As they walked inside, everyone stared at them. They recognized Chester and his party but not Arad.
“Hey Chester, Nigel, who is one behind you? Never seen his face around here.” The adventurer asked with a stern face. If not for the place already looking a bit hostile, Arad would have assumed the man wanted a fight.
“A sorcerer, we found him in the forest. Seem to have lost his way.” Nigel replied, taking the front.
“A sorcerer lost in a forest? Are insane? Their senses are sharper than some dogs.” the adventurer growled, standing up and staring at Arad. “What is he?”
“That’s none of your concerns,” Nigel replied, growling.
“It IS my concern.” The adventurer approached Nigel with an angry face.
Tristana knocked on the ground with her foot. She stared back at Arad and then at Nigel. “He’s a red dragon sorcerer. I would be more cautious in your shoes.”
Nigel turned toward her, “Hey, stats are personal information. Don’t go sharing Arad’s like this.”
“People should know before starting trouble with Arad, lest they get burned, or he gets hurt,” Tristana said, looking toward Arad; he didn’t seem bothered by her telling others about his information.
[It was only a matter of time before they knew of your power as a red draconic sorcerer. Just don’t tell them your stats, powers, and spells.]
“Nigel, it’s okay. As long as my spells and powers don’t get out.” Arad said, smiling.
“You there, no fighting inside the guild.” A woman shouted from behind a counter on the other side of the room. “Newcomer, please come here.”
The adventurer glared at her, “Stay out of this, Nina,”
Nina, the guild receptionist, glared at the adventurer.
[Don’t even think about it. She might be strong. I can tell from her eyes. But she is quite old, unsuitable for a mate.]
Nina stood from her counter, grabbed a nearby chair, and approached the adventurer with a smile. The adventurer took a few steps back, “Nina, we don’t have to do this.”
“What did you say to me? It’s my job to be sure troublemakers don’t cause trouble here.” She lifted the chair, and the adventurer pulled his sword.
Before he could swing, she dropped the chair and sent her hand at his face. SLAP! She slapped his right cheek hard enough to leave a red mark, and before he could fall to the ground, SLAP! She hit him on the other cheek with the backhand.
BANG! The adventurer spun half a circle and fell on his face, shivering. And as he groaned, BAM! Nina kicked his bum hard enough to send him rolling.
“Any more idiots wanting to cause trouble for the newcomers?” She growled, staring at the other adventurer, and they all looked away, terrified.
[See, she’s dangerous.]
“Newcomer, your name is Arad, right? Please follow me to the counter.” She said with a smile, waving her hand as if introducing the counter.
Arad stared at her for a second, waving his hand with a blank face, “No, thank you. I will be on my way.” He turned around to leave.
Everyone froze in place. Nina almost turned to stone, seeing him turn around immediately.
“Wait a moment, please!” She rushed behind him.
“No, you look dangerous, and this place looks worse. My hunch is telling me to leave.” Arad replied without even looking back.
“Hold up! I’m not dangerous.” Nina grabbed Arad’s hand, stopping him in his trail. “Would you at least listen to me?”
[You can listen to her, don’t worry, she doesn’t seem hostile. But keep your guard.]
“Fine.” Arad sighed, and Nina’s stressed face relaxed.
Lisa approached Arad as Nina walked away, “I know she looks scary, but she is a good person. You will come to like her soon.” She said with a smile.
“I doubt it; she is too old for me,” Arad replied, following behind Nina and leaving Lisa puzzled.
At the counter, Arad faced Nina with his guard still up. “So, what did you want to talk about?”
Nina cleared her throat, putting on a smile, and trying to forget that she overheard him earlier saying she was too old for him.
“Do you want to join the guild? We offer a lot of benefits.” She said.
“Like getting slapped for speaking, I don’t need your benefits.” Arad immediately responded, causing her to gasp, her soul almost cracking.
Nigel and his party stared from a distance with worried faces.
“No, that’s a different story. The man was trying to bully you, a newcomer.” She said, shaking her hands. Almost unable to form words.
“I didn’t ask for your help, no one did, and you’re the one who lifted a weapon first. You’re far stronger, yet you started. That bullying itself?” Arad wasn’t going easy on her.
Thud! A hand landed on Arad’s head, “Kid, give Nina a break.” When Arad looked back, it was a blond woman with a smile.
[She is also a no-go, strong yet too old.]
“And you are?” Arad asked.
“A friend of hers from the old days. Don’t give Nina a hard time; she is a barbarian, after all.” The woman replied.
[Anger and violence come with the class. I doubt she has a choice in it.]
“You’re a fire sorcerer. If you join the guild, I can teach you how to use your powers.” The woman said, puffing her chest.
Arad glared at her, “Very well,” He turned toward Nina, “I would like to register.”
“Nina, get his papers ready. I will take him to the training ground for some fun.” The woman said as she dragged Arad away.
“Wait, I need his full name,” Nina called, and the woman looked at Arad.
“Arad Orion, a human draconic bloodline sorcerer.”
Nina rushed toward them with a crystal ball, “Please touch this.”
[Do it, don’t worry.]
Arad touched the ball, and Nina smiled, rushing away.
[She took your stats, of course, I showed her the fake ones.]
The woman then dragged Arad to the training ground, where all the adventurers gathered to watch.
“My name is Amber Burnhills, and like you, I am a fire sorceress. But unlike you, I don’t have a draconic bloodline. What I have is an elemental bloodline.” She said with a smile, flames leaping from her hands.
“Fire is an element,” Arad replied.
“There are creatures we call elemental, beings made of elemental energy. A fire elemental got involved in my family, even though I can’t imagine how painful that was.” She giggled.
“So what were you going to try and teach me?” Arad asked.
“Do you know any spells?” She asked.
“No, but I can control flames,” Arad replied.
“Do you need a brazier?” She asked again.
“A lot of questions,” Arad opened his palm, and a gust of flames burst out, “I can create my flames.”
Amber smiled, “That makes things easier,” she looked back, “But you still need to buy spell tomes if you can afford them.”
“You should only be able to use fire element, so don’t bother with spells from other types of magic. There is a way to get a second element, but you must level up for that.” She opened her palm, and a gust of wind rushed upward, “And be utterly talented. Only one in a thousand people is a sorcerer, and only one in a thousand sorcerers can unlock a second element.”
All the adventurers glared at her with suspicious eyes. She was boasting.
[You’re a void dragon and can use the void to conjure all the elements, don’t show her that you can do that.]
“I understand, and if that was the case, I don’t care about hearing about something I can’t attain,” Arad replied to Amber, causing her face to flush red. As everyone went silent, Arad looked at Amber, “What matter is what I can do now; I can deal with the future when it comes.”
Amber sighed, “Fine, for a young adventurer, you have some words in you.” She lifted her palm, pointing at a nearby training wooden pole.
[Firebolt]
A flash of red flames rushed from her palm, KA-DON! It exploded at the pole.
“This is a 0-tier spell called Firebolt. It doesn’t cost MP, as the residual Mana in the air is enough. For spellcasters, this is a stable form of sustained damage.” Amber opened her palm again, and a red flame emerged from her hand.
“Why did you cast it a second time?” Arad asked.
“Spells have refinement levels. That was the second refinement of Firebolt.” Amber rested her hands on her hip.
“Usually, a first refinement Firebolt deals 1~12 HP of damage, but a second refinement does 2~12. It’s more reliable and costs nothing extra.” Amber explained, but Arad looked at her with a weird glare.
“How did you know the numbers?”
Amber looked puzzled, “Of course, experiments on monsters. We take a monster, tie him up and apprise his HP with an orb like the one Nina used on you. Then we hit him with a Firebolt to see how much HP he lost. We repeat that around a hundred times to get an average number.”
Arad glared at her, “You torture monsters?”
“Mages even experiment with slaves; what is the problem of testing on a man-eating monster?” She looked at him with an empty face.
[This is why mages are dangerous, don’t reveal your true self until you’re sure you can kill them and fight for your life.]
“The damage for the refinements is (1~12)(2~12)(3~12). Now let me show you another thing.” Amber lifted her palm, and a blue Firebolt rushed ahead.
KA-BOM! The explosion didn’t seem different, but the pole had more burns.
“Fire spells have three levels, red, blue, and white. At each one, the power of the spell increase.” Amber smiled.
Level 1: R1(1~12) R2(2~12) R3(3~12)
Level 2: R1(2~24) R2(4~24) R3(6~24)
Level 3: R1(3~36) R2(6~36) R3(9~36)
“To learn a spell, you must read a tome. The book then will turn to ash. To refine a spell, you must use it, and it also depends on your intelligence.”
The requirements
At [4-intelligence]: Level 1, R1
At [6-intelligence]: Level 1, R2 .
At [8-intelligence]: Level 1, R3
At [10-intelligence]: Level 2, R1
At [12-intelligence]: Level 2, R2
At [14-intelligence]: Level 2, R3
At [16-intelligence]: Level 3, R1
At [18-intelligence]: Level 3, R2
At [20-intelligence]: Level 3, R3
************
[Name: Arad Orion][Race: Human][Class: Sorcerer]
[Level: 1/20][Exp: 70/300][Sub-class: Red Draconic bloodline]
[Stats]
[Strength: 11] [Agility: 14] [Constitution: 14]
[Magic: 18] [Intelligence: 17] [Wisdom: 9]
[HP: 11][MP: 22][SP: 12]
—————-
[Skills]
[Innate Skills]
[Draconic Bloodline: Fire]
[Draconic Scales]
[Resistance]
[Fire]
[Immunities]
Non
[Magic]
[Firebolt: Level 1, R1]
************
[I added a fake spell based on Amber’s explanation. We need to get a tome as soon as possible. Just use it and say it’s an innate ability for the time being. Always remember, within the confine of your fake states, you can achieve Level: 3 R1. But with your void attributes, you can reach Level 3: R3.]
“Is this all?” Arad asked.
“No, try it first. Let’s see if you can do it,” Amber smiled. She pointed at the pole and grinned.
Arad nonchalantly lifted his palm KA-DON! A red flash blasted the pole [Firebolt: Level 1, R1] KA-DON! KA-DON! He threw two more just because he could.
Amber stared at him with her mouth slightly open. It was then that Arad noticed all the adventurers watching in horror.
“Mages usually can only cast one spell every five seconds, but you used three in one second. What kind of power is this?” Amber gasped.
“Horray!” The adventurers cheered, screaming and flailing their weapons, “What a talent, such a powerful sorcerer joining our guild is a blessing!” One of them shouted. He was the same adventurer who earlier almost started a fight with Arad.
[I should have warned you to use one only. Now, the adventurers see you as fifteen times faster than normal wizards and mages.]
Arad sighed. There is no way for him to reverse what happened. “What now?” He asked, looking at the still-puzzled Amber.
“Yes, I can teach two more spells to see if you can use them innately,” Amber said. And then lifted her hands and took a stance.
KA-DON! Her fists got covered in flames. “You can punch like this. It will deal fire damage in addition to your punch damage.”
Amber swung her fist, and the flame faded. “It fades after one strike, but you can always recast it for free.” She said, awaiting for Arad to mimic her.
Arad lifted his fist, took a deep breath, and slowly went into a stance as his fists burst into flames.
KA-DON! KA-DON! KA-DON! Arad threw three punches as fast as he could. The flame didn’t fade from his fist, and due to the quick throws, a small shockwave generated around him. BAM!
His punches were that of an amateur, but the magic power behind them made them fearsome. The adventurers who could block him are numerous, but no one wants to try.
Everyone watched in silence. Arad’s arms were still on Fire. The magic was supposed to fade after one strike, “Your magic won’t fade away?” Amber asked.
[She is right. Your innate flame won’t fade until you want it to fade. But tell her that you’re just reapplying the spell.]
“I’m just reapplying the spell fast enough to keep up. It’s honestly quite exhausting.” Arad flame faded.
[It’s better for her to think that you have limitations.]
“This spell’s fire damage is similar to Firebolt, but it has the additional damage of your punches. I don’t know much about punches. A monk or a fighter should be able to explain them better than I.” Amber sighed, quickly telling Arad about the spell refinements.
Level 1: R1(1~12) R2(2~12) R3(3~12) Red flames+ the punch damage.
Level 2: R1(2~24) R2(4~24) R3(6~24) Blue flames+ the punch damage.
Level 3: R1(3~36) R2(6~36) R3(9~36) White flames+ the punch damage.
************
[Magic]
[Firebolt: Level 1, R1]
[Firefist: Level 1, R1]
************
Amber looked at Arad with a dead face, “There is also a spell called Firekick.” She did a weak kick with her foot engulfed in flames KA-DON! “As usual, the same fire damage but with the damage of the kick added at the top.”
Arad looked at her. She looked dead inside.
[Her pride must have been damaged. A young sorcerer displayed more talent than she had, after all.]
Arad took a stance, KA-DON! He did one kick, spinning for the second, KA-DON! And as he went for the third one, he slipped and fell on the ground.
Arad wasn’t faking it. He couldn’t do three consecutive kicks because using his legs and spinning had messed up his balance. He might be strong, but he lacks skills.
“Are you alright?” Amber rushed at him.
Arad scratched his hip, “Yeah, it wasn’t a hard fall. I do need to practice my moves.” He growled, and Amber smiled.
“Keep it in mind, if you got hurt, don’t hesitate to ask for healing in the guild.” She helped him stand, and he looked fine, “As I said before, same fire damage and added the kick damage. Nina should have finished your registration. Let’s go and see her.”
Arad nodded. He can practice later.
[We still need to find a place to spend the night in.]
Level 1: R1(1~12) R2(2~12) R3(3~12) Red flames+ the kick damage.
Level 2: R1(2~24) R2(4~24) R3(6~24) Blue flames+ the kick damage.
Level 3: R1(3~36) R2(6~36) R3(9~36) White flames+ the kick damage.
************
[Magic]
[Firebolt: Level 1, R1]
[Firefist: Level 1, R1]
[Firekick: Level 1, R1]
************