Whilst Jerald explained the story of them saving him and his magical Water Baptism, Annabelle cleaned up the stew and got him some more. Sam listened to Jerald with interest whilst eating. The food went down so well. He didn't ask questions as he listened, he just tried to learn everything he could about this world.

It seemed he hadn’t gone crazy and was eager to learn as much as he could about these Masteries.

From what he heard from Jerald, it seemed he was connected to Water magic in some way; he would need to study the Masteries system to figure it out.

Jerald finished off his long story.

"Then Anna found a ring in your first bowl of stew. We both felt the power it held and assumed you dropped it. From our knowledge of baptisms, we know that sometimes the person gains a magical artefact. Here, see for yourself."

Jerald picked up the ring from the stool nearby with his knitted handkerchief and offered it to Sam.

Sam guessed that it was probably the Water Baptism Ring. The message he had received had said he had received a gift. He hadn't given it much thought though. There had been too much going on.

He studied the ring and noticed that looked to be made of gold. The gold shone brightly and appeared to flow and move like water.

He picked up it and it shone even brighter.

"Could it be cursed?"

Annabelle’s face showed worry and she looked at Jerald.

Jerald shook his head firmly as to convince himself as well.

"From my knowledge, its purpose to help, not harm. Why don’t you put it on Sam?"

Sam looked at it suspiciously. If magic was real, curses would be too right? Curses were magic, just created with evil intentions? He wondered if magic worked like that, he needed to learn more.

Sam paused before moving the ring to the fingers on his right hand. He felt resistance from the ring.

He frowned. This was indeed a magic ring; it actually pushed against his hand?

Trying different combinations, Sam took the ring with his right hand and moved towards the fingers on his left hand.

The ring shone brighter and brighter. Sam felt amused that the ring seems to play a hot and cold game with his fingers. He wondered what purpose the ring had.

When the ring moved above his middle finger on his left hand, it hovered in the air and then gently drifted onto his finger.

It felt as light like a feather.

He smiled. It seemed it wasn’t cursed after all.

Like a sledgehammer coming down on his hand, pain pulsed out of the ring.

Every wave of pain shook his mind and body.

It wasn't two seconds before the unfinished stew spilt on Sam’s chest as he fell unconscious.

~~~~~~~~~~

At the same time, Master level Water mages from across the country felt the birth of new apprentice, an apprentice who may end up under their tutorship.

In the city of Thistlevale, an old grey haired scholar, who had been enjoying the view of the ocean, felt the magic in his bones.

He turned towards the North-East, facing the direction of the Underwood farm. He wondered how a Water Baptism could happen in the middle of the countryside. Did someone fall in a puddle?

Other Master Water Mages were also disturbed from their everyday activities as they paused to think about what they would do about this new apprentice.

Some went deep in thought, some carried on with their day and others changed the direction of their journeys. After all, a strong apprentice was never easy to find.

This was because they knew that all baptisms, regardless of element, created more corpses than apprentices.

No matter their intentions, they knew about Sam Underwood, whether he liked it or not.

~~~~~~~~~~~

What is your desire?

Whoever was speaking felt cold. Sam frowned at the voice in his head. He couldn't open his eyes. He couldn't feel his body at all. He didn’t know where he was.

What do you mean?

Sam managed to speak but he didn’t feel his lips moving.

Was this all in his head? Maybe a dream? Was the ring torturing him?

He remembered reading about endless mind traps that idiots fell into. Had he become of those idiots? He should not have put on the ring. He mentally reprimanded himself before the cold voice returned.

I am here to give a gift of sorts. I can help you with one thing. It needs to be something in the physical realm. No Masteries. No Magic. No permanent items.

Sam frowned. So instead of being tortured he was being given things? Magical rings sounded cool. His mind wandered as he tried to remember all the times he had discussed the ‘Genie and its 3 wishes’ scenario.

He thought about his current situation. He needed information and lots of it. If he knew more, he could find out where he was exactly and if he could get home. Naturally he would need to survive until that point as well. The Chosen Mastery had said he needed to become an apprentice of a Master Water mage. He was sure that such a ‘Master’ would be powerful and would hopefully give him some protection and teach him to protect himself. He answered the cold voice.

Knowledge of this world and a Master Water mage to take me as their apprentice.

Sam had added the last condition because he needed a willing teacher. If this gift worked and a Master Water mage was found but wasn’t willing to teach him, what use would that be?

That is two things. I can only offer you one gift. What about a Master Water mage, who is knowledgeable about the world, taking you as their apprentice?

Sam paused in thought. It was similar and still made sense and if he was an apprentice, surely his Master would share their knowledge?

He wondered if he would come to regret his line of thinking. He thought of the Chosen Mastery and it appeared in his mind.

A message about the [Water Baptism] Talent being updated was there, he willed it away, he could always check later.

He focussed on the Chosen Mastery, specifically the [Water Apprentice] portion again.

[Water Apprentice]: User must become an apprentice of a Water Magic Master.

He just had to become an apprentice. Even though it would really pathetic if he learnt nothing, it would still count.

I agree. I want a Master Water mage, who is knowledgeable about the world, to take me as their apprentice.

Sam’s consciousness drifted as the world around him felt damp and cold.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jerald and Annabelle had watched Sam writhe in pain. Regret could be plainly seen on Jerald’s face. Both Jerald and Annabelle had tried to remove the ring but when they got close, a strong magical presence poured out of the ring.

The air became thick with power. Both Jerald and Annabelle collapsed to the ground from the weight.

Before the oppressing weight began breaking bones, it dissipated in a shockwave of magic that travelled through the house and throughout the farmland as if searching for something.

Jerald looked in wonder at Sam's hand. He expected the ring to be there but it was gone. Replacing it was a deep blue tattoo wrapped around his finger. The tattoo moved gently like sea waves and its colour was always shifting between different shades of blue, from light to dark to light again.

Jeremy entered the room in a panic, having felt the magic.

"Ma? Pa? What happened?"

Annabelle walked over to Jeremy and began explaining to him. They left the room together.

Jerald sighed as his picked up the spilt bowl of stew. Luckily, Sam had been hungry so most of it had been eaten so he didn’t have much to clean up. Jerald felt the guilt grip him as he wondered about Sam’s current state as the young boy lay in bed.

Much to Jerald's surprise, Sam suddenly woke up. They both instinctively looked at the source of his previous pain, Sam’s finger.

Sam began rubbing his middle finger, hoping to rub the tattoo away.

Jerald chuckled.

“I am no magician but I do know that magic tattoos can't just be rubbed off..."

Sam looked at Jerald with a frown.

"Uncle, if it caused me that much pain, I was hoping removing it would be the least I could do in response."

Jerald sighed. It was his fault.

"I am sorry Sam; I didn't expect such a reaction. As I said, I am no magician, none of us are. From what I heard from the townsfolk and friends is that the artefact was meant to help you but all it seemed to do was cause you pain. Did it do anything else?"

The last sentence was said with some hope. Sam smiled at Jerald’s and reminded himself not to take magical advice from a simple farmer again.

Sam had indeed received something. It was a message that appeared when he had regained consciousness. It notified him that he had gained 20 Water Mastery points.

"Uncle, do not feel bad. We can both learn together. It gave me 20 Water Mastery points and there was something else that happened but I just can't seem to remember…"

Sam was really disappointed now. Yes, he was using the half-truth of amnesia to help himself avoid questions but now he couldn't for the life of him remember what happened. He remembered a conversation in a dark place but nothing more. Maybe this world had karma?

"Sam, 20 Mastery points is good gift, even if it is restricted to the Water Master. What my father always used to say was: Restricted Mastery points are only restrictive if you have no plan to use that Mastery. Based on what I have seen, you would be a fool not to focus on the Water Mastery..."

Sam smiled.

"Thank you Uncle, that makes me feel better."

“It is a pleasure Sam. It is a least I can do for being partly responsible for your pain. It seems the sight of unknown magic has made a fool of me. Let us be more wary of such things going forward. Now, I will let you rest further, what the ring put you through did not seem pleasant at all.”

Jerald gave Sam a nod and left him to his thoughts.

Sam used the opportunity to rest a bit more. He didn’t know what or who would be his next challenge.