Nick scratched his head with an almost childish smile when looking at these knives. He didn't have much of a practical reason for wanting to choose them other than their lightness and the fact that he could store many of them on his person considering his upper body strength. Also:
(I remember watching that old movie, 'The Expendables'. Jason Statham was such a beast in that film with these knives. That's a silly reason for wanting to use them but I can live with that. These knives aren't normally the most practical or effective weapons but with magic, I think I can see some possibilities in using them that may even be cooler than in the movies.)
"Ha, ha."
Nick chuckled, reminiscing about watching The Expendables franchise of movies. Nick didn't have any friends or much of a family growing up so he found entertainment and pleasure in watching films and the like. One of the reasons that he wanted to become a Magician so much was that he wanted to do some of the things that he saw in the films.
Throwing knives are light-weight, expendable and extremely sharp. Although buying many of the high quality ones would be relatively expensive, since Nick had just received a 40,000 pounds payout, that was not much of a problem right now. Nick looked at the best quality Knife available and looked at its price.
"Only 100 pounds each. I can buy one hundred of them without feeling a sting."
Nick picked up the knife and went to the store's counter clerk and spoke eagerly, handing over the throwing knife that he picked up from the shelf:
"I want 100 of these knives."
The clerk looked at the knife and nodded his head, saying:
"Understood. Is there anything else that you would like to buy?"
Nick thought for a few seconds and then asked:
"Do you sell vests that I can use to conceal the knives?"
The clerk shook his head.
"We do not keep such vests in stock but we can have one specially made by the academy's armory department and you can pick it up tomorrow. Special orders for a vest like that will cost about 5,000 pounds sterling. Is that okay?"
Nick was shocked at the price.
(One day ago, I barely had 100 pounds to my name but now I have to spend 5,000 pounds on a vest. Being a Magician burns money like crazy. I should find a way to make more money going forward or I'm probably going to end up bankrupt.)
"I'll take the knives and the vest. I'll pick them up tomorrow morning."
The clerk nodded and spoke:
"Hand me your ID card and you can pay with bank card or with the academy's mobile app."
Nick knew that already from other purchases he had made so he took out his phone and started up the academy's app and went to the payment section. His bank account was already linked to the app so he simply made a payment of 15,000 pounds sterling to the weapons store. after showing the clerk the electronic receipt, the clerk confirmed his order by taking his ID and making a few records with his computer.
"You can pick up your items tomorrow at around 9 am. The armory office operates 24 hours a day so your vest is being made as we speak."
Nick nodded his head and thanked the clerk for his help. Nick left the store and made his way to the library where he borrowed a book on magical scrolls.
The librarian looked at Nick and spoke:
"The book I've recommended, Advanced Scroll Arts, is very old and therefore delicate so be careful. Scroll writing is a pretty old discipline and although it is still used today, that's only in fairly special circumstances because scrolls just don't have the same effectiveness as a Magician's spell casting or other magical tools or even potions. Are you sure that you want to spend your time learning it further? Why not learn how to create other magical tools?"
Nick shook his head.
"I've noticed that, from my own experience, writing scrolls and creating spells cast by Magicians have a significant difference in the complexity required, the latter requiring far more effort to create and I think that probably accounts for the lack of effectiveness in scroll writing. I'm still a novice but I find scroll writing interesting so I'm going to continue walking down that road."
Jack, the librarian, looked at Nick for a moment and then smiled.
"Go ahead then, young people are the future after all."
Nick thanked the librarian for his help and headed to his dorm room. It was now 6:55 pm so after taking a shower and eating a few snacks that he bought from the convenience store Nick started reading Advanced Scroll Arts and did not stop until around 11 pm. Nick raised his head from the book and rubbed his tired and blood shot eyes.
(Next, I have to practice math problems.)
Without any rest between sessions Nick started practicing math problems. He was so tired that he was basically doing it on auto pilot, only putting in significant focus when a math problem was especially difficult.
(I'm going to grind my very bones using the process of learning. I have to be able to use magic, study or train by sheer instinct. To do that I have to stress myself out to the limits. Only after I heal from all the stress will there be growth.)
Nick affirmed and internalized his beliefs and continued solving math problems until 12:30 am at which point he jumped into bed and fell into a deep sleep.
RRRRRRIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG
Nick's alarm went off at 3 am. Nick woke up and left his bed, his limbs feeling heavy like lead. Nick washed his face at ate a snack before doing his pushups. Nick began his meditation, nurturing his mindscape. Nick's consciousness looked on from within his mindscape as his magic sea swirled in some places and waves moved violently in other places. The golden figure of light was still endlessly walking along his road as if it had no other purpose but to walk on that road. Nick's consciousness felt sluggish.
"I already feel tired plus the strain from meditation is making my mind slow. Sigh, my mindscape is supposed to have increased my mental strength but I'm still being drained like this. Will this ever get easier?"
At the moment Nick asked that question, his consciousness looked up towards the hundreds of stars in his mindscape's 'sky'. He looked at them for seemingly a long time until an indescribable feeling penetrated his mind like a migraine but without the pain. Nick felt:
"Lonely."
He had basically been alone all his life even being around his schoolmates, teachers and even his own relatives. He had always been alone because he had no one that could understand him. Nick never cared about being alone or being understood since all he wanted to do was achieve his dreams of becoming a Magician but right now he was actually feeling lonely.
"Why am I feeling this way?"
Nick continued looking at the stars in the sky, not paying attention to how time he was spending in his mindscape. At some point, Nick's consciousness was ejected from his mindscape and his vision turned to black. When he regained his sight he was standing among a group of trees in an unfamiliar environment.
"Where am I?"
Nick received no response, not that he was expecting one. All he could see were trees and grass and all that he could hear was the wind moving about this place.
"Huh? Is that sound really the wind?"
Nick felt that the supposed wind sounded strange so he tried to move towards the direction where the sound was the loudest and after walking around having no sense of direction he began to hear the 'wind' more clearly. The sound wasn't the wind at all, it was the sound of whispering. Listening closely, Nick heard two voices speaking amidst many others:
"When are we going to get out of this damn valley, it doesn't ever seem to end?"
"Friend, this is the valley of death, rarely does anyone make it out of here alive. See those footprints on the ground, those were left by the people who came before us. They all end suddenly because that is where our predecessors fell dead from their journeys, turning into corpses and eventually becoming nourishment for these trees."
"What! If this really is such a place then why did you encourage me to come here with you. You've doomed both of us."
"My, friend I did not force you to come, we both decided that we wanted an adventure and chose to enter this valley in order to chase down Success."
"Yes, I wanted to meet Success but I did not want all of this suffering. I especially did not want to be stuck in this dark valley that is filled with the remains of the deceased. This place is filthy, it smells and no one else can be seen."
"My friend, you and I started this journey together, how can there be others? Success is never found among a crowd and it certainly is never found in places without suffering and sacrifice. That's why Success lives in this valley"
"Hmph, you talk like you know it all but where did you get this information from? Have you ever seen Success?"
"No, but take a look at the foot prints on the ground. See the ones that are the biggest and the deepest, they have clearly been here for a long time but have not faded away. Those are they footprints of Success and I know that success always leaves clues. Do you see how the footprints of Success can mostly be found near the biggest and tallest group of trees? That's definitely where the most people have died providing enough nourishment for the trees to grow so big and tall, that must also be where the most suffering has taken place. Success seems to be attracted to such places."
"Oh, now I understand. Success is attracted to sacrifice."
Nick overheard the conversation but was too concerned about his current circumstances to think about its significance. He ran towards the two voices until he found their origin. He ran past a group of trees, coming face to face with two creatures. One was covered in white feathers from head to toe, having the features of a grown man but wearing no clothes, the other was wearing a fine pink robe with his appearance hidden, only revealing his face that seemed similar to a grizzly bear's. Nick asked:
"Who are you two?"
The two creatures looked surprised to see Nick. The creature covered in feathers stepped forward and introduced himself.
"Hello friend, my name is Peace and this is my traveling companion, Love. What is your name."
Nick felt weird when hearing that those were their names but answered anyway:
"My name is Nick Capitol and I've suddenly found myself in this place. Where are we?"
The creature in the robe called Love spoke with his rough voice, saying:
"This place is called the valley of death. We came here in order to pursue Success but have not been able to find him. Do you want to accompany us on our journey? The only way to get out of this valley seems to be to meet with Success."
Nick was calmed by that statement.
"Alright, I'll follow you guys to meet success. I want to get out of this horrid place."
Peace spoke in a uplifting tone and said:
"Ha, ha. With one more brother, our journey will definitely be easier. Come, we have some clues as to Success's whereabouts. Those are his freshest footprints. We'll follow them until we find him."
The three of them began walking together, following Success's footprints. Success's footprints could be traced moving towards and among the biggest and tallest groups of trees where the three found copious amounts of remains; the stench was almost unbearable but they all continued going further, gritting their teeth. On their journey they also came upon holes and pits which they each would fall into from time to time because the valley was dim in lighting, resulting in many superficial injuries. at one point a large black striped bee flew along and stung Love, saying:
"Ha, ha, my name is Gossip. How dare you think that you can find Success? I've already told everyone in this valley how crazy you all are and that you think that you three are better than them. Listen to how strong the whispering has become."
Nick listened and the whispering that he had been hearing since he got here and had confused with the wind had indeed grown louder and more frequent.
"Each time I sting you, the louder the whispering will become. Let's see how far you can go with me around."
Gossip was quick to fly away when Love tried to take hold of him so seeing that it was futile to stop Gossip from following them, the three carried on with their journey. Gossip stung Love another fifty times and the whispering had turned to almost shouts of slander.
"Who do you think you are?"
"You think you can find Success before us, comical?"
"You bastards. Success can hear you approaching and that's why we have not found it. You are clearly sabotaging us."
After enduring all the stings and listening to all the gossip, Love could not take it anymore.
"I feel like I'm going to go crazy at this rate. Success is no where to be found after all of this. I'm going to find another way out of this valley. You two should just give up too, this is hopeless."
After declaring his intentions, Love turned around and left. Nick and Peace became worried but both decided to continue following the footprints. Since Love had went away, Gossip started targeting Peace, stinging him continuously. Soon, trees started falling suddenly in there paths and stones would occasionally be thrown at them. Nick and Peace gritted their teeth and carried on. After what seemed like a long time, Peace could no longer endure the abuse.
"I'm sorry friend but all this has become too much for me to bare, you will have to carry on without me. Finding Success isn't worth all of this pain."
Peace turned around and ran away quickly, leaving Nick alone. Gossip took the chance to target Nick, stinging him continuously but Nick continued following the footprints. The stings became harsher, the voices of negativity became louder, trees started to fall on the path more frequently and the stones that were thrown at Nick became bigger and came more frequently. Nick gritted his teeth.
"I have to find Success and get out of this valley."
Nick continued walking for what seemed to be a long time until he got to a clearing where there were no trees. Gossip quickly flew away, the voices Nick was hearing before could no longer be heard and no more stones were being thrown.
"What's going on?"
Nick looked in front of him to see a human shaped mass of stones standing in front of him. This creature was about his height and was completely made of grey stones.
"Who are you?"
The creature answered confidently:
"Who else could I be? My name is Success."
Nick was overjoyed.
"You are Success, how comes you look so ordinary and plain, you are only made of stones?"
Success shrugged his shoulders, saying:
"People have been misled into believing that I am more glamorous than I am. I am only an accumulation of ordinary things so how can I look any other way. My power is what is extraordinary, not my appearance."
Nick felt enlightened.
I have been looking for you for so long. My companions, Love and Peace were with me but because of all the hardship, they left. I felt so lonely on the way."
Success sighed and spoke:
"Sigh, many times when looking for me, a person will not only lose the love around them but also the corresponding peace; this will probably keep happening as long as you are pursuing real success and that is why you felt lonely. The road to success is like a valley of death with the remains of persons who came before you and failed lying all around. Listen, now that you have found me, things will change. See how Gossip fled at my presence, how all the voices quietened down and how stones were no longer thrown at you? That is my, Success's power. I love this valley because of all the effort made here, after all, success only remains in proximity to purposeful effort. Yes, although I love this valley, I love the determined who find me more. Come, let's leave this valley to find even more success."
Nick followed Success out of the valley of death.
.......
Nick opened his eyes and checked his phone. It was now 6 am and for some reason his mind felt more rested than before.
"It looks like I endured another soul state"
Nick thought back to the events of his soul state and tried to reason them out.
"...So finding success is a lonely journey. I understand."