The next morning, Finn got out of bed in the infirmary, put on a fresh set of clothes Damian had brought for him and Darwin, and then noticed a small box with a note on it, right on top of the dresser next to his bed. Finn picked up the note first, checking that it was for him.
[
Finn, this is a small gift from the Master for finding the ancient mural. The Master recommends that you take this month to delve into magic, as it will be of utmost importance to you from now on. Explorer missions aren't usually as easy as the others. You can go look for books on magic in the library and borrow them whenever you want, although I think you already knew that since I've seen you read several magic books. Anyway, the Master wants you to practice magic as much as you can during this month.
Greetings, Damian.
]
Finn put the letter aside and then turned to look in Darwin's direction, seeing another letter with a strange strap next to it. Then he looked at the small box and took it, opening it without hesitation. Inside the box was a glove with a purple gem in it. It was the same as the gem Darwin had hanging around his neck.
'An Impe gem...' Finn thought, looking at the gem. 'Looks like I won't need to buy one anymore.'
Finn put on the glove, feeling a strange sensation coming from the gem. It was natural magic seeping directly into his body from the Imperial gem in his hand. The natural magic slowly coursed through Finn's body until it collided with another energy Finn hadn't felt until now.
'So this is what magic feels like, huh?' Finn thought. 'I should go to the library. I've read a bit about magic, but it never hurts to have a guidebook handy.'
Finn left the infirmary and went down some stairs to the first floor. There were already several adventurers in the guild, despite it being early. Finn walked leisurely toward the library, which was right next to the reception room.
Upon entering, Finn saw a huge room filled with enormous shelves, each filled with books. Some books were even flying around, hoping to find a space to crawl onto the shelves. Finn walked to the first shelf, which had the words: Magic for Beginners written on it.
Finn searched through the books until he found the same book he was reading before leaving on the fact-finding mission with Darwin, then retired to read at one of the unoccupied tables at the back of the room.
'Principles of Magic… Author: Merlin.' Finn read the title, then turned the page and began to read patiently. "According to the book, magic is divided into two types: natural magic and carrier magic. Natural magic is the energy found all around us. These are organisms imperceptible to the eye, which allow us to change or alter the reality and nature of the universe without causing chaos. Carrier magic is those same organisms that have come into contact with the anima of living beings and have transformed to become our own organisms, allowing us to change our nature and develop our own magic…"
Finn, understanding this, turned to the next page, where it discussed our own magic in more depth.
'But what is an anima?' Finn wondered as he read. 'Animas are special nuclei in our bodies that create pathways that connect with every part of our body. These animas are created when natural magic comes into contact with the spirit of a living being, in other words, right when they are born. Once the animas are created, they begin to filter and storing natural magic, transforming it into carrier magic. Every living being in this world has an anima without exception, but not everyone can use it.'
Finn looked at some drawings on the page, assuming it was a representation of how animas worked in people's bodies and how they filtered natural magic and converted it into carrier magic. After a few seconds of examining the drawings, he turned the page again.
"Let's see... the first step to using magic is being able to access natural magic, but for that, you need to have either an impeaccicae gem, also known as impe, or a magic core, which are created by implanting an impe gem in the body. After the first contact with natural magic, we become more aware, being able to sense the carrier magic almost instantly" Finn read, seeing a drawing of two sources colliding in a person's body, exactly what he had felt when he came into contact with natural magic. "However, not everyone can access magic. A person's ability to use magic comes from rooted in them since the creation of their anima.'
Finn continued reading for a few hours. At 11:00 a.m., Finn closed the book, believing he had enough knowledge to begin practicing basic natural magic, the easiest of all.
"Okay, the first step in using natural magic is control, also known as basic telekinesis. This is the manipulation of natural magic in its purest form, without adding any special elements or states to it" Finn said, looking at the book in front of him. "Basic telekinesis has three phases, each of which is very limited. The first phase is called control, and it focuses on levitating and controlling objects with extreme care. Depending on your attunement with this magic, you can lift anything from a glass to a person. The second phase is called attraction, and as its name suggests, this phase allows you to attract objects towards you at greater speeds, and if you are attuned enough, you can attract a person. The third phase, called repulsion, does the opposite of the second and throws objects away from you. In theory, both natural and carrier magic respond to people's wishes and thoughts, but it's a bit difficult at first, so it's advisable to make movements or say commands so you have a clear idea of what you want to do and the magic responds more easily."
Finn raised his hand toward the book, focusing on the book and the natural magic entering his body through the Impe gem. He felt it pooling in his hand even though he couldn't see it.
"Open!" Finn ordered, and instantly felt the natural magic in his hand react to his command, and the book flew open. 'So this is what it feels like to use natural magic... no wonder people get aftereffects after overusing it,' Finn thought, feeling his arm throb from the overuse of natural magic. 'Although we can never run out of natural magic, each body has a limit to how much natural magic it can use at once. If we go over that limit, we'll start to feel severe pain or numbness in our bodies... Okay, let's try it again, but be more careful this time.'
—
At 4:30 in the afternoon, Finn left the library, tired and with his arms numb from the constant use of natural magic.
'Shit, my arms hurt... but it was totally worth it. Magic is incredible, even though I can only use its simplest form yet' Finn thought, walking toward the dining room.
Before Finn reached the dining room, a voice called out to him from afar. It was Darwin, who was running toward Finn from the guild doors.
"Finn!" Darwin shouted, quickly approaching Finn. "Where were you? I've been looking for you since morning. Look what the Master gave me!" Darwin said, turning around and showing his broken sword hanging on his back.
"How do you keep it hanging?" Finn asked curiously.
"A magnet with magical writing on it. This allows me to move as much as I want, and the sword will never fall. And the best part..." Darwin said, then grabbed his sword, and it came loose easily. "Every time I grab it, it comes off the magnet easily, so I have no trouble grabbing it!"
"That's amazing… even though your sword is crap, buy another one" Finn said.
"Yeah, I was just thinking about that… what did the Master give you?" Darwin asked, and Finn simply raised his hand, showing him the Imperial Gem. "An Impe Gem? I guess that saved you some money."
"Yes, and it's perfect for me to start practicing magic" Finn admitted. Darwin nodded, and the two began walking toward the dining room together as they talked.
"I suppose that's what you were doing, isn't it?" Darwin asked, and Finn nodded.
"Yes, although there's still a long way to go before I can fully master basic telekinesis" Finn admitted.
"Fully? Why would you want to master it, if controlling an intermediate range is enough to start using elemental natural magic?" Darwin asked, confused, sitting down at an empty table across from Finn.
"I know, but I'd like to focus more on telekinesis. I'd like to learn advanced telekinesis" Finn said, making Darwin sigh.
"Sigh, look, I'm not going to stop you from trying, but you should know that advanced telekinesis is really difficult, and you also have to have an aptitude for it, just like any other type of advanced magic" Darwin said seriously, and Finn nodded in understanding.
"I know, but I still want to try. I have a lot of ideas I'd like to develop with that magic" Finn revealed, and Darwin simply shrugged. 'If I remember correctly, telekinesis allows you to increase your abilities in some way… if I could acquire something similar, it would be very useful in the upcoming war' Finn thought.
"Although I recommend that you also learn some elemental magic; it could be very useful. I myself will continue practicing so I can increase the power of my flames and maybe learn other elemental magic" he said. Darwin
"I definitely will. I want to learn fire magic" Finn affirmed, watching as a waitress approached their table.
—
While Finn and Darwin were in the dining room, the Master was sitting in his office next to Damian, who was helping him examine all the information gathered after the interview with Finn and Darwin.
"This doesn't make sense…" Damian said, looking at the notes and then at the photos of the ancestral mural.
"I know, the descriptions Finn and Darwin gave don't match what we see in the mural" the Master said seriously. "Their descriptions are very detailed, almost as if they saw what happened with their own eyes."
"Could it be that they're seeing something we're not… or is it a different kind of mural?" Damian wondered, confused.
The Master scratched his beard thoughtfully. He knew without a doubt that Finn and Darwin hadn't lied to him, but he didn't understand how they had discovered so much about this mural just by looking at the scribbles on it.
"We can't rule out any option. The description they gave us was too detailed to be a lie... I think the only way to find out what's going on here is for me to go there" the Master said, and Damian nodded.
"That would be the most sensible thing to do" Damian affirmed. "Did you prepare a zeppelin?"
"No, I'll go on foot. I want to see the bases Finn and Darwin destroyed and try to find out something about these new goblin witches" the Master refused.
"I understand. Then I'll prepare a backpack with the necessary equipment..." Damian said, quickly standing up.
"And one for you too, of course" the Master said, surprising Damian.
"Excuse me?" Damian asked incredulously.
"What? Do you think whatever I discover will be recorded by itself? You're going with me, and it's not up for discussion" the Master affirmed.
—
"So here you were, sweethearts!" Cristel greeted, sitting next to Finn and Darwin. "I went to the infirmary to look for you two, but I couldn't find you. Even Amelia didn't know where you were."
"Yes, I went home for a few hours, then I came back to look for Finn, but I couldn't find him" Darwin said.
"I was just in the library. I wanted to practice some magic" Finn said. 'I still can't believe this is the same Cristel from the novel. Surely her current self contrasts with her novel self. Did something happen to her, or rather, will something happen to her?'
"That's good. Adventurers should stay active!" Cristel said, flexing her right bicep.
'It's incredibly well-defined' Darwin thought, amazed.
"So, did you need us for something?" Finn asked pleasantly. 'I hope it's not a mission.'
"No, although I appreciate how helpful you are, you'll undoubtedly be great explorers" Cristel said, smiling. "You see, I simply wanted to congratulate you two on your recent mission. Not many adventurers would do what you did, much less dedicate themselves completely to it if they didn't see the need, but you guys simply excelled. I know you'll undoubtedly be great adventurers someday, and I wanted to tell you that if you ever need help with anything, don't hesitate to come to me!"
'Yeah, well, it's not like we had any other choice...' Finn thought.
"I also wanted to thank you" Cristel added, surprising them.
"Thank us?" Darwin asked, confused.
"I don't know what you did, but since I left a few months ago, Amelia's attitude has changed dramatically. It was hard for me to talk to her before, but since I came back, she's been much more open with me, and that's something I really appreciate" Cristel confessed, leaving Darwin and Finn even more confused.
"Well, I don't know if we have anything to do with that…" Finn admitted, not knowing what to say exactly. 'Was Amelia more serious?'
"You're welcome" Darwin replied. He didn't know what he'd done, but he firmly believed it was a good thing.
'I never thought Cristel had friends. The closest thing to that was Silia, but she was more like a rival' Finn thought. 'I'm increasingly convinced that this world is different from the one in the novel.'
"By the way, the Master mentioned a massive hunting mission. What exactly is that?" Darwin asked.
"Oh, it's nothing important. Adventurers from various guilds meet twice a year and hunt various monster races that have an excessive number of monsters, usually wood rats or tauro frogs" Cristel clarified.
"I see, all the adventurers attend?" Finn asked, and Cristel shook her head.
"No, only C and B-class adventurers participate. D-class adventurers are too weak to face them, and A-class adventurers are usually too busy doing more important quests" Cristel said, and the two nodded. "Although at the rate you're going, you'll probably have to attend next year too. Amelia told me that you raised three of your stats with this quest."
"It's no big deal. I understand that you rose to B-class in just two years, right?" Finn asked, remembering the information from the novel.
"That's right, when I was 14, I was already in class B. However, I've remained in this class for three years now" Cristel revealed, surprising them.
"Is it that difficult to move up from class B to class A?" Darwin asked incredulously.
"Something like that… it's a bit more complicated than just moving up a class" Cristel admitted.
"I guess they're just strong people's problems…" Darwin said, dismissing the situation. 'I guess I'll never have those problems. At most, I think I'll reach high-C class' Darwin thought.
'Now that I think about it, Cristel doesn't reach A class until just before the war, which would be about 5 years after the novel starts. Although they never explain why…' Finn thought, but then he realized something important. 'Wait! Cristel said she'd already been a B class for 3 years, and in the novel, it says Cristel lasted 8 years as a B class adventurer before reaching A class. That means we're almost at the beginning of the novel and 5 years away from the war starting!' Finn deciphered. 'That means I have about 5 years left to get stronger and survive the next war.'
With determination, Finn mentally prepared himself to become stronger, knowing that the approaching war wouldn't be easy. The war would not only devastate the kingdoms involved, Firorn and Dawnia, but would also destroy much of the surrounding kingdoms, such as the Animalia Kingdom, the kingdom of the Mytt, and the Wayport Kingdom, the kingdom of the elves. The war would wipe out a large portion of the population of these lands, reducing them to just 10% of what they once were. The mytt would disappear completely; the elves would be reduced to a group of just 45 elves, 35 women, 8 girls, and 2 boys; the humans would remain in their thousands scattered throughout the kingdoms.
This would only be made worse by the sudden growth in the monster population, which was slowly wiping out the survivors of the war. The only ones unaffected by this war were the dwarves, who lived further north, in the Snowvein Kingdom.
'I definitely have to get stronger to survive or find a way to prevent the war, as it will be very devastating... but the latter is highly unlikely. It's not even specified in the novel why the war started,' Finn thought, shaking the thought out of his head.
Cristel continued telling them all kinds of things they should know now that they were explorers. She didn't want them to break the rules because they were uninformed. After a few hours, Cristel said goodbye, telling them she wanted to meet them in two weeks, right in front of the shop of Old Dan, the alchemist and inventor of the capital.