A small book sat at the bench next to Arthur, as he opened a potion bottle and gulped it down.
[Minor Spiritual Potion consumed..]
[Spiritual Points absorbed (67)]
"It's less?" Arthur frowned as he read the message. "Is it the quality?" He wondered, then pulled up the second bottle and drank it.
[Minor Spiritual Potion consumed..]
[Spiritual Points absorbed (78)]
"Thank god it's just the quality" Arthur sighed in relief. He was afraid the points would lessen the more he consumed the same item, but that wasn't the case.
"Status"
[Name: Arthur Collins]
[Pathways: Knight Apprentice II (0/40)]*
[Spiritual Energy: 205]*
[Physique: 6.8]*
[Vitality: 4.1]*
[Spirit: 0.5]*
[Elements: Fire and Darkness]
"Since I have enough points now, I should level up the knight pathway" Arthur muttered as he commanded the golden paper.
Half an hour later, after the pain finally stopped, he clenched his fist, feeling endless power. "Keep calm, it is just an illusion!" He kept telling himself, but the smile never left his face.
[Pathways: Knight Apprentice III (0/100)]*
[Spiritual Energy: 165]*
"The required points for the next level up didn't double like they usually do.. Is it because this is the last stage before officially entering the official Knight realm?" Arthur muttered. From the book the previous Arthur stole, he knew that there were only three realms in the apprentice stage, then after that, it was forming a Core, where what the book described as the Vitality Core. "Should I do it?" Arthur thought, then nodded.
Knowing that a Minor Spiritual Potion only cost 5 spirit stones, he wasn't as worried about points as he was before, even if he couldn't get his hands on them for now, it didn't mean he wouldn't be able to in the future.
"I need to go to the river!" Arthur said before leaving the caravan with his bag, and started heading towards the woods.
"Kid, we'll be departing soon, where are you going?" The knight guarding the camp asked.
"I'm going for a quick bath before we move sir, I won't take long" Arthur reassured him before leaving. They usually started moving after breakfast, which wasn't served yet, so Arthur knew he had enough time. 'The book said that the process should take around an hour or two, so I should be safe' He thought.
***
The water in the river was cold, but Arthur barely felt it due to his strong physique.
After taking his clothes off, he jumped in, sat down in a lotus position, and activated the golden paper.
[Spiritual Energy: 65]*
What happened after could only be described as torture. He felt his skin burn, his bones break, and his heart squeezed dry.
Usually, a knight goes through a slow process of training and accumulation before each breakthrough, unlike Arthur, who relied on a sudden jump, which forced his body to quickly adapt and change, causing the pain in each of his breakthroughs. For normal knights, in each breakthrough, it was a calming, and pleasant experience, but for Arthur, i tmade him wish he was dead.
The process continued for a while, which felt like hours to him. There was no shortcut to power, as a price had to be paid, no matter how small. His previous breakthroughs had been a lot calmer, as they were but mere minor realms, but for a major realm jump, his whole body twisted, as it forced its way through it.
"FUCKK!" He lost balance, unable to stay seated, and yelled out through the river's water while breathing it in, looking for oxygen. 'This was a mistake!!' That was all he said inside his head. He wasn't prepared, and neither did he choose the right place. He saw that in the book, after a successful breakthrough, impurities would be ejected from the body, through the skin and mouth, so he chose to do it in the river, thinking he was being smart, but now, as he took rapid breaths, mixed with the river water, he couldn't be more wrong.
"What are you doing!!" A voice spoke, and the sounds of quick footsteps were heard before a hand grabbed him from his shoulders, lifting him out of the river's water.
A knight, one of the knights that usually guarded the camp, carried Arthur out of the river and threw him onto the ground, before he stared at him. "What's wrong with you? Why is your skin red?" The more the knight analysed the kid, the more confused he was. He couldn't let a potential wizard talent die on his watch, otherwise he would be severely punished by the Academy. After all, he was merely a servant, and when a servant fails in their duties, they become useless.
"Eat this, quick!" The man forced a pill down Arthur's throat.
[Minor Vitality Pill consumed..]
[Spiritual Points absorbed (12)]
Not knowing what was happening, the Knight tried his best, giving him one of his life saving items while watching, hoping Arthur would get better.
A few minutes later, Arthur started to calm down, his convulsing lessening slowly, as impurities burst throughout his body.
"What the hell!!" The knight, seeing this scene, was shocked. "Are those.. Impurities?" The knight muttered in shock. "Are you breaking through? What the fuck!!" Watching a 13 year old become a knight, while it took him over 30 years of hard training, terrified him.
"I.. I'm ok sir" Arthur barely managed to speak, as he threw up river water mixed with the same dark substance leaving his sweat pores from his skin. "Just a small mishap with my.. Breakthrough!"
"O.. Ok" The knight didn't know what to say, watched the kid get up, and head towards the river, starting to clean himself.
"May I have some privacy, sir?" Arthur asked politely in a weak voice.
"Ye.. yes, I'll be around, just call if you need anything!" The knight, his tone now more respectful, spoke, before leaving.
'Damn it, I didn't want my breakthrough to be revealed' Arthur sighed, and finished cleaning himself up, and then wore the clothes he prepared, as he started heading towards the camp.
[Name: Arthur Collins]
[Pathways: Basic Knight (0/500)]*
[Spiritual Energy: 77]*
[Physique: 11.3]*
[Vitality: 6.9]*
[Spirit: 0.8]*
[Elements: Fire and Darkness]
***
"Is that him?" In a new campsite, one of the knights gestured towards Arthur to the knight next to him, the same one that saved him in the river.
"Yeah, can you believe it?" The man sighed deeply, followed by another sigh from his friend.
***
"Only 13 spirit stones are left… I need to get more.." Arthur, looking at his now deflated pouch, sighed, as he went back to reading the book he received from the witch.
He had 35 spirit stones at the start, with 10 stones paid for the book, and another 10 for the 2 potions, he was left with 15, but after being saved by that knight, he gave the man 2 spirit stones as a thank you, after all, he did save his life.
"That wizard called this basic information, but.. This is precious!"
The book contained a small introduction to the wizard world, the academy, and some common knowledge.
The wizard world was vast, extremely so, filled with unexplored continents and islands, but humans weren't its only inhabitants. A race called Polluters by the wizard council, was also another inhabitant of this planet, and as expected, they were the enemies of wizards.
"Divine Followers?" Arthur frowned. The other race were soldiers sent by another realm called the Divine Realm, in an attempt to invade the wizard world. They looked like angels, white wings, golden armors, and their weapons were either swords, spears, or even their own wings.
Not only did they wield magic, but their bodies were nearly immortal, as even without a heart, they can survive, like cockroaches, is what the book called them.
"So gods are real?" Arthur wondered, feeling weirded out, after all, he was from earth, where religion was everywhere.
One thing about this bothered him even more, and that was the varieties of gods. The book did not go into details, but they spoke of evil gods, greedy gods, and even crazy gods. Each trying to build a kingdom on this planet, gathering believers, the willing and the unwilling.
"Ritualistic sacrifices, burnings, massacres and killings" the more Arthur read, the more bewildered he was, after all, most of those things were not done by only evil gods, but even the ones that claimed to be good. "Calling their massacres as divine retribution against the heretics.."
The wizard academies were established by the wizard council, recruiting new talents to strengthen their realm, and one day hoping to kick these invaders out.
"A battle against gods… I knew this academy shit wasn't free!" Arthur sighed.
The Academies were many, but battles and fights for survival, ressources, and territory amongst them never ceased, after all, the wizard path was the pursuit of knowledge, power, and infinity, and that required enormous amounts of ressources.
"So the wizard pathway used what is called a Spirit cultivation technique!" Arthur continued to read, as the sun set, and when the smell of food started to dance around the camp, he finally closed the book, shaking his head. "So I'm already a pawn" he muttered ,starting to walk towards the line for to get served.
***
[Name: Arthur Collins]
[Pathways: Basic Knight (0/500)]
[Spiritual Energy: 98]*
[Physique: 11.3]
[Vitality: 6.9]
[Spirit: 0.8]
[Elements: Fire and Darkness]
The smell of the sea and the cries of seagulls filled the air.
Arthur, who was now in a thick coat, and underneath it was a set of black leather armor, with a sword hanging on his waist.
He looked at the port city as it grew further and further away, replaced by an expanse of blue, sighing. "I am 14 years old as of today" He muttered.