by K R Zax
If I leave now, I will probably be leaving a part of my humanity behind as well. But wouldn’t that be a great thing? Not worrying about others, about their lives, dreams, families…
I put the body in the Storage and went back to the Old Road.
It’s been a few hours since I came back to life, and I already saw a bunch of corpses. Yeah, I know. I created most of them, but…
That is the kind of world I am in, now. Did I become depressed after finding the dead guy? I was fine with the monsters, I still am.
But the guy. He wasn’t much older than me, probably an adventurer. Did he got separated from his group? Or was he just a low rank adventurer who went alone on a quest?
Time flew by as I thought of myself and what the future will make out of me. It was well past noon when I spotted a clearing.
“The exit! Finally!”
While exhaling in relief, I heard a high pitched cry. It was coming from above. Up there, in the branches, a robin-like bird was attacked by something black. I readied my staff when the robin fell down and slashed at the black thing that went after him.
“Gjiii!”
It was something resembling a bat, with Darkness magic flowing around him. I used Absorb and sucked his life force.
The little robin had an injured leg, but it didn’t want to stay here any longer. I watched it fly away, chirping excitedly.
“No ‘Thank you’ or anything? Yeah, as expected from a bird.”
More importantly, the black animal was using some weird magic. I concentrated on my Dark Element, enveloping myself with it.
“Huh, this could be convenient,” my whole body was covered in Darkness, I could even sense the shadow of a nearby tree calling me. I drew closer and could feel the tree’s shadow like it was my own. While wondering what the possibilities could be, I found myself up in the thick branches, then willed the shadow to bring me back down.
“Something like Shadow Traveling? Or Shadow Sliding?”
My Darkness Element is at C, but I only know how to use Shadow Ball, which means that I can acquire the abilities, or magic skills from others to learn something. Of course, I could also practice on my own. But that way, it would take me more time to learn new things.
About half an hour after exiting the forest, I came upon a big rock. It probably was a remnant of some monument from my old era.
Far in the distance, I could see a big city. It was encircled with a wide wall, going for miles in each direction. It reminded me of pictures of the Wall of China. Only a few tall buildings could be seen, towering over it.
“OK, then. Let’s go.” There was another road connected to the one I was traveling on, but that one seemed to be in good condition. There were a lot of people going in and out of the city. Carriages, people riding on horses, or just walking, all of that had a well-known fantasy feeling.
I walked down the road and headed towards the city. Merchants and adventurers were passing by, and I couldn’t help it but look at them. I stared at every type of garb, armor, and weapon, feeling like a kid who was left alone in a toy store.
The weapons were mostly swords, spears and bows. Some of them held magical power, but most didn't.
Could it be that Mages were rare? I only saw a couple of them, holding some kind of wooden staffs.
There were two lines in front of the gate. On the right side people with carriages were lined, and on the left were people who traveled lightly, with fewer belongings.
There was a Mage with the guards, he briefly said something when he saw me, and the guards were on high alert.
“I’m Tarren Volkin, vice-captain of the guards of Tsarigrad. May I know your business?” One of the guards stepped forward, his hand placed on the hilt of his sword.
Unexpectedly, he was polite, but it had me puzzled as to why all of them seemed anxious.
“I want to join the Adventurers Guild.”
“Couldn’t you do that in another town? There are Guild branches in all the bigger cities around Tsarigrad. Wait, do you even have any identification with you? Sorry, I do not want to be rude, but we don’t have Dark Mages coming here that often.”
I could feel the looks of the adventurers behind me, it’s like everyone expects me to go wild or something. Am I that suspicious? And how did he know that I was a Dark Mage?
“Sorry, I don’t have any documents. I spent most of my life in a small community, studying magic with my teacher. This morning, he said that I should go see the world and leave him to his research.”
“Is he also a Dark Mage?”
“Yeah, is that a problem?” They aren’t going to kick me out because of that. Right?
“Well, at the moment, we have several people with an affinity for Dark Magic in Tsarigrad. There aren’t many of them coming here because of the stigma, you understand?”
“No?” What stigma? What is he talking about? Is there some major problem with Dark Mages?
“You know that when a Dark Mage dies, there is high probability that he will become an undead – that is the main issue. It made people fear Dark Magic a lot.”
“Oh, that does makes sense.”
As we talked, the Mage approached us. He was wearing a white robe with an emblem on his chest. A dragon with a crown, the same one the guards had on their breastplates.
“I apologize about this. If it isn’t too much trouble, could you come with me? We could talk on another place and let the guards deal with the regular people.”
Chapter 4.
I followed the Mage to a tent behind the wall. There were a few others around, with soldiers resting or practicing their skills. There was a table with two chairs, and a narrow bed inside his tent.
“Here,” he handed me a cup of wine, smiling friendly as he sat down.
“Thanks,” I took a sip of the wine, it was really good.
“You said that you spent most of your life in a community with your teacher. Where did you live?”
“Somewhere in the west. He never said anything about the location, and this morning he used a magic item to send me to a forest near Tsarigrad.”
“Is that so?” The mage took another mouthful of wine. “By the way, excuse my late introduction. I am Vlard Stobos, a Mage in the service of the Rasik Empire.”
“Nice to meet you, I am Alex Miller – a Dark Mage.”
Vlard poured more wine into our cups and then spoke.
“A magic item. Your teacher must be quite powerful.”
“He is terrifying.”
Vlard looked lost in thoughts as he sipped his wine in silence.
“It appears that you don’t actually know about the stigma, so I will give you an explanation.”
This was getting a bit confusing. I am not going to simply die and turn into a Lich or whatever.
“Dark Magic is frowned upon in the world. For the most part, when it is found that someone can use the Dark Element, almost every time, he or she would be kicked out of that community. Nowadays, everything bad that happens can be blamed on a Dark Mage: a disease, bad weather, an accident… People will blame a Dark Mage for anything bad that happens to them, or others.”
“That is insane! I can’t do all of that!” I should’ve expected something like this. Like in the middle ages, people would blame witches and spirits for anything that happens to them. And in this world, a Dark Mage – someone who has a 50/50 chance to become an undead monster, is the perfect culprit.
“Look.” The Mage took out a pendant and showed it to me. It was a silver disc with a black stone in its center. “This is a magic item that allows me to identify a Dark Magic user, that’s how we knew about you.”
“So other places...” I frowned and took a sip of wine. If every city and town has a magic item like that, some places may refuse to grant me entry.
“Correct. All major cities and towns have this kind of item, and in many of them, Dark Magic users are not welcome.”
Shit! There is so much I don’t understand about this world. And with this kind of ingraine
d fear, I doubt people would want to make a party with me. Or waste their time explaining things to me.
“Don’t worry, you are still able to enter Tsarigrad and even became an adventurer,” Vlard said and poured more wine. He certainly liked to drink. “People are not that ignorant here, for the most part.”
He is a nice person, if I have the chance I should repay him somehow. I doubt other people would take their time, talking this much with me.
“Fine, you should go and register as an adventurer, and find some lodging. The day is near its end, and the gates will close in a few hours. But I advise you to avoid trouble, for everyone’s sake. Wait, you do have money right? It would be bad if you slept outside.”
“Yes, I do have some money. But my teacher didn’t explain much about currency values…”
Vlard smiled and said that 100 copper coins equal 1 silver coin, and 50 silver coins equal one gold coin. And here I thought that it would be something like 20:20:20 or 50:50:50, the fantasy novels were not of much help in this regard.
“Here, take this.” Vlard handed me a piece of paper. “That is an inn that I know, a bit expensive but they will not refuse a Dark Mage.”
Vlard started writing a letter when I stood up and left the tent. A report? It was to be expected I guess. The talk was so short and weird, but helpful.
“No… Master… Ah...”
There was a commotion on one side of the street. Some of the people that just entered the city, gathered around a wagon to see what was going on. Me as well, I’m sure the sexy voice I heard was coming from that direction.
The street was buzzing with noises. People were selling various things, from regular equipment to fruits and vegetables.
Some folk looked at the wagon like there wasn’t anything unusual about it. Several individuals were sitting there, with a resigned look on their faces. Except for one.
A girl wearing something resembling shorts and a tight jacket that barely reached to her abdomen was goofing around. And she wasn’t human.
She had cat ears and a tail, there was also fur on the back of her hands and feet. Her face was mostly human-like with some cat traits.
“Will you shut up, Lina? I can’t do business here if you keep that up.” A man who looked like a merchant said and hit the wagon’s wheel with a stick.
“But I have to practice. What if my future master is that kind of guy?”
“One gold coin! You can have this… Fine young woman, for only one gold coin! Please!” The merchant proclaimed, and everyone could notice that the last part sounded like a plea.
This could turn out to be troublesome. I was about to leave the place when the merchant continued advertising his wares.
“She is a virgin! And a former D-rank adventurer! She could be a great bodyguard! And with some training, even a maid!”
Let’s face it, I don’t know a thing about this world, and since I am a Dark Mage, my chances to join someone’s party are almost nonexistent. If somebody saw my Absorb ability, they could think that I was using an evil spell. But if I had a slave with me, one that could fight as well, that would be a great help.
I approached the merchant, and ask him in a low voice:
“Excuse me, sir. But could you give a little explanation about slaves?”
He looked at me irritatedly, probably thinking that a kid wouldn’t buy his merchandise, so I flashed a gold coin in front of his face.
“Of course, my lord. There are two types of slaves: criminal slaves and debt slaves. This lovely girl is a debt slave. The magical crest on her chest indicates that she is a legal slave under the Rasik Empire’s law. Once you pay for her, I as her owner, will transfer the rights to you. A lot of people buy slaves since they can’t betray their master, or even go against a direct command.”
Just like in a Manga. I was hoping for something like that.
“I’ll buy her.” I handed him the gold coin and followed his instructions. After making a shallow cut on my finger, I pressed it on the crest on her chest and waited for the slave merchant to finish the spell.
“All done!” The merchant announced happily. “Finally!” Was she so troublesome that it made him cry in joy as he finally parted with her?
“Right, I’ll be going now.”
“So, darling, where are we going?” The girl, Lina, asked while clinging to my right arm.
“My name is Alex. And I want to register at the Adventurers Guild, can you show me the way?”
“Sure thing. I’ll lead you there.”
Tsarigrad was indeed big, and there were a lot of different races. I saw a couple of dwarfs, some elves and the rest were mostly humans and beast-kin. It was probably the side effect of magic, but I couldn’t help it and stare at some exotic hair colors: blue, green, purple. I expected to see blond, pale skinned people since this was the former eastern Europe. But all the additions were great.
We walked for around 15 minutes when a big building came into my sight. It was about five stories tall and had a big sign above the entrance: ‘Adventurers Guild’.
The inside of the Guild looked like a palace: the floors, walls, tables… Magic was used on everything. I was still unable to tell what kind of magic and for what purpose, but I could sense the mana in almost all the objects.
“This way, Darling.”
I was expecting a place that looked like a tavern, filled with rowdy people, not a palace. Well, there were a bunch of rowdy people eating and drinking at some of the tables.
“Welcome to the Adventurers Guild. How may I help… Lina?”
The receptionist looked confused for a second, she glanced at me and then at Lina’s chest before nodding her head. She was a beautiful elf girl, as expected from a fantasy world.
“Hi, Elyn. I’m here ‘cause my Darling wants to register.”
“Sure,” the elf girl handed me a form. “Please write down your name, age, and ability.”
I picked the pen and filled the form, it wasn’t that hard. I was initially expecting something like a magic crystal, or a blood contract, but this can do.
The receptionist took the form and read it: “Alex Miller, 18 years old, Dark Magic and close combat. Dark magic?”
She looked at me as if she thought that it was a mistake. Well, I did lie about the age a little, but that was because Dr. Sam make me look so young.
“That’s right,” a couple of people who were sitting at a table, stared at me with animosity when I confirmed her words.
“Darling, you have such a strange last name. Are you from another country?” Lina was the only one who didn’t seem to care. Lucky me, I purchased a nice slave.
“Sorry, it’s just… A few Dark Mages are working as adventurers but...”
“Don’t worry, it’s fine,” I said when Elyn tried to apologize.
She then explained the system that was in use here. Apparently, some countries had different guild systems.
In the Rasik Empire, there is a system based on rank, it goes from G to A.
And there is the S rank. Right now, there are only five people with that rank in the world.
The lowest rank, G, is where everyone starts as an adventurer. And yes, there is such a thing as gathering herbs.
The amount of mana in the world has changed some herbs quite a bit. In the Old World, there were things as poisonous herbs and flowers, some that were used as drugs, or medicine. But with mana, they evolved into something different. At least, that was in the brief note that Dr. Sam wrote in the book about monsters. I bet he likes souls more than herbs.
There were quests without a time-frame, and some that needed to be completed within a certain amount of time.
To rank up, you need to complete a certain number of quests, the amount depends on the difficulty of each quest.
If you have a party, the average rank of all members becomes the party’s rank.
“Lina used to be a D rank adventurer. And since she’s my slave now, she is kind of a party member.”
“Tru
e,” the receptionist said and started looking through some documents and after a while, she handed a Copper plate to Lina.
“Here, you’re lucky that it’s been only a week since you became a slave. I kept it safe for you, just in case your owner decided to provide you with additional identification.”
“Thanks! You’re so great!” Lina cried joyfully, “I thought I’d never be an adventurer anymore.”
Elyn then took a blank copper plate and put it inside a machine. It looked like an old pressing machine, it had numbers and letters on the bottom part. After making a few adjustments the elf girl pulled a lever down and then up.
“Here is your Guild identification plate. I will register you as a party of two, if you don’t have any ideas for the name right now, you can submit one at a later date. It costs two silver coins.”
I will think of a name later, so I paid her the money and looked at the plate. It was an ordinary copper sheet with my information engraved on it. And there was an emblem in the upper left corner. A dragon with a crown.
“Excuse me,” Elyn said tentatively like she was really curious about something. “The coins just now, did you take them out of a Shadow Storage?”
“Yes,” I said and took out the monster book, then put it back. Elyn looked at the items appear and disappear from the Darkness like it was something fascinating. “Is it the first time you see it?”
“Indeed, I heard a lot about the Dark Element, mostly evil stuff, but the storage always fascinated me. And I didn’t have the chance to see it before since not every Dark Mage can master that skill. Normal adventurers have to pay for a wagon or carry the materials they acquire in bags. But you can just put things away in a shadow space, and then take them out at your own convenience. It is an amazing magic skill.”
“True, it can be useful.” The elf girl was really impressed with my magic, it felt a bit awkward, “So, can I sell some materials?”
“Of course, what do you have?” In a moment she turned all business-like.
“Four Twin-Tail Wolves, five Kobolds and seven goblins.”
Both Elyn and Lina were looking at me like I was trying to pull a joke on them.