Thanks to my Patreons: Dan Chekanov, Andrea, Kr0n, kyle, and Peregos
P.S
I decided to make the stats easier and less numerous so I put them together and this what we got.
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With the moon's luminescence, Magnus opened the booklet and started to flip through it.
It had only a few pages, but each was was filled with enlightening information, though what caught his attention the most was the technique itself.
He read the booklet a couple of times to ensure a complete understanding of the technique and to avoid making unnecessary errors.
He calmed his nerves down from his excitement, and then tried the technique out, following the book's instructions. As he breathed in and out just like the book said, nothing happened at first, and for a while, it stayed like that, then suddenly, his stomach gnarled up, forming a pit inside.
Hunger! Endless hunger hit Magnus like a truck. It ravaged him. It was so painful that he felt as if he was devoured from the inside out. He knew he was in trouble when he felt like vomiting, which was so contradictory and odd, but still, bile rose in his throat, which he forcefully suppressed.
Magnus knew he had to do something, or else he might just die like this. Suppressing the pain he quickly got up from his bed and then ran over to the pantry, food was the only thing on his mind, and he hoped that it would be his saving grace.
Nobody was awake at this hour of the night, so he safely made his way to the pantry unheeded, unseen, and undisturbed. He rammed the door opened, and without much thought started devouring the food like a glutton.
"Are you okay, Magnus?" Codex asked after Magnus finished stuffing himself with food.
"I am much better now," he replied as he patted his belly and tried to loosen the food stuck in his teeth. "Though I do not know why, I just got attacked by a wave of hunger while I was practicing the technique."
"So, you have no clue at all, huh?" Codex asked in a bland tone; at this question, Magnus should have known that Codex was taking this conversation somewhere.
However, he remained clueless and answered back in a pure, honest tone, "No, not really. Do you think it was Soykan and his crew, perhaps they gave me some faulty shit."
Codex shook her head in chagrin, "You will surely make a fine conspiracy theorist one day, Magnus. Did you try reading the whole book?"
At this question, he looked at her awkwardly while scratching the back of his head; he was too engrossed with the technique itself, making him neglect the other information inside the booklet.
"I thought so," Codex said in a belittling tone.
"Anyways, I hope you learned your lesson," Codex added, in a serious tone.
All Magnus could do was hang his head, since this time he was truly in the wrong.
"Well, there have been some changes in your body," she said while showing him the scan results.
[Scanning Complete]
[Physical Stats Available]
[Module Units Identified:
Might: 3.76(3.51)
Speed: 5.14(4.67)
Physique: 3.98(3.79)
]
"Wow," Magnus said dumbly, short of words to describe how he felt while looking at the screen that appeared right before his very eyes.
"Yep, it's pretty amazing, Codex said smugly. Then as an afterthought, Codex asked, "Do you like it?"
"Yeah," he responded offhandedly and then added in a haughty tone that he knew would upset Codex. "I must say you finally have some use!"
Codex seethed at his comment, the insults and curses that left her mouth, later on, could literally shock a fair maiden to death.
Although he would never think of her wrongly, she was feeling quite useless in this world without a single gadget or technology.
"Alright calm down, Codex, I was only joking," Magnus said as he suppressed a chuckle.
"Anyways, could you explain it? I do have an idea of what it means, but I would be better if you clarified it since you are the mastermind behind it."
Codex humfed like some noblewoman, Magnus could only imagine she would have been ruffling her feathers if she could.
Nevertheless, Codex took up the task, but it wasn't without a bit of retaliation. "Considering that you are a numbskull, you wouldn't have understood this complicated scans I have come up with. Since we are in a fantasy-like world, I came up with the idea of using the RPG attributes system.
First, there is Might- it measures how physically strong you are plus your endurance, sustainability, and so forth. This attribute includes how much you can carry, the extent of physical damage you can cause. This attribute includes how long you can exert yourself, stave off fatigue, and remain active.
Second is Agility- it measures how quick and agile you are. This attribute includes the ability to accelerate, decelerate, stabilize, change directions, balance, coordination, and evading.
Finally, there is Physique- it measures how sturdy and resilient you are. This included natural armor, resistances, recovery, health, and life."
Magnus nodded his head along as Codex explained each attribute, "So, what does my attributes mean?"
"Well," Codex responded with a smile, "You are a child, so your attributes are quite low. 0-4 is below normal, 5-9 is normal with 10 being the peak of an average adult, and anything beyond that is above normal."
Magnus looked back at the screen, all his attributes except for speed was below normal. All Magnus could do was sigh, it sucked being a child again, and especially a poor, underfed one at that.
"Anyway, what do those numbers besides my stats mean?" Magnus asked, already moving on to the next question, as he put aside his frustration. Just like his last life, he was sure that he could work out and get his attributes back to a good place.
"Those numbers on the side are your old stats," Codex answered. Then still in her resentful attitude, she added. "If you have read the booklet completely instead of just focusing on the technique itself, you would have known that this technique has a major focus on speed with the rest coming in second."
Magnus rolled his eyes; women can truly be an unforgiving and unforgetting lot. "I have to say this technique is honestly magical! Correct me if I am wrong, but this does boost my metabolism rate, which in turn helps by using the energy to enhancing my body, right?"
Codex gave an affirmative yes as an answer, and Magnus whistled in amazement once his theory was supported. "So that means as long as I practice this technique, my physical stats will infinitely grow! Dang!"
Codex snorted in derision, "Once again, if you had read the book, completely you would know that is not true. There will be a limit that you will hit, and you can't advance from. Also, as a side note, you will not necessarily be gaining advancement quickly as today. This is only a first time thing, and you will be advancing at a much slower pace from now on."
At Codex's words, Magnus's exuberance was dampened, though the slow advancement was a blessing in disguise since he wouldn't be needing as much food as he needed right now.
He knew there wouldn't have been going through these highs and lows if he had just read the book completely, and that was exactly what he voiced out. "Man, I really need to read that book."
"You think?" Codex asked in a sarcastic tone.
"Alright, alright, I will read the book!" Magnus said as he raised his hands in surrender.
He turned back to face the pantry. The place was nearly depleted, only a fraction of what was there before was left.
"Ahh, what do you think we should do about the pantry?" He asked Codex since he had no idea what to do when the Mothers and Matron find this place in the morning.
"Well, I guess there is nothing we can do except use the gold that Mr. Soykan gave you this morning," Codex said with a shrug.
He looked at all the food that he ate and did some mental math of how much it would cost. What he found was surprising and very suspicious, a 100 gold lion, give or take, would be able to cover it all.
"Fuck," Magnus said as he looked towards the heavens and swore at Soykan and all his ancestors.
Magnus made his way to Nasty Fish Tavern with bloodshot eyes while carrying a massive bags All night he was running thru and fro, from one store to another trying to buy all the food he ate, it was only at dawn that he made it back to the orphanage, and he only got two hours of sleep.
It is days like these he curses his blasted poor financial situation. It was really godsent that coffee can be found in this world, but he can't afford it thanks to not having any money.
For a moment it crossed his mind, maybe he should go get a whiff of some coffee, that might be able to help him.
But he shook himself of those thoughts as he stepped into the tavern, right away he was able to notice Soykan and his crew. They were up bright and early, all of them were ready to hit the road, but god forbid it if he would skip out on his free meal.
Magnus walked over to the table they were all sitting on, made himself comfortable, then waved over a serving girl. Just like yesterday, he ordered all the meals that were being offered and dig in when it came down.
After he was done with his meal, he wiped his hands clean and turned to Soykan and his company, who were once more, staring at him in fascination. Magnus cracked a grin at them and said, "We should do this more often, gentlemen."
"Well, if you are done eating, let's be on our way," Taylan said impatiently.
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The hour was getting late, after a whole day of wandering the streets, Magnus's legs were wobbly like strings of cheese, and his back was stiff as an iron rod.
All-day long, they wandered into one district after another. They never stay long since Soykan said they will explore each district properly later, today was all about getting a general overview.
Though Magnus had to point out that they never walked into Mountaintop districts, 'so much for all the bravado about stealing from the rich,' Magnus thought.
"Why don't we call it a day," the island folk man said, "our young guide seems to be tired."
"Who is going to show us the nightlife of the city?" But asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Hey," Magnus said indignant, "I am not guiding you into some Brothel."
"That is not what we meant," the man from the islands said, not offended at all. "The city is a different beast during the night."
"Yeah," Taylan added, "Also, everyone knows that all crime happens during the dark hours of the night."
"Anyway," Bulut said in a jovial mood, "if we were going to a brothel, little brat like you won't be brought along.
Magnus felt very awkward for jumping to a conclusion and stood there like an idiot, unsure what to do or say.
Then Soykan came to his rescue, "Alright stop messing with the boy, Wang Shui is correct, he does look tired, and he will need his mother's milk. We can explore on another day, so let's call it a day here."
Magnus sighed in defeat. It was like he was the water boy of the team.
With a more serious tone, Soykan added, "Don't forget that tomorrow, you will be starting your training.
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"So what is this training you were talking about yesterday," Magnus asked as he trailed after Soykan and his group. They walked deep into the tavern and passed the kitchen, and then they came to a trapdoor, which was under a crate that Bulut moved aside.
Soykan bent down and inserted a key he took out from his pocket, the trapdoor clicked into place, and Soykan swing it opened.
Soykan went inside first, followed by Bulut, then Wang Shui, and finally, Taylan, who nodded his head to Magnus for him to follow.
Magnus hesitated for a brief moment as he looked into the deep opened trap door, making it looks like a pit of pure darkness, Magnus steeled himself and entered the unknown.
As he walked down a dozen stone stairs which opened up to another level, in front of him, he heard somebody trip over something and cursed. Then light poured in; it came from a fireplace that was now crackling with logs.
Finally, he was able to see where his environment. He was standing in some sort of weapon room, but everything was placed on the desks instead of racks. There were all sorts of weapons, ranging from axes, knives, daggers, short swords, rapiers, and so much more.
However, there was other stuff mixed in with the weapons like shields, helmets, a musical instrument, parchments, books, a flag, and other assortments
There was also an opened chest that nearly caused Magnus a heart attack once he saw what was inside it, the thing was filled with gold. It sort of reminded Magnus of a pirate chest, and the sight of it greatly reaffirmed Magnus of his decision with joining up with these men.
Next, there was a wooden cabinet filled with all sorts of plants, medicines, extracts, and elixirs.
"I wouldn't go near it if I was you," Taylan said as he sat on a table near the fireplace with the musical instrument that Magnus saw earlier. "It is filled with Shui's deathly concoctions."
Wang Shui snorted in disgust as he toiled away over a desk with said concoctions. "If I remember correctly, these concoctions did save your life numerous times, did it not, huh?"
Taylan rolled his eyes but did not say anything. Magnus turned away from the bickering couples and walked on.
He passed a slightly ajar loo, as he entered the next room. This room was pure and simple, and it was a planning room.
Soykan and Bulut were pouring over some parchments which suspiciously looked like blueprints of a building. Their conversation seems to be coming to a close, so Magnus waited patiently for it to be over.
Soykan said a few final words which Bulut nodded his head to, then Soykan turned away from Bulut and walked over to Magnus.
"Well, let's get your training started," Soykan said to Magnus as he rubbed his hands in anticipation.
"Yea," Magnus said, slightly unsure, "I am still wondering what this training even is."
"Well," Soykan answered as he stuck out four fingers, "Your training going to be divided into four parts, split evenly out among us. With Shui, you will be focusing on your technique, and you will also be doing different training exercises with him.
With Taylan, you will learn how to be a proper thief and will learn all the skill sets required for a thief.
With Bulut, you will mostly be learning how to wield a dagger, a short sword, and throwing knives, but that does not mean all the other weapons will be left untouched. But we will be giving you a general overview of each weapon- its advantages, and its disadvantages.
Finally, with me, you will be learning how to plan, stop looking at me like that, young man."
Soykan said to Magnus, who was giving him an unsure expression, once he heard what Soykan would be teaching him.
"Planning is the most essential part of being a really good thief, or else you won't be reaching for the worthy stuff. So are you ready to get started?!"
Magnus nodded his head vigorously, feeling enthusiastic about his upcoming training arc.
Later that day, Magnus walked out of the tavern unsure on his feet, he kept on swaying in the wind, nearly tripping over and over on to the ground.
Magnus looked like a soulless husk as he walked down the streets towards the orphanage, people looked at him, unsure if they should help or stay away from the moaning boy.
Magnus's muscles were burned like they were on fire, and they also cramped all over, causing him to be stiff like an iron rod. He did not even have a single ounce of energy to lift a finger, forget even walking the whole distance towards the orphanage.
However, those bitches were so heartless enough that they didn't even lift a finger to help him. So with the bleak prospects of being left outside all night to freeze over, Magnus forced himself to walk towards the orphanage.
Though his exhaustion and fatigue didn't stop Magnus from cursing all four of the men, and that only added to his weirdness as he traveled down the streets. In addition to that, all the people who were hesitating on whether to help the poor boy, now quickly swerved away from him.
Once Magnus made it to the orphanage, the first person he ran into was the Matron who halted in her tracks when she saw him. Then she asked in a hesitant voice, "Are you practicing a technique?"