Chapter 6

  After resting for a bit after I finished reading the book, I got some food and set off to practice with my sword. It was getting a bit later in the day and I didn’t want to disturb Jakob, so I figured I would bring the book back to him tomorrow. I did consider asking him if I could borrow the book so I could let Lyla read it, but I’m sure she’ll be able to find the same book or comparable somewhere in Brackenhold.

  The evening was getting a bit colder than I was used to since I gained so much elevation, and the winds were blowing harder than they were near the city. I found a spot off one of the roads surrounding the town and began practicing. Occasionally I had to take out the small heating crystal that I purchased to warm up for a bit, I probably wouldn’t have been able to practice very long otherwise.

  It was a bit like meditation, or at least what I heard meditating was like. I became quite focused for the duration, and it started to feel more natural. Of course, I still had no idea if I was doing it correctly, but how many ways could there be to swing a sword?

  After practicing for about 2 hours, the sun was fully set and the stars were beginning to show. Now that I have some time to think about it, I’ve just been calling it “the sun” but I haven’t learned if there is a special name for it in this world, or if it’s even a sun like we have in our world. Maybe it’s just a big ball of magical energy. Although, to a person from ten thousand years ago, they might think of the real sun in the same way.

  I didn’t get a skill level up unfortunately, but I expected it to take longer as the skill’s level got higher. I would imagine, since I don’t really know what I’m doing, the experience gain rate is probably low. If I was being taught, I think it would go a lot faster.

  Now that it was getting dark out I decided to go back to the inn, eat some dinner, and go to bed. I logged off for a bit during that time, so the time would pass faster while I’m in the real world and to get some actual food. It seemed like the system was able to mimic the sensation of hunger, but it didn’t have any effect on your real world nourishment.

  I wanted to let almost three hours pass, so that when I log back in, almost nine hours will have passed in the game. I didn’t want to think about what would happen if you got a time sensitive quest, and for some reason were not able to play for an extended period of time. I haven’t had to worry about that, having taken time off from work, but I’ll have to be careful about what I commit to in the game once I have other real world commitments.

  While I was out of the game, I figured it might be useful to some people to post some of what I learned from the magical textbook to the forums. While I think it’s knowledge most people would be able to find without much trouble in the game, it might help new players get a general overview of how magic works. I sat down at my computer and began typing.

  After about an hour, I had a post that was quite long, and probably a bit incoherent, but potentially useful to some. It didn’t seem like there were any other major posts or news, so I decided to log back into the game.

  Getting back into the game, the sun was just beginning to show its light over the edge of the horizon, so it would be a bit longer before it was fully in the sky. I suppose I could probably have just stayed logged into the game and taken a nap instead of logging out. I’ll have to try that sometime.

  After eating some breakfast at the inn I set out to Jakob’s house to return the book and thank him. It was a cold morning, the kind of cold that stings to breathe. Luckily, the wind had died down from the previous day, so it was only a breeze instead of a gust. Arriving at the familiar building, I could see some faint lights inside. I knocked on the door.

  “Hey kid, you’re up pretty early, huh?” Jakob says as he opens the door and then walks back towards his work table.

  I stepped inside, the interior was the same as before, but different tools and bits were thrown all over the workstation.

  “I tend to wake up early, even if I don’t want to,” I replied, shutting the door behind me. “I wanted to return the book you lent me, it was an interesting read.”

  “You read that whole thing already?” he said, looking back at me with a bit of a bewildered expression, “Most people at least take a week to finish it, if they’re rushing.”

  Now I’m the one confused. A week? To finish reading a book where there’s barely a hundred pages

  “Well, I don’t seem to have an aptitude for magic, even though I tried all the examples the book showed, nothing really happened…” I said, thinking that perhaps the reason it takes so long is that readers spend more time practicing rather than reading.

  Jakob shook his head a bit, “Nah, it’s about understanding it. Those kids at the academy, sure, most of ‘em have passion, but you can tell which ones have a knack for it pretty quickly. Looks like you, at least, have a talent for theory.”

  I laughed a bit at that, “I think you might be overestimating my abilities a bit. What academy are you talking about?”

  “Oh, The Magecraft Academy in the capitol. Yeah, those folks bug me all the time about ‘guest lecture’ this and ‘alumni meeting’ that. I don’t even know why I still respond to them anymore.” he replied.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  The words were a bit much, but it seemed like there was still a fondness for the place from Jakob. I didn’t want to pry, so I just made a mental note of the academy so I could tell Lyla about it. I would imagine it would be tough to get in since it’s in the capitol, wherever that was, but maybe there’s a quest for it she could do.

  “I ‘spose you’ll be headin’ out now yeah?” he said, looking up from his work table.

  “Yeah, I should probably get going. I suppose you wouldn’t happen to know any experienced swordsman who would be willing to train me?” I asked, still hopeful.

  Jakob thought for a moment, “Well, the capitol has a lot of experienced swordsmen in the military, but they don’t tend to train outsiders for no reason. I don’t really know of any that I could recommend you to, sorry”

  It was a bit disappointing, but it was about what I expected. Jakob had already done a lot for me as it was, so I was more than thankful, even though my main goal wasn’t really completed.

  Jakob then looked like he had an idea, and got up to rummage through one of the bags that was hung up on the wall. After a minute, he pulled out a little metal sheet, about the size and thickness of a playing card. He held it out for me to take, “Here, take a soul card. That should smooth things out if you ever need to talk to someone related to the Magecraft Academy or certain academics at the capitol.”

  The card was a bronze color, and it held a design reminiscent of steampunk architecture. Gears, pipes, furnaces, smoke billows, you get the idea. If you angled it the right way, bits of it would glow with a blue light, which I figured was meant to signify magical components of the machinery displayed.

  I looked back up at Jakob as I took the card, “Thanks, but… why is it called a ‘soul card’?”

  He smirked a bit, “Well, cause it’s a reading of your soul of course. Those things cannot be replicated, and no one has the same soul obviously, so everyone’s card will be different. You can get them made for pretty cheap, and it’s an easy way of identification.”

  I put the card in my inventory. I’d have to look into getting some made for myself at that point. I’m not sure how the game plans to make unique designs for every player that also seem true to their “soul”. I exchanged goodbyes with Jakob and headed out. As the door closed behind me, I got a notification.

  ?Quest Complete: Magic 101?

  ?You gained 88 experience points?

  Once again I am now questless. I should probably head back to Brackenhold if I want to find more quests, plus it’s just a more convenient area to be in. It would also be for the best to fight more enemies, either due to a quest or just coming across them in the wild.

  I don’t want to take out a bunch of animals and disrupt the ecosystem (not that I could even do that alone) but I haven’t really come across “monsters” in the classic sense. Skeletons, ghouls, slimes, goblins, and the like. They’ve been nowhere to be found. Maybe the innkeeper will have some ideas.

  I headed back to the inn where I’ve been staying and found the keeper shoveling snow off the side of the building. It had drifted so high that it was almost covering the second story windows.

  He was a bit older, and somewhat frail looking, but he was still moving well for his age. I couldn’t tell exactly, but I would guess around mid 70s. He looked down from the hill at me and waved. He was also shirtless.

  I waved back and yelled up to him, “Hey! I was wondering if I could ask you some questions!”

  He seemed to squint a bit and smile, and then pointed off to the side of the building. I followed where he was pointing and my eyes landed on a shovel. I sighed and got to work.

  — — — —

  Two hours had passed before the innkeeper was satisfied. We had cleared almost the entire snow drift from one side of the inn, as well as much of what was left on the roof. It wasn’t everything, but it does make the establishment look a bit nicer. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy having snow on the ground, but realistically anything over two feet is just unnecessary.

  Afterwards the innkeeper, who’s name was Henry, but insisted I call him Crank for some reason, gave me a hot beverage that tasted similar to hot chocolate, but a bit less sweet. He went to the back to get a shirt and then came out wearing a cloak. We sat down at the bar to relax, and our conversation was going well.

  Crank apparently moved here about twenty years ago and set up this inn as a retirement project. He had a popular spot in Brackenhold that made him a pretty penny, and selling it secured his finances for the future. He had always wanted to be a mountain man, specifically “a wacky old fool of the peak”, which I have no idea what that means.

  Crank was pretty old, he said seventy eight, but then he also said he couldn’t remember me checking in a few days ago, but that I must have since it was written in the sign in sheet. He was quite the character. Once the time was right I asked him about the monsters.

  “Crank, do you know of any creatures or monsters around here or in Brackenhold? I’ve come across some beasts but nothing… lets say demonic.”

  Crank’s eyes got a bit wide and he started muttering a bit. He got up from his chair and went to the back to look for something. He came out a minute later with a large but thin book that he put on the door in front of me.

  As he opened the book and flipped through the pages, he said, “I could never… no… but you! Yes! See here.”

  He seemed to have found the page he wanted, and it was an illustration of a beast. A four legged creature with a head that seemed too large for its body. It looked animalistic in the way it was drawn, but not in the natural sense. It had everything that one would imagine a requirement for a living being, but something was off.

  Crank looked up at me, “This creature, it’s name I do not know. I saw it… once, when I was a boy. It was terrifying. It stood twice my height back then, so perhaps eight or nine feet tall. I’ve been looking for it ever since. I just need to know if it’s real.” he said as he ran his hand across the page and looked back down.

  Crank seemed pretty somber about this whole thing. He was jovial when we were shovelling, so something must have happened all those years ago for it to stick with him for so long.

  He got up and looked out one of the windows, “In my younger years, I would go out, exploring these mountains, searching for it. It felt like I would get close, but I always fell one step too short.” Crank looked back to me and approached.

  “If you do not wish it, I understand. But I must ask you this: Would you go out and look for it? I can tell you where I thought I had the strongest chance. I have all the supplies you’ll need and it’s just a few days' journey through the mountains. I’m not asking you to fight or kill or anything, just if you see it.”

  He seemed almost desperate. I got a notification.

  ?New Quest: The Wacky Old Fool of the Peak?

  ?Would you like to accept this quest??

  ?Quest Accepted?