NOVEL WEB Chapter 4 Natural Mage
Vance snuck back to bed just as he heard his father getting up. He was actually quite tired, which felt strange to him since he was technically still in game. While Alantina Online did have a sleep function, Vance had never used it as it would slow his progress down. So in a sense, he had forgotten about the need to sleep, and now that he was an NPC, he was regretting it.
Vance had no idea how long he slept for but he did know that he was now very much awake. Soaked in cold water, he looked up at the man staring down at him with an angry expression. "You're awake now? Hurry up and get off your ass and help me with the shed!"
Vance rubbed his eyes and slowly got out of bed. He looked down at his soaked straw mattress and knew if he wanted to sleep later, he would need to change this. The sun was up, and the warmth it brought to the drenched Vance felt good.
"Vance, don't think I am trying to be hard on you. I just want you to have some skills for when I am not around. When that girl broke off the engagement with you… Forget it." Ricky did not want to continue. But Vance was quite curious now. He did not understand why Ricky decided to stop talking. He had no memories from this body that he was in, so he did not know what had happened in the past. But from the sounds of it, he might have once had a fiancee who broke off the engagement. Not that he cared. He was not very interested in some fiancee he had never met. And if she broke off the engagement, it was probably for one reason or another. Since he had no memories of any of that, he was not affected by any of it.
It should be mentioned that Vance's interaction with women was so little that he could count the number of girls he has talked to in real life on both hands and this was including his mother. He had always been that person who had preferred to be alone. This was probably due to how he grew up, always by himself, as he did his best to support his mother while she worked hard. He would do the house cleaning and try to cook for her, but he was hardly good at it. But no matter how crappy his food was, his mother would always smile and eat it. He spent most of his time at home, and his only chance to talk with others was through the internet, such as online games, and most of the time, these people were NPCs….
When he first started playing Alantina Online, he ignored all people and wanted to be known as the solo expert. So even if other players offered to have him join their teams for a dungeon run or a world boss, he would not accept because he did not like rolling for loot, and it would go against his goal.
But now, while his goal of being the strongest was still there, after seeing the majesticness of the game for what seemed like the first time since he started playing this game. He really wanted to explore it more, even if his growth was slow. However, he did plan to keep a steady pace, he just wanted to at least see more than before. Whether he would interact with more players this time around was another story. But he decided he would at least attempt to.
If this was all a dream and he was about to wake up any minute now, then that would be that. He would not mind, but if he was stuck as he was now for god knows how long, then he would need to make do with this new life while trying to figure out how he ended up in his current position.
Vance looked up at the old man who was hammering away at a plank of wood and sighed. "Don't worry. I will learn what I can…." Vance mumbled as he continued to help Ricky.
It was past noon when Vance and Ricky finished the shed. Ricky let Vance off for the rest of the day, which was the perfect chance for him to try to use magic. He just needed to learn the skill if he could. Although he knew it would not be easy since he was still unsure if he could even use the spell he had long memorized without the actual skill. While playing the game as a player, you only needed to use the activation name of a spell. While there was a hot bar, this was more of a mini inventory that allowed you to quickly retrieve the items from your bag. You could not add skills to it or anything like that.
Vance made his way to the area where the trigoons were that he had killed the night before. He walked to the stream and looked down at the clear water that flowed down from the mountain. For the first time, he also got a good look at his reflection. Blonde hair that was more white than anything else and blood red eyes that contrasted with his pale skin. For someone who was out all day, he did not seem to tan or burn at all under the strong rays of the sun. Ricky was very tanned, so Vance wondered if this came from this body's mother.
"At least I have good looks." Vance nodded at his reflection before looking up and raising his hand towards the opposite side of the stream and saying: "Fireball!"
Vance stood there in the same pose for a moment before wrinkling his brow and tilting his head slightly. Nothing happened, so he could only assume he needed to be a bit more precise than just calling out the spell's name. Fireball, or any spell with ball at the end of it, was a basic of the basic attack spells for mages. If he wanted to be a sword mage, he had to start here.
Images of the spell began to appear in his mind. They were from the times when he first started off. He imagined the magic circle that formed at the palm of his hand when he was directing a spell. Each line slowly began to form within his mind. Slowly but surely, spreading out to form magic runes that were used to channel your magic and complete the spell. Vance slowly opened his eyes as a small flash of orange light streaked across them. "Fireball!"
Vance's hair began to flutter as a whirl of air began to gather around him. In front of his outstretched palm, an orange magic circle slowly began to form. This was much different from what he was used to. It was all done slowly. He could also feel the mana flowing through his body to the tips of his fingers down to the palm of his hand. Slowly but surely, the magic circle came to completion. A ball of fire formed in front of him before shooting out at an incredible speed!
*Boom!*
The fireball slammed into the shore on the other side of the stream. At the same time, a new notification popped up in front of Vance.
[Skill Acquired: Fireball(LVL 1)]
[Notice: Due to learning how to use magic outside the skill menu, you have acquired Natural Mage title.]
[Natural Mage]
[All spells learned outside of the system will be amplified by 50%, and the mana cost is cut in half.]
"Oh?" Vance was surprised at this new information. He wanted to look more into it, but before he could, a voice came from behind him. "Vance!?"
Vance turned to see Ricky standing there, staring at him in surprise. The man's mouth was open wide enough to stick an entire egg into it. "You…. You just used magic!?"
Vance was kind of confused as to why Ricky was so surprised but still nodded his head in answer. He felt maybe this would allow him a bit more freedom. Ricky's expression quickly turned from shock to happiness when he saw his son nod. "Good! Good! Haha! My son can become a mage! You keep practicing. I will not bother you. Hahaha! My son will become a mage!"
Vance saw how happy Ricky was that he was basically in tears and smiled. Since he was now in this man's son's body, he should at least try to do something for this man who obviously wanted the best for his kid. "Father, I will make you proud."
Ricky walked over and hugged Vance without a word. Before stepping back and patting his shoulder. "No matter what you do in the future, I will always be proud of you as long as you are not sitting on your ass. From now on, you can practice your magic. I will not hold you back. This can allow you to leave this village and go to the capital and make a name for yourself."
Vance looked at Ricky and understood that for an NPC, going to the capital was a dream for all villagers who wished for a better life. It was the same in real life. But for Vance, this was like a ball and chain. But it was also a chance for escape. He would need to leave this village soon if he wished to be able to progress at all, and in order to do so, this came at a good time. "Father, I plan to go to the mountains tomorrow."