Magic Tattoo

After heading inside, Sarah brought Chris a wet linen towel. He asked, "Sarah, how bad is the bruising?" and his response was a terrible attempt at a smile.

"That bad, huh? It's alright…I shouldn't have gone "all anime" on you." Chris was feeling relief from the cool and wet sensation on his neck.

Sarah sat down next to Chris and asked, "How did you do that? I have never seen anyone make their own spell that quickly." She was leaning in and speaking quietly, but the awe on her face made it clear, [She is serious…]

Chris shook his head and tried to think about all of the anime shows they used to watch before bed. "I am not really sure, I just remember it strongly and it was a joke when I did it, but it WORKED last night, so I thought it would be cool to bust it out in combat. I am sorry if it put you in any danger, but I doubted that it would come close. It seems I was right!" Laughed Chris as his neck was starting to swell and cause more pain.

Sarah shook her head, "No, I mean, how did you make a spell? There are so many processes that one has to go through…I couldn't build a complete theoretical spell-model if my life depended on it, and I was tutored by a A-rank magus."

Chris shrugged, "Sarah, I just imagined what it would be like, hell, I probably spent years thinking about it. We don't have magic in the same way, but we do have imagination, and if that counts then I think I will fit right in." He said with a smile.

Sarah was just staring at Chris; his world was so very different from what the Heroes describe. It was a cold and magic-free world, but now he acts like an expert. Could so much change in 100-years? Would it be possible for her to have changed that much? No.

"Chris, do you think you could make other spells?" She was asking but she knew the answer was probably no...

"Sure, I have tons of ideas. I was thinking of a Laser-beam based particle cannon. Maybe a ray-gun? OH! MAYBE A LIGHTSABER! That would be pretty cool." Chris accidentally shouted part of that, but Sarah wasn't heavily concerned.

"Chris, I have little understanding of the words you used. The system will use ideas to represent unknown words, but I don't understand what a "particle" would have to do with Light Magic…" She shook her head, "Chris, there is a lot to be done. We expected that you would take a while but now…I don't know. I explained to you the nature of the Status Screen, but now you have to make a decision." Sarah stopped and looked around, "First we need some privacy and I need you to test something."

Sarah walked off to find Shay, it would be pertinent that she held the Inn down while Sarah was gone. Then she grabbed a bag of gold and headed to Chris with a large sack, she walked by without saying anything and they headed outside.

The sun was beating down, it was going to be a hot day. Rays of light were bouncing around Chris in a symphony. He could feel the power, the connection was just a "will" away.

Sarah noticed that he was lagging behind and pulled him by the shirt. They walked until they went into a small bookstore, it hadn't seen many customers as it lacked a lot of maintenance.

"Ah! If it isn't Sarah, how are you today?" Said an old man behind the counter. His robes were a royal-blue and they flowed to the ground with elegance, [Now THAT is a mage!] Thought Chris as he was staring at the geezer.

"Randal, I need a simple, ranged, mana-spending, healing spell. Do you have any in stock?" Asked Sarah as she pulled out a few gold coins.

He nodded and waved his hand, "This whole row is dedicated to such spells, but I do not have any complete forms…" He was a bit ashamed with his lack of selection, but it had been a while since he was able to order new material. He mostly just theory-crafted improvements himself using an arcane base.

Sarah walked up and began to read, [Healing Word, Holy Voice, Water Shower, Soothing Rain, Mist of Heaven…]

There were so many "generic" spell models that were sold over the years. All of these are extremely gutted versions of noble spell models.

Chris was wondering why they were here, [There can't be skill books, right? No fucking way.]

Then Sarah located something that is light-based and pulled it out. It seemed to be a very basic generic model (from what she could tell) and the owner agreed.

"Sarah, who is this for, is it this gentleman?" Asked Randal, to which Sarah nodded and Chris stepped forward.

"I take it he has been able to activate his mana without assistance, and has he learned spell theory before?" Chris shook his head, "No, Sir, I have limited knowledge on the subject."

The old man's eyes got a little wider, [This dwarf has manners…hmpf, must come from good stock.]

He smiled and opened the book, "Please place your hand here, the resonance from the ink will allow the model to be absorbed as a marking. Do not worry, the ink is not permanent, but this will allow you to get a feeling for the process."

Chris nodded and laid his palm on the shimmering gold lettering. It was runic shorthand, forged for "commoners" by noble mages for an outrageous amount of money.

"Okay, now, please focus on absorbing the magic. You must draw it from the page and down your arm unti-" He was cut off as the page began to shine with a brilliant golden light.

[Spell Menu is now unlocked!]

[Spell Model: Enlightening Word has been added to the User's available spells.]

Chris was thinking, letters were flying around his head and when he opened his eyes, he noticed that the text was flowing down his arm, settling neatly on his forearm.

"Th-this is completely different from before…it is so much DEEPER." Chris was thinking about the ancient wording that was used, the geometrical patterns that were nearly flawless. He could "SEE" the layered spell models that would be used to make something grand.

[It is like a cantrip? No, it is a normal spell, the activation is 8 mana, how do I know that???]

The inlaid runic system was expanding in his mind, it was just like when [Blacksmithing] became something with substance in his mind.

[It is all so…precise, how could I think my little beam of light would stand up to this?]

Chris felt the emotion that the author had displayed in his brushwork, it was so elegant and purposeful, it was damn near "Holy".

"Sarah, I need to test this, we need to go." Chris was turning, he could feel the power.

Sarah quickly paid the man that was smiling, "Good luck Sarah, it seems the boy has a lot of talent!" as he waved them out of the shop.

Chris was hustling down the streets, people were watching him jog without vertical motion, just his short legs were moving him.

"Chris…can you go faster?" Asked Sarah as she seemed to be walking at a slightly brisk pace.

[OH FUCK, I AM THE NPC THAT WON'T MOVE FAST ENOUGH????…HIGH GEAR!]

Chris began to run and get into a decent stride, he could feel Sarah smiling at him, she enjoyed a good run.

It took them only a few minutes to get to the sewer, they walked in the usual way, no blast of smell this time. After heading down the ladder, the darkness was intense. Chris could still see much better than before, had his eyeballs improved, or was it the class?

Chris was excited about trying his magic in secret, but Sarah had a slightly different plan in mind.