Pi’ve unfolded the scroll, and inside was two lines of text. It was poorly written, like if someone had used their non-dominant hand to write it. There was no signature, but looking at the simple, unadorned silver cylinder, it had a simple carved-in image on the cap which had been twisted off. It looked like a shield, and inside there was the initials .

  ’What does it say, Pi’ve?’ Tiselle said, glancing out of the window. Murgun was being escorted down the street. Some common people were walking down the street passing the wizards. Murgun made sure they heard what he thought of their staring.

  Pi’ve shook his head. ’It’s badly written— but I think it says — someplace, I cannot decipher that,’ Pi’ve said, and Tiselle moved closer to Pi’ve, peering over his shoulder.

  ’It says … I think. Why does it say Bratnes? Where is Bratnes?’

  Pi’ve shrugged. ’Then it says further, . And that’s it.’

  ’That’s it?’ Tiselle said. ’That is all they need? A crystal palomy in Bratnes, wherever that is…’ Tiselle said, and held her hand out to Pi’ve.

  ’They? How do you know that there are several involved in this?’ Pi’ve inquired. Tiselle was motioning for Pi’ve to hand over the scroll, so Pi’ve gave it to Tiselle, which she placed inside the silver cylinder again.

  ’They will need this for the hearing. Maybe Murgun will indulge where this is. Or Ask— Because Ask is involved, Pi’ve, remember? He gave this scroll to Murgun you said, but Ask did not write this, I’m sure. We need to locate Ask… He will be gone, of course.’

  Pi’ve was not sure what he would do. He had finished the job he had set out to do, and so the next step was to return to Barna and write the report. Terler would get the silver cylinder with the scroll. As this was Terler’s idea to do this job, he would be the one responsible for the information which Pi’ve had provided. Pi’ve would of course give evidence as a witness in the hearing, but not much else was up to him now. He was not looking forward to meeting Barna, but he wished to leave Vesen City and return home.

  ’Right then. That’s that. I will return home,’ Tiselle said, pausing. ’I will write some letters, vouching for you so people don’t get it misconstrued why you once again is in the middle of controversy— of course, I will be attending the hearing, most likely, but as a precaution I will write the whole story from my side. Do you need me escorting you back to the portal?’

  ’No. I am fine. I will find the way,’ Pi’ve said, sitting back down on the stool by the bar counter. He ordered some tea, and as Tiselle left, he opened his notifications.

  *DING*

  Race [] has levelled up: lvl 10 -> lvl 11. +4 free points. Stat points from class [] has been allocated, +2 free points. Max health is increased with one (1) point.

  *DING*

  Race [] has levelled up: lvl 11 -> lvl 12. +4 free points. Stat points from class [] has been allocated, +2 free points. Max health is increased with one (1) point.

  [NOTE!] Spell [] has been used. Remaining uses 0/1. Spell has been spent, and will be removed from your spell selection.

  It was now made plain how great the Jin-system was, and why it would be so beneficial for Pi’ve to have it. Previously, Pi’ve had received 4 free points per level-up, now he received 7, counting the points from his race, class and the extra free point from the title. He had ranked up two levels in one go. In addition to the extra points he would now get because of ranking up his class to , he would receive extra which he would be able to allocate wherever he pleased. Thinking about his choices, it was clear to him that being a magician took mana, and on several occasions, he had run low, even if he did not use a lot of mana. He knew what he had to do with the 14 free points he had been given.

  His lowest stats were toughness and endurance, at 15 and 17 respectively, so he decided to use two free points on each of them, trying to even out the mean. Then, he placed six points on wisdom, meaning that he now had 50 points allocated to the stat, increasing his mana pool to a maximum of 500. He was starting to feel like he would be able to raise his magical ability. Not only his strength, but also his ability to train better, having more mana to work with. The remaining four points, Pi’ve placed on willpower, banking on his previous intuition about them being connected somehow. He now had 30 willpower.

  He felt stronger. It was just a slight increase, yet, he now felt like the time following his father’s wise words of pretending to be confident was soon over. He felt real confidence growing. Real confidence seeped through him. And why would he not? He had been successful in exposing a vastly stronger and prominent wizard than himself.

  Pi’ve brought up the status menu, reviewing his new sheet.

  StatusName: Pi’ve

  Age: 20

  Race: [Human - lvl 12]

  Class: [Wizard - Mage]

  Profession: N/A

  —

  Health - (98/101)

  Mana - (177/500)

  Stamina - (131/190)

  —

  StatsStrength - 28

  Toughness - 17

  Intelligence - 36 (+4 (40) - buff while smoking.)

  Wisdom - 50 (+5 (55) - buff while smoking.)

  Willpower - 30

  Perception - 32

  Endurance - 19

  Free points - 0

  —

  Race skills[Inspect (Unique)]

  Class skills[Conjure Light (Common)]

  [Corporeal Manipulation (Uncommon)]

  Profession skillsN/A

  Titles[One and only (Unique)]

  [King Bringer (Rare)]

  He saw the buff still applied, which meant that it had been a shorter time since he smoked it than it felt. He was unsure exactly how long the buff lingered, but he knew it was only a few minutes. The skill had vanished, as the prompt had said it would. It made his status menu look a bit bare, he felt, but he knew that would change once he got his profession. That was his new goal; get a profession, and get some new skills. He had to get stronger. He had a monster to kill. A monstrous crab the size of a large wagon. He would avenge his father. He would avenge Billo. Nobby and Uro. His friends.

  He would now be leaving Vesen City, and return to Thergiam. He had nothing to do here in Vesen City now that his job was done. He was glad he had had the chance to visit the city nevertheless, with its characteristic stone buildings, but Pi’ve liked the wooden buildings of Thergiam more.

  Pi’ve remembered the path back to the portal well, and as soon as he saw it, he suddenly felt awestruck by the position he was currently in. He had not had the chance to really digest the fact that he was currently achieving his dream. He had become a wizard, and he was slowly but surely becoming stronger. He was now one of the wizards he would have loved to talk to back when he was a simple common boy. Pi’ve smiled as he entered the portal. I’m still a boy…

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Even though the passage through the portal happened in, apparently, an instant, this time it felt different. He could remember traversing a vast void, where walls were nowhere in the vicinity. It was bright, almost blue to the hue, and it was cloudy. He remembered this for a fraction of a second, before it vanished like a dream. On the other side, the fir-tree forest opened up and went as far as the eyes could see. He was on the hill upon which the portal stood, and he saw the fallen tree which he had snapped last time he was here. Barna had been here, and Dandrian, but now he was alone. This, Pi’ve thought, was what being a wizard was meant to be. Alone with his thoughts and pursuits. This was what he had always wanted. Although, he would have liked to have shared it with his father. He was aware that had he become a wizard in the traditional way— being mentored for 70 years— his father would not have survived until the day he would have become a wizard, but that was not his case. His father have survived to have seen the day… Or could he?

  Pi’ve was walking along the path leading to the Inn and the innkeeper Machon. He was deep in his thoughts. Could my father really have lived to see me become a wizard? Pi’ve questioned his whole worldview at that moment. Such a cataclysmic event, and it lead me to become a wizard. Had I become a wizard hadn’t my father died? Maybe it was all meant to happen this way… No. It was a tragedy. It did not have to happen this way.

  Pi’ve was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts as he heard voices up ahead. He saw the contours of the building of the Inn, and soon enough he saw three horses and a carriage. Two wizards were escorting a dark-cloaked man inside the carriage, with his hands tied behind his back. Machon was standing in the entrance to the Inn, and soon another wizard walked out of the Inn with a steaming cup in his hand. The wizard with the cup seated himself in the drivers seat of the carriage, and as the two wizards who had escorted the cloaked man closed the door of the carriage, they waved their hands across the door, while their staffs lit up. The driver whipped the lead convincing the horse to move.

  The other two wizards soon mounted their own horses and rode away, leaving Machon alone outside the Inn. Pi’ve emerged from the path and called for Machon.

  ’Pi’ve! Welcome back. Need some refreshments? I heard you had a busy time in Vesen City,’ Machon said.

  ’No, I don’t think I have the time,’ Pi’ve told him. Pi’ve wanted to return to Thergiam as soon as possible. ’Do you have a horse I can lend? And some rations maybe.’

  ’Rations, yes. Maybe even some Shirlon-Ale? Ay?’ Machon said. ’You ain’t lending no horse. You may have the horse you came with.’

  ’Oh right. Well, very good. Could you fetch it for me?’ Pi’ve said, and pulled out his pouch containing his coins. ’Do you use common coins or Alons?’

  ’Common coins, if I can choose.’

  ’Very well,’ Pi’ve said. While Machon went over to the stable, Pi’ve went inside and placed 50 common coins on the counter for Machon when he came back. That had to be enough.

  Pi’ve went outside after fifteen minutes or so when Machon did not come in again to fetch him. As he walked outside, he saw that the horse was being fastened to a carriage, and that was when he understood that Barna had walked to Thergiam, leaving Pi’ve with the comfortable ride.

  Pi’ve left as soon as his horse was ready, and went as fast as he could. The path was well trodden, and he could even see some paths heading off elsewhere, although he had no idea where they could lead. Not taking a single stop, he arrived at the gates of Thergiam within two hours, and entered the city. As he came to the outer limits of the wizard square, a man came running from behind him. Pi’ve had not registered that the shouting was intended for him.

  ’Hey! Stop,’ the man said, and Pi’ve halted the horse. ’I will take that horse, if you don’t mind. Barna said a young man would be delivering Springer, but you just went straight past me.’

  ’I’m sorry. I did not know where I was supposed to—’

  ’It’s fine. I will take it from here,’ the man said through gasps of breaths.

  Pi’ve jumped down from the carriage in the middle of the street, and the man took the reigns. Pi’ve was just around the corner from the B. P. S. S. where Barna probably was, and it was about now that Pi’ve began to feel his anxiety blossom up. Would Barna forgive him? He knew he had gone against Barna, and Barna felt he had been crossed one too many times. Pi’ve hoped that once he told him about the successful job he had done, that all would be forgiven.

  Pi’ve opened the door to the B. P. S. S., but as he entered the building, he saw that some other wizard sat behind the desk that he had worked behind. Who are you? Pi’ve walked over to the man, and the man was looking at him as if Pi’ve was just another customer. Realisation hit the man, and he stood up and held out his hand.

  ’Pi’ve— nice to meet you. I—’ the man said, stammering. ’My name is Folton. I believe Barna wanted to see you when you returned. He is in his office.’

  There was a tinge of jealousy rising up inside Pi’ve, even though he had no right to be jealous, nor angry. Barna had every right to find a replacement, because Pi’ve knew that he was most likely done in this job. Pi’ve nodded and went over to the door into the office of Barna. He knocked and waited for Barna to open. Instead, Barna shouted from the inside that the door was unlocked, and Pi’ve opened the door.

  ’Ah, Pi’ve. Welcome back,’ Barna said. Pi’ve felt a tenseness wash over him, and once again, his confidence had vanished. He remembered his father’s mantra and stepped inside. ’Please, sit.’

  ’I come bearing good news, I hope,’ Pi’ve said, pulling the silver cylinder out of his inventory. Barna frowned as the item magically popped into existence, and Pi’ve had forgotten that Barna had never known about him having a magically expanded satchel— or inventory as it was called by the Jin, or system. Pi’ve gave Barna the silver cylinder and saw him inspect the symbol on the twisting-cap, before opening it and pulling out the rolled-up parchment.

  Barna nodded as he read the parchment. ’Bratnes— I don’t know where that is.’

  ’Neither did Tiselle,’ Pi’ve said, but did not want to say any more. He felt like it was Barna who should tell him what happens next. Barna looked up at Pi’ve. He looked weary. They stared at each other for moments, which turned into long seconds.

  ’I take it that you succeeded in your job, then,’ Barna said, and Pi’ve nodded. ’Murgun was listening in on the meeting?’ Pi’ve nodded again. ’How did you do it?’

  Pi’ve felt like he was not doing himself any favours by revealing more to Barna before he knew if he was still with a job or not. ’I spoke to Tiselle about it. He was invisible, and then I turned him visible. I just want to know if I am still keeping my employment, now that I have finished this job?’

  ’Invisible? How do you mean?’ Barna said, but Pi’ve would not reveal to him that he had the ability to take away Murgun’s invisibility— which he no longer did— nor to explain to him that Murgun had that ability. If Barna would like, he could speak to Tiselle. ’Alright. I have given it a great deal of thought, and decided— that regardless of the outcome of this job, you would not have a position here at the B. P. S. S.. I think that at your age, however mysterious it is that you have attained wizardom at all, have much to work on before you are suited to work here.’

  It was not a surprise to hear it. Pi’ve had expected it since he saw Barna leave him and Dandrian had convinced Pi’ve to finish the job. He knew that Barna was speaking from a place of endearment, and Pi’ve could not disagree, in an honest way, with Barna’s sentiment. Pi’ve was inexperienced in the wizard-way-of-being, and he was still having problems of being immature. He did not have the experience of age which the others had. Still, it hurt him to hear it. It hurt to know that he had— even with the success of the job— failed in being on par with the standards of being a wizard in Barna’s eyes.

  Pi’ve rose from his chair. He had made a decision. He would not stay here any longer, because he did not belong, yet, in the wizard society of Thergiam. He was too inexperienced. Before he had journeyed to Thergiam after the tutorial, he had talked with Gaudol about his ability to learn magic himself, and Pi’ve believed that that was enough to become a wizard. But being a wizard was not only about doing magic. He had experienced that. No, it was about integrity, and collective cooperation in the society they lived in, and so far, Pi’ve had not been playing along. He needed experience. Experience in how to go about being a wizard. That is what a mentor provides, beside teaching how to do magic. He needs to go back to Gaudol, and become a worthy wizard. And, he needs to go kill that crab, once and for all.

  The question was: How would he get back to Thartillion?