The Two Week Curse

by Michael Chatfield

  His eyes sharpened, coming out of the dull, repetitive process. As Mana was stirred up in the surrounding area, it centered on Erik’s wrist. The blockage in his Mana gate dissolved as his Mana channels went in reverse. Instead of sending Mana at the gate, it was coming through. The dim lines around the gate turned brighter until Erik could see two rings underneath where the Mana whirlpool was located.

  Erik felt his entire body being suffused with power. It was as if he could run a kilometer without tiring, or go days without sleep. He was drunk on power as Erik felt that power start to settle down, his Mana pool refilling quickly.

  Erik, who had closed his eyes as that power rushed in, now opened his eyes, a faint blue light fading in their depths.

  ==========

  You have opened another Mana gate!

  ==========

  1 to Mana Regeneration

  ==========

  ==========

  Quest Updated: Opening the Fourteen Gates

  ==========

  Congratulations! You have opened your second Mana gate.

  ==========

  Requirements: Clear all of your fourteen gates (2/14)

  ==========

  Rewards: +1 to Mana Regeneration base stat

  Undergo Mana Body Rebirth

  1,400,000 EXP

  ==========

  Erik bit the inside of his lip in thought, his brow furrowing. The Ten Realms guide hadn’t been explicit but it seemed from the information and the way it was talked about, most people would find it hard to open more Mana gates.

  “I can probably open another Mana gate tomorrow,” Erik said, looking at his right wrist.

  If others were to learn of how easily Erik had opened a Mana gate or his thoughts, many wouldn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Unless someone had a great backing or a lucky break, then they might never open another Mana gate than the ones they had at birth.

  Erik had more questions but he only had the introductory book on the Ten Realms, after all. If he wanted more information, then he would have to seek it out himself.

  Erik wanted to test out the mediation and gathering the Ten Realms Experience, but to do so, one had to close off the outside world.

  With stabbing himself and opening his Mana gate, he had been aware of what was going on around him at least.

  Erik looked up at the two moons in the sky; the third one had gone down a little bit ago. He pulled out a pad of paper and started to jot down plans and ideas. He still had plenty of testing to go through.

  ***

  Wren Silaz carried the fragrance of women and drink as he walked back into his home, his smile containing a sourness. The guards around him seemed to be farther away than normal as they made sure not to draw the young master’s attention.

  “I heard that there was an altercation at the store.” A calm voice that contained a hidden power rolled across the courtyard.

  The guards dropped to their knees in salute as a man reading a scroll looked up. He wore simple but elegant robes, the Silaz family crest on his chest. His eyes were clear as he looked at Wren. Looking between the two, one might see the similarities there.

  “Father.” Wren cupped his hands and bowed to this man, not daring to show any hint of rebellion.

  “Speak.” Elan Silaz had established the Silaz trading house, bringing the family great prosperity and opening up their path to the top. He had three sons and one daughter. Wren wished to take over the business while Elan’s other sons and daughter looked to join a powerful sect, advancing to the Second Realm and increasing the strength and backing of the Silaz family. The strong ruled; the weak obeyed: this was the Ten Realms’ unwritten rule.

  Wren couldn’t hide his anger fully as he relayed what had happened with the two foreigners once he had returned to the store. His voice filled with displeasure and exaggerated the actions the two had made against him.

  Elan’s scroll disappeared into his storage ring. Wren’s words halted as he looked at his father, whose eyebrows were slightly pinched together.

  “These two that you looked down on were able to turn in an Earth rank low grade monster core. Based on Appraiser Gu’s comments, they didn’t seem too interested by the core and showed interest in the silver they were given. They are not from around here, so they were likely trading the core to see what the local currency was. They gave off the feeling of being level six or a low level seven. When leaving the store, even though you had them tailed, they were able to escape your tail’s eyes. Then you punished your people for their failure.” Elan’s voice held a note of reprimand at the last sentence.

  “I have already sent apothecaries to see to them, the money of which will be coming from you, and a repayment for the injustices they have suffered. These two men are not simple, Wren,” Elan said.

  Wren ducked his head, not willing to look into his father’s eyes.

  Elan sighed gently, seeing the clenched fists of his son. He was still a young man and liable to make mistakes. Wren had been given his warning; now he would watch to see what Wren would do.

  Elan hoped to groom him, but one needed to have a few failures and to have their rebellious nature tamed if they were to lead the Silaz trading house.

  Chapter: Jobs?

  Rugrat talked over breakfast about the different things that they had learned.

  Erik helped Rugrat learn the Mana Manipulation spell and he set to opening his Mana gate in his wrist as well.

  Rugrat had been researching different skills. There were reams of them, from heavy and light armor, to cooks, farmers, sneak, mercantile, woodsmen, and so on.

  Many people unlocked multiple skills, but trying to level them all was a waste of energy.

  The main path that most used was building up different skills that complemented one another and the way that they fought and their needs.

  Rugrat wanted to pick skills that would augment his abilities learned as a Marine sniper and then other skills that would support that, such as being a smith to improve and maintain his weapons with the materials available in the Ten Realms.

  Erik’s mind went a bit differently. If he was able to focus his effort in increasing the strength of his body, that, with his healing abilities, would make him damn hard to kill. He would be able to keep people off Rugrat as the other supported him with long-range support.

  Erik didn’t want to have to learn how to fight with a blade or a two-handed sword; he was a decent shot and he had been in a number of different fighting clubs. He could use his rifle at range, his fists in close range.

  He was also drawn to Alchemy. The thought of making powerful concoctions, the fact he could rely on himself to make Body Cultivation and Mana Gathering aids excited him. It gave him a challenge, something that he wanted to overcome.

  They had some eighty coppers, which was pretty good; most farmers might earn two silver every month on average.

  When they had been checking stores, looking for more or larger storage rings, they’d been left in shock.

  They had Mortal grade minor storage rings that could hold one meter square of goods and were sold for three silvers. A Mortal grade simple storage ring had two times the space, but they cost thirty silvers. This was seen as a great expense that only the nobility or well-to-do idols could buy. The traders in the area didn’t get these rings due to their high cost, instead choosing to move with their carriages stuffed with goods.

  Unless Erik and Rugrat wanted to reveal their odd background, they needed to gain an income in Chonglu before they returned to where they’d buried their gear.

  “We’ve got to get jobs,” Erik said.

  “I was already checking out some of the smithies. There are some places looking to hire and if I was able to get a few smithing technique books, then I could increase my ability quickly,” Rugrat said, revealing why he was so interested in the smithies in Chonglu the last day.

  “Technique book?” Erik asked, missing something.
r />   “Basically, you open them and they upload their information into your mind. Magical memorization,” Rugrat said.

  Just this by itself would be earth-shattering back home; here it was a well-known fact.

  “Though they’re expensive. The rarer and more powerful, the more money needed to acquire them,” Rugrat warned, seeing the light in Erik’s eyes.

  Erik let out a grunt, his hopes dashed as he continued to eat his breakfast slop.

  “If I’m working at the smiths, what are you going to do?” Rugrat asked.

  “Heal people. I can rent a stall for twenty coppers a day. People want to have a check-up, I can do that for two coppers; they want me to heal something, I’ll barter with them.” Erik shrugged. He didn’t want to make money off people’s misery, but seeing the condition of people in Chonglu and those waiting outside the healing houses, there was a demand among the poorer citizens.

  Under his care, he’d make sure that they had the best treatment with no problems that might appear later, like a bone that was only partly healed as the healer wasn’t willing to spend their Mana on some poor person offering all of their savings because it wasn’t the high bounty one might get from working on a noble who had a training accident.

  “Well, it looks like we have a plan,” Rugrat said.

  It wasn’t long until they were back in the city. They entered right in the morning, the two of them separating and making a plan to meet up at one of the inns later.

  They’d looked into communication devices and the sound talismans; they’d found it cost five silvers each.

  Erik went and found one of the city civil servants off to the side of the marketplace. Though there were stalls that ran through the city, there was a dedicated market square where most sold their goods or services.

  “What do you need?” the civil servant asked in a bored voice as he looked up from what he was writing.

  Erik glanced down and saw that he could read what he was writing and he smiled at the civil servant. “I would like to rent a stall for the day.”

  The man frowned and looked over Erik. “Twenty-three coppers.” He held out his hand.

  Erik’s smile turned a bit forced but he couldn’t really argue. He took out the coins and passed them to the civil servant.

  He pulled out a piece of wood with a number on it. “Here’s your pass. Return it by seven tonight. Look for the stall location on the map.” The man waved at the map on the side of the stall. The money was split, twenty going into the collections as three disappeared skillfully into the servant’s ring as he continued to write on the scroll.

  “Thank you.” Erik looked at the map. He was off at one of the corners of the market.

  He headed off for the stall. He found that it was surrounded by people selling animal feed and different large farm implements.

  The stall wasn’t anything much, a few chairs and a simple table with an overhead covering.

  He took out a piece of wood and a brush with ink. He remembered what he had seen on the healer house’s doors. He changed the wording a bit and looked to his neighbor.

  “Excuse me, can you read this?” Erik asked.

  The person frowned, starting to look angry.

  “Sorry, I’m not from around here,” Erik said, trying to patch over whatever he had done wrong.

  The man let out a huff, still looking angry. “Not many people can read around here. Best to get a crier to tell people your goods.”

  Erik looked around. People were yelling out their goods, adding to the market’s atmosphere. Now it made sense.

  “Thank you. Do you know where I might be able to hire a crier?” Erik asked.

  The man looked Erik up and down. “I have a cousin who could do it, eight coppers.”

  “Two,” Erik said.

  The man’s eyes thinned as he pressed his lips together. “Best I can do is five.”

  “Three and I won’t tell him,” Erik said.

  The man’s face split into a grin as he held out his hand. Erik smiled and dropped three coppers into the other merchant’s hand. “Pleasure doing business with ya. Name’s Olik.”

  “Erik.”

  Seeing people coming toward his stall, Olik quickly made the coin disappear and he called over a teenager, quickly talking to him and pointing at Erik and then going back to his stall to greet customers.

  “Mister Erik, my cousin Olik said you had some work for me.” The boy smiled, a number of his teeth crooked as he showed signs of a rough life.

  “What’s your name?” Erik asked.

  “Vand.”

  “Well, Vand, I’m looking to sell healing. Simple ailments, two coppers. Larger ailments depends on the case and resources.” Erik paused for a moment. “Tell people that I won’t charge them unless I have cured them.”

  Vand gave Erik a quizzical look. “Are you one of them healer types?”

  “Yes.” Erik nodded.

  “The healing houses kick you out or summin’?”

  “No. I’m not from around here, so I’m not part of the healing houses.” Erik smiled.

  “Oh.” Vand nodded. “All right, so two coppers for minor ailments, more for major, you’ll only pay if you get healed.”

  “That’s it,” Erik said.

  Vand nodded seriously, his lips moving as he said the sentence over and over again, memorizing it.

  Seeing the determined look in the boy’s eyes, Erik nodded to himself.

  “I think I’ve got it. I’ll do my best, Mister Erik,” Vand said with a goofy smile.

  “Very well, I’ll be here.” Erik nodded.

  Vand hurried off as Erik checked out his stall in greater detail. He moved his chair in front of his stall, putting the sign up on the stall’s countertop. He leaned back in his chair, taking in the market as he looked at ease. People threw a few glances over to him, their brows pinching together.

  Those in stalls around him were working hard to sell their goods and draw more paying customers. Erik was simply sitting there as if enjoying the sunny day, wasting his twenty coppers rental fee with no worries.

  ***

  After some time, Rugrat found himself in front of a poster board. The wall was covered in positions for hire.

  Finally his eyes caught one that looked interesting.

  “Smithy’s assistance required. Raise your smithing skill level and earn four coppers a day assisting a high-leveled Novice Smith. Must have at least seven Strength and five Stamina. Report to Wen Kun’s smithy.” Rugrat read out the posting. The rate of pay was less, but with the allure of learning from an actual smith, it only made sense.

  There were barely any who had reached the Apprentice level in a crafting skill; most learned it in farming or cooking. Smiths mostly maintained items; few of them would actually make weapons and armor. After all, most people were farmers, not warriors.

  Rugrat knew that it was a long shot; he had some general knowledge on metal, but it was off television shows, documentaries, or random articles he had seen before. He didn’t have a formal education that focused on smithing.

  If I have a basic understanding of smithing, then I can possibly use what I do know from Earth to increase my ability.

  He checked the directions and took down the posting. He headed off toward the crafting sector of the city.

  The smithies were all packed together, covered in black smoke and ash from the furnaces that worked constantly.

  It took him some time to find Wen Kun’s smithy. The place was in even worse condition than the other smithies, tucked away with three furnaces going. Still, people were lined up with different farming implements needing to be repaired, or buying new items.

  Rugrat waited in the line as it moved up. A fat man sat at the counter. His face made him look as if he were constantly annoyed.

  “I came here for the posting.” Rugrat put down the ad on the counter.

  The man looked from the ad to Rugrat, sizing him up. “
You’ll do,” the man said. “Gu Shi, I’ve got a new coal stoker for you!” the man barked.

  A man who was hammering out a hoe looked up. He had a beard, was covered in soot and looked brawny. Burn marks could be seen on his hands and arms. He sized up Rugrat before letting out a grunt of acknowledgement and returning to his work.

  “Go over there and do whatever Gu Shi tells you,” the man at the counter said, Rugrat no longer his problem as he looked to the line. “Next!”

  Rugrat moved through the smithy. The floor was covered in discarded metal and scraps. There were smiths hammering away on metal, beating it into submission, then throwing it back into the furnace, heating it up again, keeping it constantly heated before they kept beating on the metal.

  “Stoke the fires, keep it hot all day,” Gu Shi said, his hammer falling between words. He checked his work as Rugrat moved over to the side of the furnace where there was a simple bellows and a hole where coal could be thrown in.

  “It’s not hot enough!” Gu Shi yelled out in anger.

  Rugrat moved quicker, grabbing the shovel and tossing coal into the furnace.

  Rugrat felt as though he were in basic training again as he dealt with Gu Shi’s grumblings while he did his best to keep the furnace constantly hot for Gu Shi.

  Rugrat watched the other people fueling the furnaces, as they used the bellows and tossed in coal, to keep the furnace at peak heat.

  Through his observations and trials, he was able to get a hang of the bellows and know when to toss coal in or wait. As it got easier, Rugrat started to watch the smiths.

  He tried to burn their very actions into his mind, looking to connect it with what he had learned and knew from Earth.

  As he worked and watched, he listened.

  Gu Shi was a person of few words but the smiths and the other furnace feeders talked freely. They were all doing simple work; they’d get bored easily if they couldn’t do anything else.

  “I heard that there’s some good work in the Beast Mountains,” one of the furnace stokers said.

  “Yeah, if you want to get killed.” An older smith laughed, the others smirking.