The Reluctant Hero - Vol. 1 - Chapter 4

Axel followed the directions he was given and quickly found the Wizards Emporium. It wasn’t extremely busy, with one person working the counter and a couple of people milling around near large tomes on pedestals. The tomes contained lists of spells and the names of Mages willing to teach them. Axel made a move directly toward an unoccupied one.

He really wanted some inspiration for spells. He would be able to craft twenty of them and only had ideas for a few. He also wanted to find some simple elemental spells that he could use to vary his damage output. Sticking to just one element was stupid. Go up against a monster immune to the element you picked and you’re screwed.

There had to be hundreds of spells listed within the tome. Some common like the ever classic Fireball or the artillery version Explosion. Lightning Bolt, Ball Lightning, Earth Spike, Stone Wall, Water Whip, Deluge, and so on. Some of those he would want later on. For now, he was interested in some more esoteric spells that he might be able to abuse with his massive amounts of mana.

It didn’t take him too long to spot a spell he knew he could abuse to death.

Create Item

Allows the user to permanently create any non-magical item from their mana. The bigger the item, the more expensive the materials, the more mana this spell will cost.

Axel didn’t want that version of the spell, but it did give him an idea he could abuse when he had more mana coming in. It would probably cost an absolute fortune but… What if he could upgrade that spell to include magic items? To be able to make any magic item he wanted any time he wanted it? That would give him so much added utility alone that it would be worth it. Yet it could do infinitely more. All for some mana.

The only other spell he saw that looked like it could be awesome was called ‘Dimensional Home’.

Dimensional Home

This spell has to be cast twice. The first time it is cast, the user must designate how much mana they wish to spend on the spell. The amount of mana spent determines the size of the dimensional space created. This can only be done once, ever, on the first casting. From then on, when this spell is cast you open a doorway into your Dimensional Home for five minutes.

Cost: Varies (1st Casting), 250MP

The spell seemed similar to Magic Box, yet entirely different. The Magic Box spell wasn’t designed for living things to go inside of it. In fact, it would reject placing something living inside of it. It seemed like Dimensional Home worked on a different principle entirely. It was definitely another spell he would have to save up a massive amount of mana for to get the best possible outcome.

There was a smattering of spells that caused him to blush every time he read their descriptions. As a red-blooded sixteen-year-old male, the idea of casting spells that could make… THAT even more pleasurable seemed like overkill… He’d definitely be back for those spells when he had someone to share them with. Well… after he found her and learned what it felt like normally.

Other than those, nothing really stood out to him as interesting. He’d come back and look again after getting some experience out in the field. Spells that looked useless or less than interesting now might become something irreplaceable in the future. He just didn’t want to spend money if he didn’t have to. Not yet anyway.

He adjusted his bag on his shoulder and made his way out of the guild. There wasn’t anything he could do until he had his Status Plate to act as his identification and to help with his quests. Though… He looked around and followed the signs to the job center. Here he could find quests to perform to gain experience, money, and rank within the guild.

He went to the lowest ranking section, the ‘F’ section for newbies. The quests on display were what one would expect, picking herbs, killing pest monsters, finding lost pets… However, there was one subsection that was all quests for the beginner dungeons that surrounded the city. It’s why Victoria became so popular and such a massive city. It was the perfect place for beginners to level up. There were at least two dozen dungeons within a week's walk of the city. Axel planned to pick one of them to do some leveling in.

Thankfully, each dungeon was labeled with recommended levels for people heading into them. He looked for a dungeon that started at level ten. He might be only a level one, but with a week’s worth of mana stored up, he should easily be able to take on higher-level monsters without fear. His estimates put him at around four million mana, enough for forty thousand health with his Mana Shield. That combined with Telekinesis should see him easily through the level gap.

Axel grinned broadly as he spotted the perfect dungeon for him to begin with. It was actually a level fifteen to fifty dungeon but the monsters populating it would be extremely easy to crush skeletons. Skeletons were considered to be moderately dangerous monsters. They couldn’t be stabbed at all and slashing them could work but took a lot of effort. Add in that a lot of magic didn’t work efficiently on them and they became a problem. No, skeletons needed to be smashed, blunt force trauma. Something Telekinesis excelled at.

He made a note of some repeatable quests asking for different drops from the skeletons. The big one was Bone Powder, something used by several crafting professions. Scrap metal was another item sought after. Neither was worth a ton, but it was better than nothing. He’d collect everything that dropped and sell it all.

With his plans made, Axel made his way out of the guild and back into the city. He needed to find an inexpensive place to spend the night and get some dinner. As he walked he tapped his chin as he thought about his plans. If he was going to the dungeon, he’d probably be gone for a couple of days. He’d need food and water. He’d wanted to hold off on it, but it looked like he would need to cast Magic Box sooner than he wanted. Luckily he could just recast it later for a bigger one.

He found a nice spot off to the side of the road and looked around to see if anyone was paying attention. The only thing he spotted watching him was a black cat further in the alley he stood in front of. Axel took a deep breath and cast Magic Box dedicating just one hundred thousand mana to it. That only translated to ten thousand mana thanks to his spells costing ten times as much, but that was still way more mana than even a level one hundred mage would have access to.

There was no fanfare from casting the spell, but he did feel a connection form between himself and another place. He hefted his satchel and moved it to the side, there was a ripple in the air as the satchel disappeared. Feeling the sensation, Axel knew that his large satchel of spare clothing took up hardly any space at all. He couldn’t know the exact size of the space as items only took up exactly as much space as they needed. At a rough guess though, the bag took far below even one percent of the total available.

Axel looked around once more and spotted the black cat still staring at him. He gave it a smile and a jaunty little wave before leaving the alley to find a place for the night. It was still early though, so that could wait while he explored more of the city. It was his first time in a city and he was excited to see all the differences between it and his home. Though he made sure to stay away from the people trying to sell ‘miracle’ items. His parents had warned him about those scammers!

During his exploration, he found several stores he wanted to come back and visit in the future. Many sold enchanted items to help people out. His main goal was to find different items to boost his mana regeneration rate. The higher he could get that, the more powerful he would become, and the faster he would level up. So much to do, so little money, and such a low level. He’d fix that starting tomorrow!

He took another random turn down a street and came to a screeching halt. So much blood flooded his face that it was a miracle he didn’t pass out. He knew what this spot was. He shouldn’t be here. Not yet. Not for another year or two according to his mother. The street was lined with buildings dedicated to the world's oldest profession. Voluptuous women wearing scraps of cloth laughingly called ‘clothing’ lined the street beaconing to the men, and women, walking down the street.

Axel just found the red light district. He spent more time staring at the scantily clad women than he probably should have. It didn’t help that the professionals lining the street instantly pegged him for a virgin and began calling out to him. Every sensual innuendo-laden line caused more blood to rush to his face. He took one last look to burn the images into his mind for… later, then spun on his heels and left. He most certainly did not flee as fast as his legs could carry him.

Once he was a safe distance away from the most dangerous section of the city, he started to look for a place to grab some dinner and spend the night. Most inns would fit that bill. He meandered back in the direction of the guild to find a nice one that catered to hunters. Any normal inn would work but he wanted one filled with hunters. His mother had drilled it into him that the inns near guild halls were filled with hunters and that those with keen hearing could gather lots of information for free.

It took a bit of searching, but he finally found a good place. Of course, it just had to be the absolute biggest inn inside of the city. It stood at four sprawling stories that took up almost as much area as the guild did. Huge double doors led into a massive open bar slash restaurant that was filled with men and women of all descriptions.

Axel’s head swiveled all over the place as the sound of dozens of voices all speaking washed over him. He could tell what class some people were based on their armor, weapons, or outfits. Others, he just didn’t have a clue about.

He drew a few looks as he walked further inside, though he was quickly dismissed. His apparent age combined with his simple peasant clothing painted a pretty clear picture of who he was. A clear newbie. He didn’t let that bother him since it was the truth. Newbies weren’t looked down on a whole lot, but they weren’t necessarily welcomed with open arms either. Tier one beginners had to stick together out of necessity since anyone tier two or above wouldn’t give them the time of day.

Everyone the world over was at least a tier one. It might as well be labeled the civilian tier. Monster Hunters were only taken seriously once they reached tier two. It was a show of dedication. Higher tier people didn’t want tier ones since there was no telling if they would stick with it or if the newbie was a waste of their time. It was almost all about practicality. Except when it came to fresh-faced level one newbies. No one but other level ones would even give Axel the time of day.

He would be on his own for a while, and that was fine with him. His Special Trait was something that he couldn’t flaunt. Keeping your Special Trait secret was common sense, if people knew it they might be able to use it against you. Having more mana than any magic-user ever was something he definitely needed to keep secret.

It was only a few moments after he entered the inn that a young woman in a uniform dress walked up to him and offered him a bright grin, “Welcome to The Sleeping Dragon! Is it just you or will your party be joining you later?”

Axel did his best not to blush. The waitress was around his age, maybe a year or two older at most, and beautiful. She wore her bright golden blonde hair in a ponytail with two bangs framing her face and drawing attention to her bright blue eyes, cute button nose, and full lips. The simple dress she wore had little bits of lace around the bodice and bottom edge to draw attention to the modest bit of cleavage she had on display as well as her long legs covered in white stockings. The same uniform all the female workers wore. Axel cleared his throat to keep his voice from cracking, “It’s just me.”

Showing her professionalism, the waitress didn’t even blink an eye, “Alright! Do you just want dinner or would you like a room as well?”

“Dinner and a room for the night, please.”

“Renting a room comes with breakfast and dinner included. I’ll just need ten silver from you.”

Axel nodded and quickly retrieved the silver and handed it over. He honestly expected the place to cost more. According to his folks, an inn with decent service and food should cost around ten to fifteen silver. High-end places generally cost twenty or more silver. Given the way this place looked, he’d put it in the high-end category. He was willing to spend that much for a single night. He’d have much more money after his trip to the dungeon.

The cute waitress accepted the silver pieces and spun on her heels, “Follow me!”

Axel was led to a small table off to the side that he could sit at alone. Once he was seated, the waitress pulled a menu out of a Magic Box and held  it out to him, “I’ll be back in a few minutes so you can let me know what you want.”

Axel watched her leave before looking around the wide-open room once more. He smiled and turned to look at the menu. So far, today had been an excellent day and tomorrow was looking to be good too.