What happened if one has acquired a new ability? It would be proved through trials and the person will learn from his mistakes. Then he would be tested further and learn further, then the same process happened again and so on, and so on. A cycle that kept continuing until the person surrendered and declared to himself 'I've mastered this ability.'
Trinketshore, although a small town was by no means filled with small-minded people. Of course, there were such people all over the world, including here. But they also contributed to the life of the people here, which was full of quirky and outrageous tales. There was a time, when a middle-aged young man had just been kicked out of his house by his family after committing several acts of violence against them. The young man's family tried to help him, to the point where they said, "That's enough! You're not part of us anymore." The man could only threaten and reproach, as a normal adolescent did. The poor lad would be tested whether his ability to survive in the world's wilderness was comparable to his ability to cast heart-breaking incantations from his lips.
They did not expel this young man just because of minor domestic violence. Living as a methamphetamine addict, he had committed several acts of crime. From stealing, threatening others to hand him money, to robbing local banks. His income was not to fund his school fees or some generous charities, but rather to enjoy heaven on earth in the form of liquid, smoked through a pipe. A series of rehabilitation were nothing more than a meaningless homily. A cell group story session that was utterly boring than death itself.
Well, now that he had been expelled, how would this addict fulfill this primary need if he had nothing in his sack? He had nothing to raid a shop, and he would be shot to death if he dared to set foot on the lawn of his old settlement again.
One night, the young man hid behind a building at Howlett's to pick up a portion of leftover meat and tender bones that were dumped in a trash can, in an alley next to the restaurant. When the restaurant closed and the employees went back to their homes, he immediately stormed the trash can and looked for leftovers that he thought were still edible before the garbage truck appear and devour them instead. He had seen a bunch of homeless eating food from rubbish bins like a feast for Hogmanay, and some of them were damn healthy and well. Unfortunately, having a feast of leftovers like the raccoons still required disciplined and dedicated practice. And the addict did not enjoy his culinary experience at the time—not at all.
While chewing the food from the garbage can, he saw a sinister figure in front of the alley appear of a sudden, making him almost vomit his food. His clothes were all black, but what made the addict puke in terror was that the figure had the head of a male elk. Whether it was just a prank mask or the entity himself indeed had the head of an elk, the addict assumed the latter. How not? The figure not only showed its head but also showed a long furry neck that sticks out, very much like an elk's neck. His characteristics made his body proportions look absurd. The strange figure began to walk toward the addict, and the addict replied to the Elk-Man's movement by walking backward while holding out his hands. His eyes bulged in fear, but his cheeks were somewhat puffy from still chewing the rest of the meat.
"Hey, easy there, bruv," said the junkie pretentiously familiar. "You want the rest of the meat? Go ahead, take it all. There's no need to scare me like that, man. It's not like I fancy them, anyway."
The Elk-Man stopped right after the addict said so. He bugled, then spoke in the human language. "I have ...," while grabbing something from the shirt hole in his left hand, he continued his words, "Something that can satisfy your desire." The Elk-Man took out a small black pouch and placed it in his left hand.
"My desire? What do you mean? What is that thing?" asked the addict, shuddered even more.
The Elk-Man answered, "Oh nothing. Just a variety that gives you unlimited pleasure. Makes you happier, makes you… stronger...," the Elk-Man in his low, gloomy voice said again. "Being stronger… makes you feel you can control magic…. No… not just a mere feeling, but actually... experiencing magic."
The man gulped when he saw that little pouch. He still had goosebumps at the figure of an Elk-Man who suddenly offered him a stronger variation of meth, so strong that it made the user feel like a magus. Was this Elk-Man a wizard? That black sack itself looked very suspicious, lest he wanted to poison himself with the magus' brew to do him harm!
But of course, with his shallow thinking, this might be an offer of a lifetime! He imagined that behind the bag was a very tempting lump of transparent crystal, ready to pull him out to meet his pseudo-euphoric best friend once again. Free meth samples? Don't mind If I do! The addict himself already had his withdrawal syndrome ever since he was banished from his house. He truly needed this as a means of life support. The man approached the magus with the elk's head, and asked, "T-this… really free? You're not going to poison me, are you?"
"This is just a sample, good sire. If you are fond of it, I know where I can find you."
The addict looked at the pouch with a furious face, slowly showing his yellowish-black, almost toothless teeth, like a former battlefield. He gritted his teeth more, indicating that he could not wait another lifetime to try the chef's concoction.
"Screw it! Give it to me!"
"Wise choice."
The Elk-Man took the pipe out of his left armhole again, then poured this "variety" of meth from his pocket into it. The black crystals of various sizes came out with purple crack lines. It did not seem like the meth he had consumed before, where it was more transparent in colour, but whatever. It was better than nothing. After he took out all the crystals, he placed the pipe on his palm, and the crystals miraculously melted and boiled by themselves! The addict looked at the pipe and then at the elk's head with bulging eyes and gasped. This moose-headed freak is indeed a bloody mage!
The elk-headed magus continued to heat up the pipe until all the liquid in it began to evaporate and pulled out pink smoke, then handed out the tip of the pipe to the man.
The impatient addict immediately grabbed the pipe and sucked all the gas into his living system. After sucking it, the junkie was shocked and then coughed while exhaling purple smoke. He was getting enthusiastic. His face was shining again, and his confidence skyrocketed. Today, the addict was back to being a champion!
"Fuck! this shite skelped like a pure dead brilliant! No joke! Hey ye, where did ye get...."
He looked around and found no one. The Elk-Man disappeared from his senses. He seemed not to care again, then took another sip. He kept sucking that purplish-fogged goodness. The veins on his head turned a light purplish colour. The more he inhaled, the more his nerves flashed. He just could not stop himself at all.
It was that insane, as if there was no end to it. The junkie started dancing and snickering loudly in the middle of the street. He howled as loud as the emergency siren. The world was already in his grasp. Here it was. This was the definition of happiness that travellers and philosophers have been looking for. No meaning. Just a never-ending dopamine rush. A simple intuition that asked him to act mad. The addict took one last puff, and that's when something happened.
His body veins and eyeballs shone like neon lights. He felt a surge of energy within his body, asking him to let it out. The junkie then faced the front of Howlett's restaurant. The urge grew even stronger, he started aiming at the front door with his hand, leaving his palm open with slightly bent fingers. While aiming for the spot, He once again hollered, "This is for providing me rotten meat and stale scran!" A burst of pink energy shot out of his hand, shooting through the building. In one shot, Howlett's Restaurant was completely razed to the ground, not even having a chance to catch fire!
"Whoo! Taste that burned meat, fucking Howlett! Woohoo, Trinketshore! There's a new magus in town! Pave yer way for the earth's greatest magus!"
He then disappeared into the dark shadows. []