Chapter 6: Progression (2)_World Fragment Online

> Player [Karl] wishes to add you to their Browser. Do you accept?

> * [Yes]

> * No

We added each other to our [Browser] which was basically a friend list in this game. Afterwards, we caught up on the events that followed.

Karl talked about his side of the story since that whole commotion at the auditorium which involved the mass transport of all players there back to their own home shard. Immediately, Karl tried heading back to the auditorium only to find it locked. Other players had the same idea as Karl as well as he said they began pooling after a while and started banging on the doors. Seeing as the doors wouldn't budge, Karl teleported back to the home shard and tried something using the magic code system only to have it fail repeatedly. The log out procedure was a hard coded function of the game and helmet. Eventually, Karl gave up and decided to learn more about the game, choosing the item store as a first stop.

About those players making a ruckus at the auditorium? They were scattered by the city guard and some players now try to take revenge by wrecking stuff every now and then. My gut feeling tells me to go along with the game for now and that's what I intend to do.

As I finished telling Karl my side of the story, he laughed then asked.

"So what do you hope to find in a place like this?"

"I was hoping to find out more about the magic system of this game. Don't want to have to experience something like that again." I said frowning as I recalled it.

"The magic system huh... that's basically scripting. Once I got the terms down I was able to make my own magic in a flash. I'm a coder in real you see." said the showoff. I'm still agitated a little with the wolf incident but I didn't lose pacing with the conversation.

"Hahaha... well I wasn't so fortunate so as to had have the opportunity to learn programming."

"That sucks. There's a book here you can buy to learn the magic code system that I picked up... over there!" Karl said pointing towards a manuscript on one of the shop's shelves. Picking up the book titled [Magic Code For The Unenlightened], I say a 2-D price tag hover above the book in my vision with a cost of 100 credits. Apparently the book couldn't be opened before purchasing it so I thanked Karl and headed towards the counter to trade in my item drops for the book only to learn that I can't sell those drops in this store. The shop NPC mistress redirected me towards another shop on the ground floor which dealt with those items and allowed me to earn 250 credits. I didn't want to sell off the berries I had obtained as I had nothing else to recover with should things get bad.

After buying the book, I teleported back to my home shard only to be greeted by a system notification after the light of the translucent floor pulsed becoming temporarily brighter.

> You have fully synchronized with the faerie [Novir].

> The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

> * New skill learnt: [Call]

> * New skill learnt: [Mana Manipulation]

> * Proficiency of the skill [Mana sight] rises

I checked the details of the new skills by selecting skills from the menu.

> Call (20% MP)

> * Available when separated from your synchronized Faerie at distance greater than 10 meters.

> * Activated by calling the name of your synchronized Faerie.

> * Calls your partnered Faerie to your side. Efficiency of magic based abilities increases by 33% for 1 minute.

> Cooldown: 5 minutes

I think by efficiency it meant reduced mana cost. I tested this using the match flame magic after using the [Call] skill after having Novir, who looked nothing of the light-shaped body that I initial saw, stay a little ways away from me. When I said the name of the faerie, Novir, the green haired faerie disappeared in a burst of luminescent green particles and reappeared just over my head, shrouded in a green aura coat that was linked to me by a green light thread. The match flame magic cost me about 6 mana per minute instead of the usual 10. I could see how useful this ability would be for high cost magic later but I thought the cost would have been around 7 mana until I looked at Mana Manipulation.

> Mana Manipulation

> * Increases base efficiency of magic abilities by 10%

Seeing this, I understood that why my match flame had a higher efficiency.

As for Mana sight, it was now level 2, raising my PER stat to 10 and resetting value needed to increase it to zero.

> * ID: A15479C

> * Name: Jason

> * HP: 55

> * HPR: 1/min

> * MP: 40

> * MPR: 1/min

> * KI: 100%

> * STR: 8 (8/80)

> * DEX: 8 (8/80)

> * INT: 8 (2/80)

> * PER: 10 (0/100)

With this, I now switched my focus back to the book, the [Magic Code For The Unenlightened] and began the process of learning the various terms I neglected to do when it was freely available on the game's website.

After a few hours of committing several terms to memory, I began to feel sleepy due to boredom. Yawning, I closed the book, stood up and tried making a new magic code from what I learned.

Source: Self

Domain: Right Palm, hover

Effect: Ignite, Center, Domain

First is the source which, according to the book, is safest if the self is used as doing something like 'not self' can create many complications. An example of that would be immediate Mana depletion followed by the creation of a vacuum centered on the caster. By having the source as myself, the Mana would be used from me only my reserve of Mana would be used allowing for a safe end point of the magic.

Next is the domain. Designating an area for the magic to form relates to its maintenance cost. The closer to you it is, the easier it is to form whilst as you designate the domain further away, the cost rises.

Finally, the effect part was simply what the magic does. In this case, if you take everything as is, I'd get a fire that start at the center of of my declared domain which would expand into a ball of fire, provided I supply the adequate Mana. The problem with this was that it only hovered above my hand and not much else. If I wanted to deal damage with this, I'd have to get in close range.

Sighing, I stopped the magic practice after I completed the spell three times to grant it a name. With my new abilities confirmed, I decided to go back to the forest where I met the wolf. If I were to give up now, I would have to remain a permanent prisoner inside my shard space and that wasn't happening as long as I can see a path forward.

> Learning magic code has increased your INT status.