Darius makes his way towards the inn, looking around at the buildings as he does. He passes the magic shop that Hlin had pointed out, and he stops as he thinks about if he should go in or not. ‘Well, I might as well go in, the worst thing that can happen is that I can’t afford anything.’

Darius then walks into the magic shop, looking around a little as a little bell rings above the door. There is a large amount of books on bookshelves, as well as a few display cases with weapons and wands. He looks around as he walks towards the bookshelves, looking over the books. A man walks through a doorway in the back of the shop “Ah, hello sir, is there anything you are looking for?” The man asks.

“Well, I’d like to learn magic, unfortunately I don’t have much money at the moment.” Darius says while he looks towards the man. The man is fairly tall, with red hair, and purple eyes. “Ah, well, there are a few books for those who have a budget. They are just over here.” He says as he walks over to a bookshelf, taking a couple of books off of it. Darius follows the man to the bookshelf, looking at the titles of the books the man is holding. ‘Cheap Magic’ as well as ‘Magic for Beginners on A Budget.’

“And how much would these cost?” Darius asks as he looks at the books. “Well, Cheap magic is 2 silvers, and Magic for Beginners is 5.” The man says as he looks over Darius. “Okay, right, I can afford either, which would you suggest is better?” Darius asks while he looks at the books.

“For someone in your situation I’d suggest Magic for Beginners.” The man says as he holds out the book. Darius nods and reaches into his coin pouch, pulling out the 5 coins for him. Darius takes the book from him, and gives him the coins. “Thank you very much.” he says with a smile as he turns to leave the store. “You be careful now, Magic isn’t a toy to play around with.” The man says as Darius does.

“Oh I have no plans to play around.” Darius shakes his head while he leaves. He heads back to the inn, planning to read the book as long as he can. He doesn’t pay much attention to what’s around him as he walks back, but he manages to avoid running into anyone. Darius quickly gets back to the inn, nodding towards the innkeeper as he walks up the stairs and back to his room.

He sits down at the desk before he opens the book, when he is surprised by a screen popping up.

Skill Book Acquired

Would you like to use Skill Book [Magic for Beginners on A Budget.]?

[Yes] [No]

Darius looks at the screen surprised ‘I didn’t realize skill books were a thing, but that is good to know.’ “Yes.”

Skill Book Used

You have gained the skill [Basic Beginner Magic lvl 1]

Knowledge of Magic Increased

Mana cost of Beginner Spells reduced by 1%

Casting time of Beginner Spells Reduced by 2%

You have gained the Beginner Spells [Fire Bolt lvl 1] [Ice Shard lvl 1] [Rock Wall lvl 1] [Air Blade lvl 1] [Arcane Shield lvl 1]

“Holy shit.” Darius says as he looks at the screen, shaking his head from the number of spells he now has access to. He stands up, holding out a hand as he says. “Arcane shield.” A small golden shimmering barrier appears in front of his hand, which moves up his arm as he thinks about where he wants it. “Well, this is awesome, let’s see Status.”

Status

Name: Darius Martin

Race: Human

Level: 1(3%)

Class: None

Strength: 12

Constitution: 14

Endurance: 13

Dexterity: 12

Intelligence: 10

Wisdom: 12

Luck: 5

Health: 70/70 HP Regen: 34/hr

Stamina: 75/75 Sp Regen: 18/min

Mana: 50/60 MP Regen:30/hr

Skills: [First Aid lvl 1] [Basic Survival lvl 2] [Basic Stealth lvl 1] [Basic Weapon Crafting lvl 1] [Basic Spear Use lvl 1] [Basic Beginner Magic lvl 1]

Spell list: [Fire Bolt lvl 1] [Ice Shard lvl 1] [Rock Wall lvl 1] [Air Blade lvl 1] [Arcane Shield lvl 1]

Blessings: Blessing of The Three

‘Okay, looks like using that spell cost ten Mana, which is good to know, I wonder how much damage it will mitigate before it gets destroyed. I’ll have to do some testing.’ He shrugs as he looks down at it, before he decides to go down to the bar. He leaves his room, walking downstairs before he looks around. He sees Ashera, Hlin, and Vanbok sitting at a table in the corner of the room. He walks over to the table as he says “Hey guys.”

The three look towards him as he walks over “Well there you are, I figured you would end up back here after Hlin lost track of you.” Ashera says with a smile. “Yeah, I just made a stop between the temple and here before I came back, so, where are the other two?” Darius asks as he sits at the table.

“Well, Vorbak wanted to train, and I have no clue what Reevee is doing, knowing that stick in the mud something boring.” Vanbok says with a shrug. “By the way, what is that you have there?” Vanbok asks while looking at the Arcane Shield.

“Well, that stop I mention was to the magic store, where I bought a book. Through it I learned a skill and a few spells.” Darius says as he smiles a little. “But, how? You couldn’t have had enough time to learn anything if you only just got the book.” Vanbok says looking surprised and confused.

“Well, the book was a skill book, which means it probably should have been more expensive than it was.” Darius says as he thinks a bit. “What exactly is a skill book?” Hlin asks looking at Darius.

“What do you mean? A skill book is you know, a book you learn a skill from instantly.” Darius looks at Hlin confused. “That’s not a thing, you can’t just learn something instantly, it doesn’t work that way.” She says shaking her head.

“That is strange, because it’s exactly what happened, I opened the book, and a screen popped up telling me that I learned a skill, and 5 spells.” Darius says shaking his head. “Well, you getting that is pretty good for you, but what are you going to use when you run out of mana?” Ashera asks.

“Well, I already have my spear use skill, so I think I’ll get a spear, probably not a good one, since I only have 2 silver left, I was thinking of going and getting one tomorrow though. I had been planning to read my book for the rest of the day.” Darius says shrugging. “We might as well go now, I can probably get you a deal.” Ashera says standing up.

“I don’t really see why not.” Darius says as he stands with the rest of them. The group leaves the inn and walks through the city to the blacksmith.