I went on a weeklong trip from New Zealand to United States, it was fairly interesting to see how things were majorly the same. My major takeaway from the trip was that America smells, the streetlights could be better and the flights take too long.

No work on the story was done during this time either as it was actually a weeklong programming session for my job, go figure. But hey, at least I got CS:GO for free!

You guys are also lucky in that this chapter was mostly complete before I left, unlucky in that I didn't release it before I left.

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The moonlight illuminating our path forwards, we travelled through the night. Rob summoned a torchlight into existence which floated above us casting light down on the ground. Swooping shadows leaped from the darkness offering small scares as unseen animals made their warning and hunting calls. It was by unspoken agreement that Rob dismissed the spell after half a hour as Kira snapped at him, her movements flighty at every shadow that jumped out at her.

We don't really need the torchlight, the moon is enough to see the road.

The rest of the night was spent quietly, a chill in the air as conversations were started in hushed voices and quietly pettered out in silence that grew.

It was during an extended hush in the night that I enthusiastically offered to tell a scary story before Kira smacked me a few seconds later, hissing at me as she rebuked me fiercely. She's really scared of stuff that goes bump in the night.. I don't recall hearing of any undead in this world, but I wonder if she will be able to fight them.

The night passed and the sun began to rise, my companions squinting at the light as their movements slowed, arms held over their eyes as they adjusted to the sudden brightness.

My own eyes easily adapted, my pace barely stuttering as I continued walking. Less than a minute later I heard the pounding of feet as they quickly scurried to catch up to me, not a single mention of the brutal pace I had been setting all night, not a single complaint leaking from their lips.

By the time it reached midday the others were obviously tired, yet they still didn't complain as they walked with eyes drooping. The sun had been rising in the air all day with not a cloud in sight, with the heat beginning to increase as the roads grew warm underfoot we began to take small breaks when we reached spots of shade.

Fields and houses surrounding the dirt roads, occasionally people would pass us by. Walking and trundling past on wagons.

We were stared at when they passed us by, children gawking at our large packs on our backs, stretching above our head in height and big enough to completely conceal our backs. The packs were heavy I knew, heavy enough that they would be impossible to carry by normal humans, I could deal with it easily, but how did the others handle it? Does the magic of this world effect them somehow?

With every break we took I began to go through the books in my pack, reading them and devouring the information they contained. The theory behind spatial magics, this was the first book I looked at.

Reading through the book was a bit difficult, the author seemed half-baked and the contents seemed often confused about the very topic it was talking about. More than a few times I found myself re-reading a sentence to make sure I had understood it properly. It was a satisfying feeling when I finished the book, having gained some small understanding about it.

No new spells, but that's fine for now.

The next book on top of my pack was Summoning of Weapons. This wasn't a book that I was interested in for the spells but for the theory behind it because unless the summoned weapons are something special, then the spells are useless to me.

You have learned the spell Summon Sword (Voice)

SkillSummon Sword (Voice)Level1 [0%]Through the force of your will and the mana under your command, mana takes a corporeal and physical appearance in the form of a sword!

This spell is incomplete, fragile, susceptible to magical attacks and contains no weight behind it. Its easy to see why this isn't a favorite of the mages!

You have learned the spell Summon Spear (Voice)

You have learned the spell Summon Bow (Voice)

You have learned the spell Summon Arrow (Voice)

You have learned the spell Summon Axe (Voice)

Each of the spell descriptions contained those words, incomplete, fragile and susceptible to magical attacks. It was disappointing, but I still finished the book regardless. The book itself didn't describe the spells as useless though, infact it seemed to acknowledge them as special spells that were learned by battle mages. Not a single mention of them being incomplete, just their description as a common weakness of the spell type.

I examined the five new spells and the connections between them, after some time analyzing them I slowly began to see where they differed, what made each spell unique and crucial differences that differed between each type of creation.

The spells as they are are useless, but as a spell they were not completely useless. While I won't be using these spells, it was very likely I will be able to improve them in the future. Take away elements of the spells to create another spell of my own, or perhaps fix the spells to make a whole version.

Thankfully I didn't need to cast the spells to understand how they were constructed, just learning the spells was sufficient to call up the knowledge of casting them.

The problem was that while the differences in those spells did seem tiny, those same differences were interwoven with the spell as a whole to such an extent that I was very sure that a single change of my own would destabilize the entire thing. What the end result would be, I'm not sure.

I don't have the skill to change the spells. Not at this point.

Considering the idea of branches of magic those five spells could lead into, I really do like that idea. So I'm not going to be deleting the spells until I've mastered their essence.

The next book I had was Magical Tools, the contents taught me no new spells or skills but it contained some fairly useful information. The fur of a wolat can be boiled and melted with sand to form a glass that will never break, the melting point raised even further once if you constantly keep it melted for over a week.

The uncommonly found wood of the Green Ash tree can be used to craft wooden weapons, when first soaked in water for a week it will afterwards not suffer wear and tear on a single point, but will distribute damage as a whole. An enchanted metal crafted by an exclusive sect of mages that utilizes the wind to push behind it whenever the metal moves, commonly used in both armor and weapons for the almost weightless effect it has.

A lot of things, and if I get the chance to find any of the mentioned items it will be interesting to try out. But none of them really spoke to me save for the mana crystal occasionally mentioned offhand inside.

'Magical effects of items' was the forth book I removed from my pack, this was almost the same contents as the previous book, but it also described magical ingredients that could be found. It was from this book that I found more information about mana crystals.

Naturally found and able to be grown by pouring massive amounts of mana inside, the crystal slowly grows larger when touching fresh water and gathering mana from the air. They sell for a fair amount, but after using the mana inside a crystal it will destroy the purity so that it never recovers that level of mana. The stronger in purity a crystal is, the slower it grows and the more mana can be utilized in a single grain.

While commoners could grow crystals by themselves, it can take years for a crystal to double in size where in comparison a single mage pouring mana can double the crystal in less than a month!

Of small note were mentions about enchanting, the things that could be used in the process and the locations they are commonly found. From scales of a dragon to baptisms in blood, those things are seeped in lore and have potential to become something you can use.

I also got a nice notification from it.

Enchantment effects of items can now be found in the item information window

'Mana below the earth' spoke of the mana that flows through the world, the small attempts to harvest it and the massive upheavals of the earth that followed after. It contained mostly theories, but it piqued my interest a little at the mentions of gods who were enraged at the mortals attempting to undermine their power. It spoke of them almost as a belief though, not as fact.

Summoning Earth Elementals, the book was just about useless. Everything on how to summon and use the elemental and almost nothing on theory and practicality.

Unable to learn Summon Earth Golem (Voice). You do not have affinity for this element

Not even enough information for me to create my own version of the spell.

Finally I came down to the last two books, 'Craftsman Magic' and 'Magical Arrays and Enchantments'. Wanting to save the best for last, I moved the arrays book to my pack and in exchange took out the craftsman book. Reading the first page, two popups appeared.

Learn the spell Enchant (Voice)YesNo

Learn the spell Sandpaper (Voice)YesNo

I'm not interested in the second spell, but for research purposes..

You have learned the spell Enchantment (Voice)

Unable to learn Sandpaper (Voice). You do not have affinity for this element

No big loss I grinned to myself.

SkillEnchantment (Voice)Level1 [0%]Imbuing items with the strength of the world, the power in nature and the magic that flows about us, enchanting permits you to take this strength and push it into a object! Blessing and imbuing strength into the object of your choice!

Voice must be kept at a constant rhythm or enchantment will fail.

Enchantment success rate is raised by familiarity to the items used.

Enchantment success rate is lowered by strength of the enchantments used.

Enchantment effects may vary based on the items used.

Failed enchantments will destroy the item.

Enchantment success rate: 1%

When I look on the information with a smiling face, that smile dies a little. This seems a tiny wee bit harsh.

I can obviously raise the success rate with grinding, and by familiarity with the items.. Doesn't that means I need to understand the item, how it was crafted, the history of the item and things like that? That could still be done.

Though I do wonder what the success rate of a normal person is like, do they have a 20% chance to succeed in enchanting?

Obviously here grinding is the answer, and it does seem like I'll need to personally gather and create the items I use to create my enchanted objects.

This makes me miss the enchantment process of Balizen, the game I used to play. The moment you learn enchanting, you just need to slay the monster of your choice with a spell active and with the item of desire in your hand in the moment of victory. Either you succeed, or the item drops in durability. Kind of unique, but it was interesting in that you couldn't play at full strength.

In comparison, the wastage of materials and the low success rate.. This seems hardcore.

The constant voice, I definitely want to get rid of that, and I'm going to need to find a steady supply of enchanting regiments. Things I can use to enchant items with.

As for the items.. Depending on how hard it is to find ingredients, I could go from a stone on the ground to a hand-carved object.

But really, I'm expecting this to be a giant pain. I'll conduct some experiments, see if its worth chasing.

Placing the book away, I took out the last book 'Magical Arrays and Enchantments' with a small amount of anticipation. Opening the book and reading through the first line, my vision seemed to explode in disappointment as nothing happened.

It seemed this book would not be teaching me new skills or spells.

I still spent the next half hour reading through the book, soaking in the knowledge contained within. Different types of enchantments, the ways they have been used and recipes to try. The way spells are formed, the formations they take and the many uses a single array can take.

It was fascinating at first as I read through it, but soon it began to grow dullsome, the book listing the uses in a way that was of a teacher droning on. I finally finished the book though, and I could feel that I knew more than I did before. At the very least, I received one notification.

The spell Enchantment has reached level 5Enchantment success rate: 1.5%

It made me feel even more depressed about the situation.

As the day wore on I began to take more and more breaks for the sake of the others, their eyes almost closing and bodies almost falling asleep every break. But they did not ask for me to stop, and I did not offer.

In this manner we continued until the sun was setting as we reached a small city. Grabbing a couple of rooms, as I unlocked the doors for them it was with weary relief they collapsed the instant they shrugged off their packs. Collapsing limply onto their beds and asleep before drawing a second breath.

Mark didn't even make it onto the bed, the second he caught sight of the bed he just collapsed where he stood. Asleep under a second and almost braining himself before I caught him in time.

Four small rooms, four small beds. None of them noticed.

With the four sleeping like the dead, I left the inn unaccosted.