After another week, Zack's library borrowing privileges were finally renewed. He was happily sweeping the library, eager to borrow a spell book. The day he could cast a real spell was getting closer!
Once he finished his job, Zack headed to the level 0 spells section and picked out the most common and cheapest offensive spell for an apprentice, [Zap]. But as soon as he tried to pull the book off the shelf, a shock traveled from his hand, up his arm, and all the way to his head. He just stood there helplessly as the shock moved through him.
Thankfully, it didn't hurt. Instead, a new set of information appeared in his mind, like a message. It told him he should borrow [Introduction to Spell Patterns] before trying his first spell.
Putting the [Zap] book back on the shelf, he quickly ran to the library entrance to find his friend, John. Zack caught up with him just as John was about to leave.
"Hey, wait up!" Zack shouted, running over to John.
"What's up?" John asked.
"Haah haaah do you haaah know haaah—" Zack panted, out of breath from running.
John stared at him for a moment, then said, "Just talk after you catch your breath. I'm not in a hurry."
"Haaah thanks haah," Zack replied.
After catching his breath, Zack started talking. "Alright, earlier, when I tried to borrow the [Zap] spell book, I suddenly got a message in my head from the book. It said I have to borrow [Introduction to Spell Patterns] before learning my first spell."
John's face lit up with realization. "Oh, that. Don't worry, it's normal. It happens to every apprentice when they try to learn a spell without reading [Introduction to Spell Patterns] first. Didn't you hear about this in the introductory lecture last week?" John looked at Zack with disbelief. "Don't tell me you didn't attend the lecture?"
Zack averted his eyes. "Cough, there were some things going on. Anyway, thanks a lot! I'll treat you to a meal sometime," he said hurriedly before escaping the situation.
John watched Zack run off, exasperated. 'There's no way a cheapskate like you would treat me to food made from magic beast materials!' John sighed and put the matter out of his mind, then left the library.
Meanwhile, Zack ran back into the library to look for [Introduction to Spell Patterns]. After talking to John, he remembered there had been an announcement about an introductory lecture for all apprentices, explaining various things about the tower. But since it wasn't mandatory and Zack was busy experiencing meditation for the first time, he quickly forgot about it.
"Heh, anyway, John's like an encyclopedia if I ever need help," Zack grinned as he browsed the shelves.
Elsewhere, John sneezed out of nowhere, looking confused.
Soon enough, Zack found the book and used his privilege to borrow it. Over the next three days, he managed to understand the entire book. Thanks to his [Advanced Intelligence Correction], he was basically a speed-reading prodigy. Once he grasped something, he connected the dots and pulled out insights like it was nobody's business. For the first time, he felt like a real high achiever.
From that book, Zack also stumbled upon something called common magic. It was for everyday tasks, didn't tie into any specific element, and was supposedly easier to learn than elemental magic. One of the common spells explained in the book was [Clean], which could wipe away dust and grime from anything, even his own body.
If Zack learned that spell, he wouldn't have to endure those icy showers in the tower of magical wonders. "Can you believe it? A place with all these wild spells and magic, and they couldn't even hook you up with some hot water!" Zack grumbled, remembering how he nearly turned into a popsicle the first time he tried to shower.
Unfortunately, the spell pattern for [Clean] wasn't explained in [Introduction to Spell Patterns]. He had to borrow a separate [Clean] spell book. But he didn't have enough points to borrow both [Clean] and [Zap]. He could only afford one. So he stood at a crossroads: [Zap] or [Clean]? Power or convenience?
His choice was... drumroll please... [Zap]! It was a no-brainer. Zack wasn't about to sacrifice learning a proper spell for a bit of convenience.
With determination, he selected the [Zap] spell book and tapped his badge on it. Information flooded his mind, asking him to confirm if he wanted to purchase or borrow the book.
With a heavy heart, Zack watched his tower points count drop to zero. 'This better be worth it,' he thought, trying to stifle his emotions, 'That's 10 days' worth of points. Ten whole days!'
Checking his badge, Zack felt the contents of the [Zap] spell book transfer to it. Satisfied, he turned on his heel and headed back to his room.
As Zack strolled back to his room, he thought about library member privileges. A clueless apprentice might think it was amazing to borrow books for free once a week. But the reality? Not so glamorous. Take the apprentices maintaining a magical garden—they earned a whopping 5 points a day just for their default job.
Considering level 0 books cost around 10 points each, those gardeners could borrow a book in just 2 days. Meanwhile, poor Zack had to wait a whole 10 days to borrow just 2 books, relying on both his wages and his privilege.
So, Zack figured this free book perk was just a small mercy to keep the library folks from falling too far behind in magical knowledge.
Brushing aside those thoughts, Zack reflected on his recent chat with his fellow library member. Usually, apprentices shelled out a few points to attend a lecture alongside borrowing a book. For example, there was a class called [Introduction to Spell Patterns - Explained], with three lectures totaling 10 points.
Despite the cost, Zack thought it was worth it for ordinary apprentices since the tower assigned an official wizard to teach the class. The wizard could offer extra tips and tricks that would help apprentices grasp the book's content better.
But Zack was confident his [Advanced Intelligence Correction] would allow him to understand the book without any issues. So, he wanted to save his tower points to borrow more books.
Closing his room door behind him, Zack plopped down on his bed, ready to dive into [Zap]. As he'd mentioned, the book's contents magically transferred into his badge when he borrowed it, so he had access to it anytime during his stay at the tower. He only had to focus his mind on the badge to see the book's content.
Before diving into the spell book, Zack took a moment to review the basics of spellcasting from the [Introduction to Spell Patterns] book. Step one: tap into some mana from his mana heart. Step two: funnel that mana into his palm and mold it into the spell pattern he wanted. Finally, pour more mana into the spell pattern to unleash the spell.
However, it wasn't as easy as it sounded. Once mana was out of an apprentice's body, it was like trying to herd cats—it became wild and hard to control. The apprentice had to shape this chaotic energy into a complex pattern in the air.
'That's why people usually attend those tower lectures and get tips from experienced wizards,' Zack thought, 'but not for me!' After devouring the spell book from start to finish, he decided to give casting the spell a shot.
With one smooth move, he channeled his mana into the spell pattern and BAM! A lightning bolt zapped out from his finger, leaving a scorch mark on his wall.
'Dayum, that was some serious power!' he exclaimed inwardly. 'Not to mention the stun effect—the damage alone would make someone feel like they'd been roasted over an open flame.'
Seeing the scorch mark, he realized his poor room wouldn't last long if he kept this up. Time to rent a spell practice room before he turned his dorm into a smoldering crater.
Looking at his arm and then back at the scorch mark, it suddenly dawned on Zack. He had actually cast a spell for real! It was a rush unlike anything he had ever felt. Even though he knew he was in a world full of magic and had already played around with lightning particles, seeing his spell leave a mark on the physical world? It was like he had finally found his place.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he realized he could truly survive in this crazy new world. Zack might have seemed calm and collected, but deep down, he was scared out of his mind. Who wouldn't be? He had been thrust into an entirely new world with no one he knew around. But he shoved those fears aside, focusing on gathering info and adapting to his new reality.
'Mom, dad, brothers, sisters, take care. Please take care of our parents for me,' he thought as he calmed down and wiped his tears before heading to the cafeteria for dinner.
As usual, he went for his favorite combo: steak and chocolate cake. But he couldn't help noticing that wraps seemed to be the popular choice for most folks there. Quick and easy to munch on, ideal for those busy wizards. Watching the wizards in the cafeteria, he thought, 'Everyone's moving like their butts are on fire. I guess their motto is no time to waste, especially when it comes to food. Not for me though.' Zack thought as he continued ordering his food.
The cafeteria was pretty empty, mostly just a handful of apprentices and official wizards. Zack tried to snag a seat next to one of them but got shut down real quick. The guy looked at him like he was trash, warning Zack not to even think about sitting nearby. 'Ouch.' Zack clutched his heart inwardly.
Then, Zack noticed the guy was eyeing his badge. 'Ah, now it makes sense why he shot me a dirty look,' Zack thought. His badge displayed a book symbol, like a flashing neon sign telling everyone he was a library member, aka trash talent.
These magic robes had a little slot on the right chest where he could snugly fit his tower badge. Slide it in there, and he was good to go. To take it out, he just had to channel a bit of mana, and it popped right off.
It's not like he wanted to show others that he was from the library. It was mandatory for an apprentice to wear their badge on their robe to show their affiliation at all times unless they were using the badge for transactions. There was punishment for not doing that.
Zack put the little incident to the back of his mind as he continued moving and looking for another empty seat. Then, he sat down and started eating his food.
While pondering the badge, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was straight out of a sci-fi movie, with its fancy "LED" display and all. Clipped onto your robe, it flaunted your affiliation and current level.
For Zack, it was a floating book symbol with a big fat 0, signifying he was just a lowly apprentice in the library crew. That grumpy dude who gave Zack the stink-eye? He belonged to the alchemy lab, his badge boasting a test tube and a 0. Zack let out a sigh, feeling a tinge of envy toward the guy.
Now, if Zack took off his badge, it started glowing a soft blue. That was the go-ahead for any kind of transaction, whether it was borrowing a book, grabbing some grub, or getting paid.
Anyway, back to the food. Zack wolfed down his steak in a flash but savored every bite of that heavenly chocolate cake. 'Man, this stuff is divine, no cap,' he thought, feeling a twinge of pity for those rushing apprentices who were missing out on this tasty treat.
With his belly full and his sweet tooth satisfied, Zack checked his status window while walking back to his room.
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Name: Zack
Age: 10/100
Occupation: Apprentice wizard
Mana: 8/10
Talent: [Limitless Mana Well], [Advanced Mana Manipulation Correction], [Advanced Mana Sensory Correction], [Advanced Intelligence Correction]
System was synchronizing… Status: 99%
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'Ah, so casting [Zap] earlier gobbled up 2 points of mana. Drawing the pattern and casting the spell each chewed through 1 point of mana. But hey, according to the spell book, once you get good at it, drawing the pattern should only cost a tiny bit of mana,' Zack mused. This meant he could slash the mana consumption to around 1 point per spell.
To cast [Zap] five times, he needed at least 5 points of mana, plus a little extra to avoid passing out, as per the book's advice. So, bottom line, he had to hit 6 points of mana to level up to a level 2 apprentice wizard.
Most apprentices needed a solid month to gather enough mana and another month to learn a level 0 spell. But not Zack—he was smashing through that timeline like a boss in just 10 days. Thinking this, he couldn't help but feel smug, 'Talk about talent! Gotta stay low-key though, gotta stay focused, you feel me?'
Opening his room, he went straight to his bed and got into his meditation zone until the next morning rolled around. The next day, he went to work as usual and, at the end of the day, after collecting his salary, he headed to the practice hall and booked himself a room for an hour.
Now, don't get it twisted—Zack would have loved to book more time, but he was straight-up broke. It cost 1 point to rent a practice room for an hour, and he was tapped out after this booking.
But hey, that hour was worth every point. He spent the whole time honing his spell pattern skills, thanks to the practice room's mana recovery boost. It was like his mana was in turbo mode, letting him practice like there was no tomorrow.