Cursed Explorer of the Arcana

A quick parental discussion ensues as I continue sprinting around the backyard only for a long-awaited message to appear finally.

[The general Skill [Running] has reached lvl 2.]

“Mom, Dad I got one in Running?” I yell, totally overjoyed to see my hard work pay off.

“We're proud of you honey but remember, it all depends on the Class level.” Dad answers before ignoring me again.

Damn, true. I was so excited I almost forgot. Okay, I did forget about it. The Skills belonging to a Class can’t be higher level than the Class itself and the same goes for the nine general ones which are limited by the main Class. It sucks, but even if the Skill is capped the work you put in doesn’t go to waste, it just gets stored or stuck somewhere until the Class levels up.

It’s weird and a bit restrictive, but I’d rather have those Skill levels stored than work for nothing.

“Sweetie, come here for a second!” Mom calls and I sprint at them as a last hurrah. As soon as I skid to a halt and slump down she shares the verdict. “Since you can’t actually use magic yet some mental Skills will have to do.”

“Heh,” I make a not too ladylike noise of surprise. “But I have mana and the Blessing, and-”

“And no Skills to actually command that mana.” Mom interrupts. “That’s what makes the difference between a mage and anything else, the ability to freely control their mana.”

I could argue that there are Druids and Spellswords who can do the same… although those are like half-mageish Classes. Like me, a half.

“Okay, I’m listening.” I throw my arms up, signaling my surrender. I really wanted that magic…

“Dividing your resources isn’t the smartest this early and realistically, no mage goes into combat as soon as they can wield magic. You make one mistake and something will bite through your throat.” I could’ve lived without that last bit, typical Mom… “So instead we choose three pretty basic Skills. Reflexes, Stamina and Quick Witted.”

Damn right, even the System acknowledges my intellectual superiority. I should get the Genius Skill or something.

[Congratulations, you’ve unlocked the skill [Pompous lvl 1]. Would you like to assign the skill to an empty slot?]

“Oh, you son of a-” I catch myself in time, as my parents are about to look at me with eyes expecting me to finish it. The 'reward' would be two more laps of running today no doubt.

Instead, I quickly open the list again and pick the three Skills I’ve unlocked somehow, sometime before I turned nine.

[Congratulations, you’ve acquired the skill [Reflexes lvl 1].]

Reflexes: You react to something despite being barely able to detect it just by having quick reflexes. Now you can respond faster to new impulses.

[Congratulations, you’ve acquired the skill [Stamina lvl 1].]

Stamina: You have worked your body all the way to total exhaustion, not sparing a single drop of your stamina. Now you’ll be able to utilize that stamina more efficiently.

[Congratulations, you’ve acquired the skill [Quick Witted lvl 1].]

Quick Witted: Your thought process is faster, helping you think of solutions before others and making your line of thought smoother.

So I can do this faster and faster again… That’s nice. More!

“What’s the last one?” I ask after checking my Status.

“The last one is up to you.” Answers Dad as he gets up. “We’re trying to help, not tell you your path. I think you should go and play with the others, get a feel for your new Skills, and have fun.”

“Dump your Free Points into Intelligence and Focus, at least you can make use of those, unlike your mana. Be back for dinner!” Mom adds, leaving me alone in the backyard.

Go play? Alone… I’m nine, I can finally go outside alone!

“Yess! Yes, yes, yes!” I fistpump and bolt out onto the streets.

Freedom.

***

It didn’t take long for me to gather the gang, abusing the birthday card every time their parents said they had plans for the day. Yes, that plan is called me! It’s my time to brag and I won’t let anyone stand in my way.

Despite being allowed to roam the city without parental supervision we still end up in the park. Everyone knows you’re supposed to be very careful when sharing your Status so we needed a quiet and secluded place, either this or under the bridge.

“So, what are you? Unruly? Or something basic like Child of the Beach?” Asks Frans with a bogus attitude.

Oh, how I’d love to rub it in his face and… sorry Mom and Dad.

“Crimson’s Blessed.” I present the truth with the biggest, smuggest, arrogantest smile my face has ever worn.

I expected awe and starry eyes, instead, all I see are raised eyebrows and puzzled looks. Well of course they don’t fucking know what it is Eli, Gods… I can’t stop now, can I?

“Is it good?” Asks Nia after a few seconds.

“Pretty special because supposedly there was some big bad red light in the sky when I was born. Nothing too crazy.” I answer lying this time to my friends.

I want them to be amazed but not too amazed so they don’t accidentally spread my secret. I know we promised to keep this discussion among ourselves but it’s hard to stop our mouths once it opens at home. It's happened before.

“Does it also give three points?” Comes the key question from Jappo.

Generally, starter Classes give three points and only special cases like nobles get four or five. Mine is six and there’s no way I’ll ever tell them that. We all like a fair contest whenever we play and right now, I have an unfair lead. Although….

Identify

[Labourer lvl 21]

[Warrior lvl 11]

[Warrior lvl 11]

[Artisan lvl 23]

Nia, the twins and Jappo in that order, that’s the one-month headstart I guess since we’re talking about unfair… Even the twins turned out to be a week older.

Nia is a seamstress, the twins somehow convinced their parents to let them become guards and maybe climb their way through the ranks, and Jappo… he’s already an apprentice at a merchant guild.

“Only four points.” I decide to lie in the end.

It still earns some healthy amount of jealousy but nothing too serious since I’m the weakest no matter how we look at things.

The past week I even tried to avoid going out altogether because being the only one without any Skills and all that good stuff was pretty… shit. It’s still shit but I can already do something about it.

“I think we’re forgetting about something.” Connie points out and looks pointedly at me.

“Ahhh!” After a collective noise, they all dogpile on me and shout in unison. “Happy birthday Eli!”

My surprise quickly turns into giggles as I try to free myself.

“Okay, okay thanks.” Slip out from under the pile of my friends. “It’s not why I’m here. I need wisdom.”

“That’s new.”

“Really new.”

“Maybe the Class messed with her head.” The insults rain down without any hesitation.

“Shut it, I need to pick a Skill and bag some levels.” I cross my arms let me hear that wisdom.

This might sound like me asking for assistance but it’s actually a trap. I used the word wisdom on purpose so if they say anything idiotic it’ll bite back at them threefold. This does not deter any of them and the downpour of ideas begins just after a second of deliberation.

“Something to move faster?” Frans throws the idea.

“Already have it.”

“Something to help you learn?” Jappo comes in with a much stronger one.

“Like what? Everything we do is basically learning and I have nothing like that on my list.”

“Like something to help you read faster or memorize things or… you know.” He goes into detail and I can see some reason behind his words.

There’s only one problem.

“Actually,” I scratch the back of my head. “I was thinking more Mage Skills than anything.”

“Then you can join-” Frans jumps up with starry eyes.

“Shut up idiot!” His sister pulls him back down. “Why the change of heart?”

Since I originally wanted to go down the path of a Warrior the three of us often fantasized about fighting side by side. The only problem was that guard duty never interested me much. Now, I can’t just tell them about my Blessing to answer that question, I don’t want to go that far but then…

“My stats,” I remember what I tried to forget. “My Might and Endurance are pretty below average.”

The reasoning is a bit weak because even if a number is low I could just dump all my points into, let’s say Might, and problem solved. The others still take my word for it, maybe because I was never too confident about my future to begin with.

“How about Calm?” Asks Nia out of the blue. “Your temper is one of your biggest weaknesses and-”

“Hey!” I huff.

“See?” She just raises an eyebrow as I prove her point. “From what I heard mages need to be calm and collected so it should be a nice addition.”

Right now… I’m not calm and there are three reasons for it. First, I can be calm and rational, I just rarely try to, it’s boring. Second, she’s not wrong and I proved her point in the dumbest way possible and third… I don’t have that Skill, I haven’t unlocked it yet.

Nia giggles, probably reading my expression and gives me the instructions. “It’s really easy, just close your eyes and try to stay calm no matter what.”

I kinda like the Skill and want to prove to them as well as myself that I can earn the Skill with no problem. After sitting comfortably I close my eyes, take a deep breath and empty my head. Not completely, that’s impossible, but make it like… like my soulscape with Librea.

And it begins…

At first, someone just flicks my ear before a leaf is used to tickle the inside. Something wet touches my hair, a hand holds my nose and, judging by the voice, Frans makes that terrible vomiting sound.

These pesky little, Abyss damn cursed fuckers!!!

I grit my teeth and feel my insides boiling as the bullying goes on.

“As expected, she can’t do it.” Connie starts the verbal trial.

“Maybe because of her age.”

“Eli, ignore it all. It’s only irritating if you acknowledge it.” Nia’s voice comes right next to my ear and I feel a shiver run down my spine.

Calm Eli, calm, calm calm. They’re doing this to help you, they don’t mean it. But even if they did it doesn’t mean anything, it wouldn’t define who you are.

I concentrate on my breathing and the sound of the waves in my head.

They’re mean because they know you can do it so just sit down on the beach and relax.

The voices and touches slowly fade, turning into sensations as subtle as the summer breeze. I continue to just sit there in my own little world until I feel my lungs protesting.

I snap my eyes open while flailing with my arm on instinct only to see Connie hold my nose and mouth with everyone gathered close.

“What the fuck?!” I yell, still frightened a little and clearly upset.

“Sorry, after going on for minutes we tried calling and shaking you to ask if it worked but you didn’t respond.” Connie backs away and raises her hands defensively.

I didn’t? Wait, minutes?

[Congratulations, you’ve unlocked the general Skill [Inner Peace lvl 1]. Would you like to assign the skill to an empty slot?]

Inner Peace: A mind that holds firm against the outside world like a stalwart shield. Plan in tranquility, unbothered by the outside safe in the realm of your thoughts.

[Congratulations, you’ve acquired the skill [Inner Peace lvl 1].]

“Yes!” I jump up and start showing them the finger one after the other. “Suck it, fuck you and fuck you too!”

“That’s a yes.” Japp concludes.

“Oh no, I didn’t get Calm,” I grin fiendishly. “I got something way better.”

I quickly explain to them my prize for enduring all that humiliation and things go as expected. One after the other all of them try to get the same Skill with only Nia succeeding.

Doing the poking and shit-talking is a lot, and I mean a lot, more enjoyable than being on the receiving end. The twins broke under the verbal pressure like dry twigs and Jappo just couldn’t ignore wherever we touched him. Nia on the other hand… Now I know why Connie did what she did to wake me up. It looked a bit scary, like she was dead.

Elyssia

Age: 9

Celestial Elf

Mana: 110

Free Points: 12

+12/hour

Might: 7

Intelligence: 11

Mana: 11

Speed: 11

Focus: 12(+0)

Willpower: 12

Endurance: 8

Dexterity: 10

Fortitude: 8

General Skills:

Savant lvl 2

Identify lvl 2

Running lvl 2

Dodging lvl 1

Pain Tolerance lvl 1

Reflexes lvl 1

Stamina lvl 1

Quick Witted lvl 1

Inner Peace lvl 1

I. Class: Crimson's Blessed - Arcane lvl 2

II. Class: *Locked*

III. Class: *Locked*

A lot less empty, I like it.

“Any plans for today?” I ask, eager to level up my Class now that the Skills are all sorted out.

“Some,” Frans answers, who else. “let’s head to the market, I know a place where we can get some good stuff.”

“We’re not stealing Frans!” I voice my not-so-unfounded concerns. “I need something to upgrade my Skills not a reason for the guards to drag us home. Some mental games or even tag.”

“Chill, no stealing I promise.” He sighs as if I was in the wrong. “You know the alley beside the old dwarven blacksmith’s shop?” We nod. “I heard he dumps all the scraps and failed products there, maybe we can find something interesting.”

“Or get mugged.” Connie adds.

“It’ll be fine.” Frans waves it all off with a bit too much confidence.

“Can’t we do something normal for once?” Jappo asks with a sad face. “If I get dirty again Mom will kill me. Besides, I’ve got work tomorrow.”

“Oh hush, normal is just another word for boring.” Frans gets up and moves towards the market square without any of us actually agreeing.

He might be an idiot, a troublemaker, a senseless bastard and a real prick and many other nice things but one thing about him has remained true throughout the years… Life is never boring around him.