorial. It seemed like I couldn't adjust my stats to whatever I wanted. I guess they didn't even bother putting in levels or the EXP points section in the UI.
But the main problem was my stats themselves. I mean, what the hell is this?! They look shit!
They said my stats are already adjusted based on my past life back home. But I didn't know shitty they looked until I saw it. Am I really that out of shape? Sure, I didn't exercise that much ever since college, but that doesn't mean my [VIT] was a measly 3. Not to mention my [STR] was 2. The fact that I was able to wield a sword back then seemed too lucky. Then again, it might be adjusted right after I wore the ring. Besides, the other stats were somehow on point.
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
If what the tutorial said was true, then [WIS] was 9 because I seemed to have a grasp on the fantasy world mechanics including the perceived strength of those demons while my [INT] was 8 because I was a college graduate, I think. [DEX] was 3 because I'm honestly not very good at running and gymnastics. Though [CHA] troubled me a bit. It was set to 4. It wasn't as low as my [STR] and [VIT], but was it representing that I'm not much of a social person? It pained me to admit this, but I might be a bit too forceful and cynical when it came to other people's views. Either way, at least I have a grasp of myself along with my strengths and weaknesses.
Though now that I think about it again, I didn't recall the UI I used in God's Domain having stats logged into it. Was it because they were not ready to see mine or they wanted me to die before I could get a chance to see it? When I first stepped into this world, no Otherworlder could access some kind of UI here and the only information we could get was our special skills, [Talents]. and jobs. That college kid had one involving speed, but for some reason, I didn't have anything with me, including a job. So does that mean only Heroes have that privilege of that system or did the RPG mechanics didn't exist here at all?
Either way, there were too many questions for me to find the answers to. For now, I should check out my [Talents] next.
[Talent]
[Fire] Level 30
[Darkness] Level 30
[Sword] Level 10
[Martial Arts] Level 10
[Demon Knowledge] Level 2
[Familiar Taming] Level 1
Combat-wise, these were the only [Talents] I know from the ring. Though now that I saw my stats, the inconsistency between my [STR] and the [Sword] and [Martial Arts] was too much of a difference. Even if both of them were Level 10, there was no way they could be useful for me in the long run. If that's the case, then my magic [Talents] were the only saving grace I could have in my arsenal.
Then there are the other [Talents] that might be useful for me in the long run. So far, my [Demon Knowledge] leveled up to 2 while I gained a new one called [Familiar Taming]. The description for it made me a bit wary, though. I mean, taming [Demons]? Who would be in the right mind to do that?! Sure, there were [Docile Demons] Casia mentioned, but still...
As for my [Demon Knowledge], while I gained a level, I noticed I didn't get any new skills from it. Then again, it might be a bit of cheating if I gain skill at every level. But what was the point of having this as my [Talent]? I did learn a lot and this [Talent] represented it. But I couldn't take advantage of it except with the [Demon's Eye] skill. Still, it's too early for me to call it useless. If I level up more, I might be able to gain more skills and learn more about it. I'll see if I could learn more right after Casia's lesson. For now, I should take it easy for today and rest up until then.
Which means time to take the novella out before the events drag me out again.
----------------------------------------
I sheepishly chuckled as I found myself face-to-face with Casia. And he didn't seem happy to see me.
Did I tell you to meet me here in the afternoon?
I gulped. I was so invested in reading Dr. Jekyll again that I might have neglected the time. "W-Well, you yelled in my head and used your magic to drag me out here."
Only because you were too focused to even listen to me via my [Telepathy]! I feared we would waste sunlight, so I had to make drastic measures to get you here immediately!
I wanted to argue about his methods. Although, he has a point. I would lose in this back-to-back argument, so I just shut my mouth while Casia growled under his breath.
Honestly, I thought you were nothing more than a serious-looking Fledgling. But I guess looks can be deceiving.
"That's because I didn't have free time even back in my world, okay?!" I quickly took a deep breath before I lost my composure. "Anyways, you said you want to teach me magic, right? Then I rather not waste more time than I intended. Sorry about that, Casia."
Casia growled again similar to a sigh. I can't understand you sometimes. But very well.
He then dropped a few stones near my foot. They were small and had various colors shining within them. "What are these? Are these the [Mana Hearts] you mentioned yesterday? They look small than I imagined."
That's because they are [Mana Crystals], not [Mana Hearts]. Though I noticed you managed to notice the similarities.
"It was a lucky guess." In reality, some novels talked about hearts with mana or any energy similar to it having crystallized hearts instead of real ones. I guess that one was on point. "So these crystals are what I think they are, right?"
As you suspected. These are Mana condensed into crystals and they are growing abundantly in the mines of the Demon Territory. There are some of them existing outside of it, but they are less common and the regeneration is very long due to a lack of Mana around the areas they are in with ones similar to ours located in the Elves' territory. For this lesson, I want you to know about the basics of magic and how we cast spells.
So basic stuff, huh? Sounds boring, but if I learn anything from experience is that you should never be afraid of going back to square one. Besides, that magic I did was all because of my ring anyway. "Alright, I'm down with that. Give me everything you know, Professor Casia."
As soon as I said this, I could have sworn Casia's face turned red. Can't you pick a better nickname than that? Being called a "professor" makes me feel a bit embarrassed.
Wait, seriously!? "Alright. Then how about "Master"?" I could still see him blushing red despite the black scales on his face. "You know what, I'll just call you Casia. No jokes this time."
The black dragon stopped blushing as he looked at me. Thank you. Now then...
He gingerly tapped the crystals with his claw and they glow on contact as they started to float right in front of me.
In this world, Mana comes in different forms around us. Whether they breathe life or create destruction, it is the building block that runs the world. Without it, it will cease to exist. When it comes to magic, we can form the Mana in 7 forms called Elements. They are [Fire] (He tapped on the red crystal.), [Water] (Then the blue...), [Wind] (Light blue), [Nature] (Light green...), [Earth] (Brownish-yellow...), [Light] (White...), and [Darkness] (And lastly, a purple crystal.) They are also the ones that keep the world afloat and it is where life and civilization exist. Most of us can use magic, even the monsters outside our territory. However, how you can use it depends on how much Mana you possess inside you.
I see. So the magic system is like any other ones I read including those shonen mangas. "Are there any limits on how many elements you can use?"
It depends on your affinity for one or two of these elements. If you possess the [Earth] affinity, you may able to cast spells based on that element. Although you have trouble casting any [Wind] spells since it counteracts it. You do recall what spells you cast on me during our fight, right?
Even an elemental rock-paper-scissors system also exists here, too? Damn, this world isn't surprising me a lot about it. It's a bit predictable to my taste. "I used [Fire] and [Darkness] spells, which means I have an affinity with both of them, right? Is it rare for anyone who has an affinity with two elements?"
No, they are uncommon in this world. However, the same can't be said for magicians who can have an affinity with 3-4 elements. Possessing all of the elements is considered a rarity and are considered geniuses and Heroes.
Heroes? If that's true, then...
"Does that mean an Otherworlder has a chance of possessing an affinity to all of the elements?"
Possibly yes. Otherworlders that have an affinity with all elements are a rarity and even if they aren't named Heroes by the gods, they will have the potential to be the greatest soldiers and geniuses to the kingdom they are serving to.
I see. So if that's the case, maybe those "chosen" Heroes might possess that said affinity as part of their blessings. But there was one more thing I need to confirm. "Do you have any affinities other than Fire, Casia?"
I possess the affinity for [Darkness] just like you. Some Sentient Demons and Docile ones often possess the [Darkness] element affinity, so it's not surprising for all of us. Which reminds me. Out of all elements, the number of magicians with the [Darkness] affinity outside of our species is rare. The same can be said with the [Light] element.
"Well, I'm not surprised about it." If I recall, [Light] and [Darkness] were considered OP elements in many video games I played or know about. Though I'm surprised at how uncommon demons can use [Darkness]. Maybe it depends on how sentient you were or something.
However, there is one more element you need to know.
My eyes widened when I heard this. "There's another element outside of the 7?"
Yes. Though I can't call it an element. Rather, we might see it as an oddity because of how it formed.
Okay, now I'm a bit concerned.
We call it the [Null]. It exists, but it doesn't. Yet it can grant power to those who have an affinity to it. To the outsiders, the ones who possess it are called "monsters" or "trash".
"Why is that?" I asked.
[Null] is an unpredictable element. You might grant a power that may rival other magicians and warriors while the other obtains a power that might be useless in a battle or any situation they are in. In any case, only the ones outside the Demon Territory can rarely have that affinity. Since we are incarnations of Darkness, we always have a form.
[Null], huh? Sounds like an element that Otherworlders could use, too. Does that mean I possess the [Null] element, too? No, it couldn't be. God threw me away when they saw my status screen. Either way, the last part made me more confused than before.
Well, no point in dwelling on that detail now. I think that should be enough for you to learn about Mana and magic.
"I guess. Basics are important after all, so let's go with that first."
Alright. Casia turned his head to the other side of the garden. Your first exercise is to show me the spells you mastered so far. Don't worry. This test will only determine how skilled you are in firing a basic spell. As much as I want you to get some experience, I don't want to be too cruel to send a Fledgling like you to danger immediately.
Why did it sound like a false reassurance? Still, he made a good choice of leading me away from dangerous fights. I already had enough violence for a while. I decided to take up on it as I stepped up and stretch my limbs to prepare myself.
"So I can use any spells I have, right?" I asked while stretching my arms.
As long as it's not too high-level enough to destroy the garden. I'm still building a training area at the back and the owner will burn me if we end up messing with his beloved Shadow Lavenders.
Good point. I guess a standard [Fire Ball] would do. The target Casia led me to was a standard bullseye painted on a wooden plank (which was surprisingly well-made despite being seemingly made at the last minute) and behind it was a wall fence made of bricks of several dark colors. I have to admit, he did a great job on the makeshift training area. Once I finished my stretches, I assumed my position and took a few deep breaths.
"Here goes nothing." I raised my right hand and tried to aim it at the target a few feet from me. "[Fire Ball]."
Suddenly, a small flame appeared in the palm of my hand and I let it fly to the target. I was hoping it would be a clean hit, but that would only happen if you're an overpowered protagonist. Because rather than hitting the target, it completely missed and hit the wall behind it instead. I sheepishly chuckled as I turned to my magic teacher.
Not bad. But try to straighten your back and arm. Take a few deep breaths to reduce the trembling of your arm and clear your head before you cast the spell again. And remember, we're trying to preserve the lavenders here, so...
Oh, right. I almost forgot fire and plants don't mix very well. At least Casia didn't say I'm confident with my accuracy. I'm surprised Casia didn't mention incantations or anything. Still, that's one topic I want to discuss later. "In that case..."
I closed my eyes for a while to follow his instructions. Take a deep breath, clear my mind, and straighten my back and arm. Once I did all of that, I opened my eyes with them dead focused on the target. "[Dark Blast]."
This time, a black and purple aura gathered in my palm. Once they formed into a ball, I fired it at the target. It hit, but only the edge was hit instead of a bullseye.
Very decent, but it's a bit of an improvement. I think we can do better, though.
I nodded. "Yeah. I think the first thing I should do is to improve my accuracy. Let's try it one more time."
Yeah, learning magic was surprisingly tough. But for now, I spent the next hour trying to hit the damn target with my spells. It might take a while for me to improve, but let's just say I didn't join the archery club back in high school for a good reason. I wore glasses for a reason and the ones I had broke from our fight! Thanks a lot, Casia...
Less complaining, more casting!
Ugh... I'm shutting up now.