Chapter 5

  The majority of the journey to Larkinge was uneventful. I did set out for the village a bit later on during the day, but I would have likely had to make camp at some point even if I set out in the early morning. Since the trip was on an established road though, there were plenty of spots where other people had cleared out for their own camps in the past, so I found one of those and made it work.

  One of the supplies I did buy before leaving was this small crystal, about the size of a baseball. It was a little expensive but not enough to bankrupt me. The purpose of it is it’s magically enchanted in a way to output heat. Apparently they are pretty common and most everyone has one in these parts due to the nature of the weather around here. I also bought a tarp-like sheet, although I couldn’t tell exactly what it was made of. In any case, it should function as a makeshift tent.

  Along the journey to Larkinge, I didn’t see any other people using the road. The person who gave me the quest said that Larkinge was only a village of a little over a hundred people, and that most of the time they only come to Brackenhold once or twice a month for supplies. Brackenhold does station a small cohort of guardsmen in the village though, for protection and to keep the peace in case any crimes are committed.

  The environment remained mostly the same, although the elevation was steadily increasing. It became a bit more barren in terms of trees as I went along, but still enough to call it a forested area. There was a small section of the road that went around the edge of a cliff face, and it must have been over two hundred feet of a sharp decline. I was definitely careful during that stretch.

  The small heating crystal that I purchased worked surprisingly well. It was activated just by pressing a small notch made into the edge of the crystal and it began radiating a warm aura. With the tarp propped up to keep me out of the wind, it wasn’t the most uncomfortable situation I’d ever slept in. While these things are available to buy, it would be nice to make some of these for myself. That would require me increasing my intelligence and wisdom stats most likely though, which I can’t really justify over my physical stats just yet.

  After getting an early start the next day, I arrived at Larkinge in what seemed like the middle of the morning. The sun was high, or at least almost as high as it would go in this part of the world. As I walked along the main road of the village, I passed various people who gave me some nods or greetings. They didn’t seem unfriendly, but they weren’t exactly approaching me or anything, which was understandable.

  I continued on for a bit. The architecture of the buildings and homes was similar to that of Brackenhold, but definitely more rugged and made to withstand the environment. Being higher up on the mountain and with no large walls shielding them from the winds, the snow drifts were often piled up high against the homes. It seemed as though every building had a door on at least two sides, and oftentimes they were both on the sides facing away from the higher points of the mountain.

  As I continued to walk throughout the village, I pulled out some notes I had written down from the quest giver. He didn’t provide me with any specific directions once I got to Larkinge, but he did describe who and what I was looking for. The man I’m set to deliver to is named Jakob, a middle aged man who was sent to this place to study the nature of the magical essences of the surrounding area. Apparently this guy was some big time researcher working for the royalty of the nation

  He didn’t tell me what Jakob was researching, or what it was that I’m delivering, though. He also said that Jakob lives in a somewhat larger than normal house for the area to account for his research equipment, so I should be looking for one of the bigger houses. After meandering for another few minutes I finally spotted a house that was noticeably bigger than the others.

  I approached and knocked on the door, waiting for an answer. After a few moments it swung open.

  “You must be the transporter Jeff had mentioned,” he said, taking off what looked like goggles and then pulling off his stained gloves, “Come on in, kid.”

  He talked with a gruffness, which matched his appearance. For being a researcher, this was probably the largest person I’d ever seen. He must be standing at least seven feet tall and although this house was built larger, he still had to duck under some fixtures. He went over to a basin and began washing his hands and face with the water from inside.

  In the meantime, I looked around the area and did not really find what one would think of when describing a home. Almost every open wall space was taken up with hanging tools, crystals, scrolls, and things I didn’t even know the name of. There were markings across the entire floor and benches stacked with all manner of strange objects and contraptions. There was also a door leading to what I can only presume to be a bedroom.

  Jakob came back shortly after and pulled up two chairs for us to sit in. After we both sat down I handed him the small package I was set to deliver. He opened it carefully and pulled out a small crystal of sorts, but it looked cut and chipped in unnatural ways. At that moment, I got a notification.

  ?Quest Complete: Delivery Dues?

  ?You gained 121 experience points?

  ?Your level has increased to 3?

  Putting that aside for right now, I continued to watch Jakob as he inspected the crystal. He reached over to grab his goggles and put them back on, smearing dirt and oil over the face he just washed. He turned some dials and knobs on the goggles and chuckled a bit, “Ah yes, this’ll do just fine.”

  “You see this, kid?” he said as he brought the crystal up for me to look at, “What do you think that is?”

  Crystal was my best guess, but I didn’t want to sound like an idiot. I couldn’t think of anything else though, so that’s what I said, “It looks like some sort of manufactured crystal?”

  “Close, but not quite. The crystal itself is natural, but cut by some advanced magic. See, these crystals are pretty tough, it’s impractical to try to cut them even with a strong blade, but the right magic? That’ll slice right through. With the way this one in particular was cut, it works great as a conduit to bring magical energy from one state into another.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  While I didn’t really understand what he was saying, I did my best to listen. After explaining that to me, he turned in his chair and began working on one of his workbenches, laying out tools and other materials. He didn’t seem to mind my presence, so I figured I would try to learn what I could while I had the chance.

  “So if this crystal can make changing energy from one state into another easy, what would you be using that changed energy for?” I asked while looking over his shoulder. He continued to work as he responded.

  “Well, lots of things. The magical energy that is present in the world is very passive, so it can effect and seep into things but it doesn’t do a whole lot. Creatures, whether that be sentient or otherwise, can then turn that passive energy into other things, which is how magic is cast. But passive energy transforming naturally doesn’t really happen, so we have to use these sorts of workarounds.”

  I couldn’t help but feel a little bad. I’m sure Lyla would be getting much more value out of hearing this stuff rather than me. I suppose I’ll just have to try to tell her all this myself at some point, or maybe ask Jakob if he would be up for talking to her about it.

  “So kid,” Jakob finally finished working on the crystal, “What do you want for payment?”

  “Oh, your brother already paid me,” I responded. As much as I liked money, I didn’t want to rip anyone off. “Thanks for offering, though.”

  “I know he paid you, but that was for the delivery. I don’t get out much, so talking about this stuff with a real person is fun. I see you got a sword, you some kinda swordsmen?” he asked.

  Could he be the mentor I’ve been looking for? “Yeah, I am! Could you maybe teach me some things?”

  “Nah, I’m not much of a fighter myself.”

  Immediate drain of enthusiasm.

  “But, I can teach you about magic. Not like a ‘here’s how throw a fireball’ way, but generally how it works. Melee fighters tend to be at a disadvantage against magic users since you’ll get blasted before you can get close, so it would be smart to learn how it works so you can exploit it, yeah?”

  ?New Quest: Magic 101?

  ?Would you like to accept this quest??

  Now I definitely felt bad for Lyla. I accepted the quest though, and Jakob went to one of his bookshelves and pulled off a decently large book and handed it to me. The title was To Cast a Spell, and it was written by someone named Regina Dyle.

  “That’ll getcha started. Let me know if you have any questions, and after you finish we’ll talk more. Feel free to stay here or go someplace else, doesn’t really matter to me.” Jakob said, going back to his workstation to continue with whatever project he had. While this is a small village, I think I remember seeing a tavern of sorts while I was walking through, so I figured to not intrude I would go get a room there.

  A short walk and I came upon the tavern. It probably had a name, but the snow was piled so much and wind blown against the sides, any identifying sign was probably covered. I went in and paid for a room for a few days, and settled in.

  — — — —

  I read for what felt like a long time, but really was only about two hours. It was fairly easy to go through page by page, but understanding it was tricky. I had read stories that had magic being a kind of mathematical formula, and others where it was entirely dependent on the user. This world though, at least what this book is telling me, seems like it’s a combination of feeling the existing energy in a space and manipulating it to create an effect.

  After realizing how much time had passed though, I remembered I leveled up earlier and so I went to apply my stat points. I was going to use my unallocated points in the same way I did last time, evenly distributing them across CON, STR, and DEX, but I thought for a minute and then decided to specialize a bit. I put two points into STR and one point into DEX.

  The idea here is that this isn’t a simple game. There exists a world where I can train enough to just not get hit, meaning my CON stat is not going to be as important as stats that boost my damage or speed. Realistically, I’m not sure yet how much these stats actually impact anything. My CON increasing from the level up gave me some more HP, but would that matter in the grand scheme of things?

  Another hour of reading, I was nearing the end of the book. While the author didn’t tend to speak much about herself, I gathered she must have been some world renowned mage if the beginners book she wrote was something even a seemingly experienced magic user like Jakob would have on hand. Unfortunately, while I could read and understand the logic of what was put on the page, I could not really manifest it.

  For example, after the first dozen or so pages of theory, there is an illustrated and step by step guide to conjuring a bit of magical energy above your hand. It was similar to what Lyla did before, after we defeated the Proteli. The example showed a small flame-like energy, a bit bigger than what you would get with a lit candle. That just aids my thought that Lyla is naturally gifted at magic, as her first attempt was like looking into a flashlight.

  Unfortunately, it seems I am not so inclined. I tried my best, really. All I could muster was a little spark. Not even a sustained light, just little flecks of magical energy that disappeared as fast as they came. I continued to try other “spells” of sorts throughout the book, but none had more success than what I already experienced.

  As I finished the last page and closed the book, I got a notification.

  ?You have gained the skill Studious?

  Clearly this is related to reading or studying, but it’s a bit odd. The word “studious” isn’t really the word I would use to classify a skill. Either way, I checked the description of the skill.

  ?Studious Level 1?

  ?A person who can read?

  At this point it’s getting adversarial.