Cursed Explorer of the Arcana

I won, the spicy kitten is mine. It took a lot of bartering, using my incredible new Class and my best puppy eye to win the argument but it got me what I wanted. It wasn’t an argument really, my parents kept throwing facts at me and I answered by begging even harder. And it worked.

I named him Rufus because he’s so fussy even after I fed him, twice. He keeps growling and clawing at me no matter what I do and even peed into my shoe one day but I’m alright with that, he’s cute and fluffy so all his sins are forgiven. It’s been only a few days since I found him but the little guy has already grown close to my heart with the way he purrs while sleeping on my chest.

The gang also loved him and we declared Rufus the Guardian Beast of our little group, the great and mighty. Speaking about the gang… this time I kept my mouth shut, showing them only wind magic without all the sound tricks or anything cool. Just plain old wind magic. They weren’t too impressed, to say the least, mainly because my control and output were on the same level as any mediocre Mage without the bonus points from my starting Class.

I knew I’d be unimpressive, showing less than a quarter of my capabilities and I tried to prepare myself for it but the chuckles still had me fuming. I’m pretty sure my Class is the best in the gang without competition but I have to sell myself as the weakest because of some stupid secret…

“Hey Eli,” Frans calls out as he and his sisters arrive in the park with wooden swords in hand. “Now that you’ve mostly caught up.” He twirls his sword. “How about a spar?”

He doesn’t even know how much I was looking forward to this. Three days of work will bear fruit here and now as I hand this prick his ass.

Elyssia

Age: 9

Celestial Elf

Mana: 320/320

Free Points: 4

+46/hour

Might: 7

Intelligence: 28

Mana: 32

Speed: 11

Focus: 46(+2)

Willpower: 46

Endurance: 8

Dexterity: 10

Fortitude: 8

General Skills:

Savant lvl 12

Identify lvl 12

Running lvl 11

Dodging lvl 10

Pain Tolerance lvl 3

Reflexes lvl 11

Stamina lvl 10

Quick Witted lvl 11

Inner Peace lvl 6

I. Class: Inept Magus - Arcane lvl 13

Arcane Mastery lvl 6

Mana Bolt lvl 3

Mana Shield lvl 3

II. Class: *Locked*

III. Class: *Locked*

It ain’t much but it’s honest work.

“Sure, although I doubt we would learn much from this brawl with little to no stats, pretty basic Skills and as much experience as Rufus here.” I point to the cat sunbathing on a rock.

He might be a better fighter than we are actually.

[Cat]

If only he wasn’t just a mere animal. Since I’m just a wind Mage, on paper, and Frans still has less power behind his swings than an adult seamstress we decide to stay in the park. We can’t do that much damage even if we tried to and going outside without adults won’t work so there were many other options to be fair.

“I’ll be the judge.” Connie volunteers.

“No way, you’ll be biased against me!” Comes the accusation… from Frans.

He’s not wrong, sometimes even I think they’re more archenemies than siblings. Although when push comes to shove they stand up for each other every time. Weird, having a sibling that is. I heard Nia also has a brother but he flew out from the family nest decades ago so he’s not a constant element in her life.

Anyway, duel. Without Jappo or Nia around as both of them are busy practicing their profession it falls on Connie to supervise our little match, much to Frans’ disappointment.

Without any preparation or agreeing on rules or win conditions, Connie lifts an arm before. “Are you ready?” She skips our replies and moves on. “Then fight!”

Frans blinks at me in confusion while I… I imagine a fist of wind, compressing the air into a dense bubble, before slamming it into the puzzled Frans’ guts. It’s just air but still knocks him off his feet making him cough and his sister giggle. It was a nasty move and I’d do it again any day of the week, our brawls were never about fairness to begin with.

Frans takes a deep breath and jumps up on his feet, oblivious about the mercy I’ve shown, allowing him to stand. What a boring fight it would be if I kept hitting him on the ground until either my mana ran out or he gave in…

He charges at me in the textbook Warrior style so I employ one of the oldest tricks between friends. Kicking out his leg. As he gets close enough to be in my control range I wait for him to raise his back foot before gently nudging it towards his other leg using some wind, resulting in a spectacular faceplant right at my feet.

I almost feel bad for him, almost.

My bullying continues as I run away every time Frans gets even remotely close. I try not to hurt him honestly, focusing on impairing his movement and practicing Dad’s preachings about 'shoot and scoot'.

In the end, I run out of mana and he catches up but by that time he’s so exhausted I can outrun him with ease. It’s my win without a doubt. Frans is salty and I think I might’ve damaged our friendship and his ego a little but winning is a bit too important to worry about things like that.

[The Class Skill [Arcane Mastery] has reached lvl 7]

Not much.

“We should call it a day.” He declares after extracting the dirt from his hair.

“Wha- but I wanted to- what about my turn?” Huffs Connie dropping the wooden sword in her hand.

“Believe me, you don’t want to,” Frans growls dusting himself off and standing up already. “Besides, she’s out of mana.”

True that. For the next eight or so hours I’ll be as much of a fighter as the eight-year-old me. Plus the general Skills. Let’s face it, mages are strong, really strong but unlike warriors who just swing and grunt we use a very special and very finite resource. It runs out and we’re done.

Eh, I guess I’ll go home and read some books. Dad is busy and there’s no mana to do magic and maybe, maybe if I shut my mouth Mom’ll forget about my chores when I get home.

***

By the end of the day, books have managed to teach me something entirely new about magic. Reading doesn’t even compare to doing all the cool stuff. It’s not that different from looking at some mouthwatering cakes in the bakery without any money in your pocket. Torture really.

I mean, I did regenerate some mana throughout the day but it got used up the second I had something I wanted to try. And I always had something to try. I wonder, will I one day get bored of wielding magic, will one day my well of new ideas dry out… well, I have to die one day so yes.

I drop the book I’ve been mostly just staring at without reading a word and grab some water from the kitchen in case I get thirsty at night. Waking up in a warm and comfy bed with a parched throat and no water in sight… never again.

The last thing I do before tucking myself in is opening my window and letting Rufus sneak into my bed. Mom and Dad strictly forbade me from letting that dirty animal into my clean bed but what they don’t know won’t hurt them or whatnot.

As the cat settles near my pillow and I find just the perfect spot I close my eyes and slow my breathing to the rhythmic sound of purring.

***

I’m startled awake in the middle of the night by Rufus screaming into my ears. The little shit has done it before because he was thirsty or I rolled onto his tail or had the Gods know why so I’m pretty used to it.

Just as my breathing calms and I’m about to throw the cat outside my gaze meets with a pair of yellow eyes surrounded by shadows staring right at me. The yellow slits glow early in the dark without the moonlight revealing a silhouette around them, almost as if the shadows themselves had eyes.

The previous fright of waking up to a cat trying to bust my ears pales in comparison to the utter terror I feel at this moment. Right as I’m about to scream the eyes close in and a hand clamps down on my mouth.

A hand… a person?

Before I could even try escaping I’m dragged out of my bed by the shadows, slowly enwrapping my body and dragging me into darkness. My voice, my movements and even my mind are restricted right now as I’m slowly engulfed, unable to call for help… to do anything.

Voice… Eli, scream, scream with magic.

I do everything exactly the way I did back in the forest. The waves of air, the minimal heat, and my own voice…

A scream, mine yet not of my voice, loud like nothing I’ve ever heard and one filled with despair and bottomless fear. Even the shadow dragging me away gets startled, judging by the grip tightening around me.

As we pass through my open window, the door of my room bursts open with both of my parents rushing, armed and in their sleeping suits. Their eyes instantly lock onto me as they pursue, busting through the wall of our cozy little home to chase the shadow into the night.

They keep up, rushing through narrow alleys and dark streets, evading obstacles and constantly looking for an angle of attack as we run deeper into what I can only assume is the slum part of Meliorport. Mom and Dad don’t dare to shoot any arrows or ice spears with me in the way so the game of cat and mouse continues until… Another shadow descends, cutting off my parents’ path and demolishing the buildings on both sides of the street.

This time my scream is not out of fright but worry, my heart wailing for my loved ones, for Mom and Dad.

It’s just me, the shadow and the distant sound of destruction echoing into the night.

They came for me. The why is easy to answer, Mom warned me, while the question of how they found me or what they want from me is not something I want to know. All that secrecy for naught.

Then we come to an abrupt halt. Not the shadow slowing down type of coming to a halt, more like slamming into a wall stop. Then, I hear the air howling before light envelops everything, strong enough to take my sight for a few seconds. As I dangle in the embrace of darkness, completely blinded, all I hear is metal tearing through metal and flesh before I fall to the ground face first. Free.

“Just in time.” I hear a gruff male voice above me accompanied by heavy steps.

I’m grabbed by my nightdress and lifted off the ground, like I usually pick Rufus up, higher than I’m tall until I’m face to face with an old bearded man with sharp gray eyes. There’s not much else I can tell about him as his body is covered by a weathered cloak, although his hair… it’s not much.

“Put me down!” I demand weakly before I see blood from the corner of my eye.

A body, covered in black clothes with some sort of metal around its neck, its right shoulder cleaved off, and a massive wound gaping on his chest… the shadow. My stomach revolts as I keep staring at the gruesome sight, returning my dinner as I’m held high in the air.

What should I feel at the sight of death? I- I somehow know something leaves that body, yet I feel nothing. No sorrow, or pity, or a sense of the world becoming a little emptier… He tried to hurt me, tried to take the people away from my life who I value more than anything…

I’m relieved the shadow died.

“I can’t there’s more of them.” The old man puts me on his shoulder before taking off.

“No, my parents!” I yell and start battering the man’s back. “Put me down! Another shadow attacked them, I need to-”

“Don’t be delusional!” The man barks, coming to a halt and lifting me to eye level again. “You can’t do anything. You are the target and you need to keep quiet, or else we won’t be able to escape. Cooperate and we might get aw-”

“I don’t care!” I shout at the top of my lungs. “Then you do something! Just go back and kill all the shadows like you just did! Do that… do that and I won’t resist.” I add the last part weakly.

I can tell the shadow that grabbed me must’ve been at least as strong as my parents because they failed to catch up to us. Then that other one collapsed a house in one move… they’re in danger. If they’re still… no, they have to be alive.

“Please, I’ll do what you want, whatever you tell me, just help my parents.” I ask, no beg to the man, throwing all my pride to the side for the first time in my life.

The man narrows his cold gray eyes on me as a frown plays around on his face before looking around and putting me down. “Wait here!” He says before disappearing into one of the alleys.

Huh, did it work? He agreed so easily…

I sit down on a box where he left me, listening nervously to the distant sound of combat. Smoke rises into the night sky, illuminated by the three moons, as people flee from the danger while others like the guard hurry over to do their duty.

I’m counting the seconds and not even ten seconds after the man left movement catches my eye at the end of the narrow street.

Another shadow.

It accelerates after our eyes meet, and floats towards me with breakneck speed. I jump up but just as I’m about to start running a hand reaches out from a window and grabs the shadow by what I assume to be its throat. The old man bursts through the wall right after, slamming his target into the side of the building and driving a sword up his guts, the blade disappearing into the body.

After pulling his weapon out and returning it to its sheath he walks back to me, looking way more menacing than any shadow after that stunt.

“Let me be clear.” He stops a bit too close to me. “Everyone in this town is in danger because of you, your parents included and wherever you go that danger will follow.”

I knew that deep down… I am like fire, coveted but dangerous to be around.

“If I do as you ask I want you to promise to do as I say,” The old man looks right into my eyes. “you will leave with me, without them!” The them is very clearly Mom and Dad.

“Do I even have a choice?” I yell because being around this old fuck doesn’t feel all that different from the shadows.

“You do,” He nods. “I can leave and your parents might live while you would end up becoming one of them,” He points to the dead bleeding body a few steps away. “or come with me. I don’t owe you anything, nor will I make new enemies because you let a few drops of tears loose. I can just leave any moment without losing a thing, so choose!”

And I knew that too.

Let’s be fair, a powerful stranger pops out of nowhere and kills two dangerous people trying to kidnap me out of the kindness of his heart… Yeah, this is no fairytale, I’m no princess and… well, he might be a knight but definitely not the charming type.

A promise… words heavier and more binding than the voice would ever allow to convey. People who break their promise are rats and cowards but more importantly, they value themselves just as much as their word, nothing.

I was swept away by emotions when I begged the man for help but now I am resolute… if a promise is what it takes.

Why should I believe a word this man says? Why would following him be any better than letting the shadows take me? I don’t know but… I like his bluntness, the unwavering light in his eyes and… he gave me a choice even though it doesn’t feel like one.

There are no guarantees my life won't be hell with this powerful stranger or that I’ll see my parents safe and… alive if I agree. But without him…

“I promise I’ll follow you if you save my parents.” I finally answer with a heavy heart.

A small price to pay.