Magician’s Hand
Chapter 25: Magician's Hand
A loud gasp came out of Charles's mouth as he opened his eyes abruptly and sat up from his bed. Then, he frowned as he sensed an immense pain from his right hand and turned grim.
'If I got wounded in the Dream World, I can also get injured in the physical world? Interesting. Could it be that strange dream world has the power to manipulate the reality itself?' An impressed look appeared on his face.
He then silently sat on the soft bed for a few more seconds and soon heaved a heavy sigh.
'That world is a dangerous place. Who would have thought that strange dream world would influence reality itself? I thought of searching for some clue about Eddie Nightwind. But, I ended up meeting some strange humanoid-' He paused for a moment and soon realized that he was missing some memories from the dream world.
'Wait... I can't recall that monster's clear appearance! What is that creature? Did it also enter the dream world through some strange skill or object? Strange. How did I forget that creature's face in seconds? The dream world can alter my memories?' A frown appeared on his forehead.
'I should act carefully from now on.' He muttered inwardly and placed the 'Nightmare Stone' in the nearby cabinet.
After that, he took out a notebook, an ink bottle, and a golden quill from the table cupboard, placed them on the table, and started writing everything about the strange dream world in the notebook.
He had a feeling that he might completely forget about the dream-world incident if he didn't record it.
'If some monster killed me in the nightmare world, would I also die in reality?' While he was writing, an absurd thought appeared in his mind.
'It is possible.' Charles nodded as he finished his writing and soon turned his attention towards the interface.
'Hmm, I have 1,378 Experience points. I should spend 200 Experience points and merge [Trickster's Hand] and [Snatch] skills.' He thought inwardly and spent 200 exp without any hesitation.
[200 Experience points have been deducted!]
[Merging [Snatch] and [Trickster's Hand] skills!]
[Merging Successful!]
[Unique skill [Magician's Hand] has been created!]
...
A moment later, information about the [Magician's Hand] skill appeared in his mind, causing him a little discomfort.
Charles groaned lightly due to the sharp pain, clutched his head with both hands, and soon read the newly obtained information.
'Magician's Hand... This skill looks similar to Earth Magician's [Sleight of Hand] skill...An ultimate skill used to deceive countless audiences. If I focus carefully, I can even move objects from afar using the invisible string at an unimaginable speed.' He was stunned for a moment and soon noticed that it was not.
'If I upgrade this Magician's Hand skill further, I can even turn other objects to become invisible...' He smiled pleasantly and turned his attention towards the game interface.
'I still have 1178 Exp. I think this Exp amount should be more than enough for me to build two to three spell models. Haa, I still need to wait two more weeks for that Runal Language book, though.' He skimmed through the spellbook and thought of what spell model he should construct first.
'Wait, I need to learn about my weakness.' He nodded inwardly and soon recalled the previous incident.
'I'm more or less vulnerable to mind or dream-related things. Are there any mind-reading-like fire spell models in the spellbook?' He skimmed through the skill book and soon furrowed as he saw only one mind-related spell in the fire skill book.
'But It doesn't look like a good one, though. As for other spells, most of them are attack spell models, supportive spell models, and defensive spell models. It looks like I need to adapt to the situation and start learning mind-controlling skills. Although it is a time-consuming process, I think I can achieve it in a year or two. If not, I will have to buy some mind-related artifacts from the black market.' He muttered inwardly and then thought about his unique skills.
'[Conceal] and [Inspect] skills are good for now. [Snatch] skill is already merged with [Trickster's Hand] skill, so all that left is [Dark Vision] skill. But, I don't think I need to spend any more skill points on this skill.' He nodded thoughtfully.
'As for the [Sharpshooting] skill, I still didn't see it on the interface. Maybe I will get the [Sharpshooting] skill when I use the Ember Pistol. If my luck is good, I might get the [Sniping] skill instead of [Sharpshooting].'
'Should I construct the [Flame Body] spell model now?' He shook his head and decided to wait.
After that, he opened the cub-board and took out a silver pocket watch from inside.
Then, he opened the front case and looked at the time.
'It's already 5.40 P.M.'
After checking, he closed the pocket watch and placed it on the wooden table with a click.
After that, Charles took out the small book Russell gave him earlier and placed it beside the silver pocket watch.
Following that, he went to the shower to wash his face and soon walked out of it in casual clothes.
After taking the pocket watch and the small book, he walked out of the bedroom and soon entered his study.
Once he walked in, he locked the door from inside, moved towards the study table, and sat on the Wingback Chair.
He then leaned his body forward, placed the small book on the wooden table, and put the pocket watch in his shirt pocket.
Following that, he took the wooden tiffin box placed on the table and opened it.
A savory aroma assaulted his nose as he opened the box.
He sniffed the aroma, placed the napkin on his lap, and took the fork from the table. At the same time, he noticed that Eve had placed multiple items like fried chicken pieces, three sandwiches, and two egg toasts inside the wooden box.
Licking his lips, he picked the fried chicken piece using the fork and took a bite.
A crispy, juicy flesh entered his mouth as he chewed the tasty fried chicken for a while and gulped it down. He then picked the egg toast and ate it slowly. After swallowing the final bite, he took the sandwich pieces one by one and started eating them.
By the time he finished his lunch, it was already 6.15 P.M.
After closing the wooden lunch box, he cleaned the table and placed the lunch box outside the study room. He then closed the study room door from inside and returned to the Wingback Chair.
Following that, he opened the black-covered book and started reading the title.
"Abnormal Mystics- By Russell."
'Heh, he even wrote a book about mystics, huh?' He stared at the book in surprise for a moment and soon flipped the page.
"Current Name: Lucas King
Original Name: Unknown
Age: 34
Sex: Male
Occupation: Librarian
Class Name and strength: ??? (Possibly a Reader- Rank 2 Mystic.)
Abnormalities: None.
Facial description: Short blonde hair, wide-set hazel eyes, square face, and he should be around 176 cm high.
Residential Address: 355A Olive Street, Riverdale City.
Danger level: Medium.
...
Current Name: Mateo Torris
Original Name: Unknown
Age: 29
Sex: Male
Occupation: Carpenter
Class Name and strength: ??? (Possibly a Dream Walker- Rank 3 Mystic.)
Abnormalities: None.
Facial description: Short grey hair, deep-set blue eyes, an oval face, and he should be around 185 cm high.
Residential Address No.1: 456 Ivy Street, Riverdale City.
Residential Address No.2: 22A Bell Street, Commoners' Borough, Royal Capital, Arc Kingdom.
Danger level: Unknown.
...
Charles memorized the names and descriptions one by one and soon stopped his hands as he saw his own mother's name on some random page.
...
Current Name: Eve Miller
Original Name: ???? (Eve Nightwind)
Age: 35
Sex: Female
Occupation: Diviner
Class Name and strength: ??? (Possible a Prognosticator- Rank 2 Mystic.)
Abnormalities: She was involved in a kidnapping incident.
Physical appearance: She had blue eyes, short eyebrows, long deep-blue hair, a fleshy nose, and olive skin.
Residential Address: 45 El Street, Riverdale City.
Danger Level- Medium
...
'As expected, they were monitoring our movements all this time. But even they found out about our family background only after this kidnapping incident, huh. Then, who is the real culprit behind the kidnapping incident? Who leaked the information about our location to the Nightwind family? Maybe the Red-Haired man?' He abruptly froze for a second and soon started flipping his page one by one. Instead of memorizing everyone's names and abilities, he focused on their physical appearance.
After an hour, he thoroughly checked the book and then wrote numbers on black paper using a black quill.
Charles first dipped the black quill into the opened ink bottle and then wrote.
"Mystics with red hair.
Page no- 24, Name- Austin Thomas
Page No- 32, Name- Declan Mitchell
Page No- 45, Name- Addie Baker
Page No- 64, Name- Ayden Green
Page No- 69, Name- Cole Rivera
Page No- 87, Name- Luis Ramirez."
'Austin, Declan, Addie, Ayden... Addie? I think I heard of this name before. But where?' Charles raised his eyebrows for a moment and soon started recalling his memories. After thinking for a moment, he flipped the page to 45 and soon widened his eyes.
...
Current Name: Addie Baker
Original Name: Unknown
Age: 30
Sex: Male
Occupation: Tycoon
Class Name and strength: ??? (We know nothing about his class.)
Abnormalities: None.
Physical appearance: Short red hair, around 30-years-old with a slightly obese body, crimson eyes, an oval face, skinny eyebrows, and strange bluish teeth.
Residential address no 1: Evergreen Mansion, 57A Lost Street, Riverdale City, Arc Kingdom.
Residential address no 2: Windy Residency, 84 Gold Street, Riverdale City, Arc Kingdom.
Residential address no 3: Mangrove House, 112A Brook's Street, Riverdale City, Arc Kingdom.
Residential Address no 4: Mad House, 158C Amber Street, Nobles' Borough, Royal Capital, Arc Kingdom.
...
Charles's complexion turned gloomy as he stared at the page.
'Evergreen Mansion and 112A Brook Street. No doubt about it. Addie is the red-haired man!' He got stunned for a moment and soon started to think.
'But if he had read my memory earlier, he should have known that Mr. Hunt had already told me about him, right?' He creased his eyebrows in suspicion for a second and soon thought of another possibility.
'What if he didn't read my memories completely and only learned about me through hypnosis-like skill? It is possible. Then, did he know about my transmigration? If so, why didn't he abduct me to search for more clues?' He thought for a moment and soon made a possible guess.
'He might not have known anything about my transmigration. Although mind-related skills look fearsome, they are not omnipotent skills. There may be some restrictions.' He nodded thoughtfully and fell into deep thoughts.
'Even though I learned the identity of my enemy, I don't have the power to control my life.' He heaved a heavy sigh and lamented in depression.
'There are two ways to gain experience points. One is by participating in the regular mission. Unfortunately, Russell won't allow me to do that. He might have already suspected that my sudden increase in strength is somehow related to the Holem's Crown. If he had known about Holem's Crown's miracle ability, then I'm damn sure that he would put me in house arrest.' He shook his head.
'The second option is a very dangerous one, and it is to enter the Dream World. If I enter the Dream World using the 'Nightmare Stone,' I don't need to worry about the prying eyes and gain hundreds of experience points in a single day. But the problem is the dangers hidden in that Dreamworld. Those monstrous birds and other creatures are not something I could easily mess with. If I made a single mistake, I might even end up dead in the real world.' A wry smile appeared on his face as he thought of his current predicament.
'I will explore the Woolgather World after I get the Ember Pistol.' He turned solemn and shifted his attention to the small book.
'It's time for me to memorize this book.' He mumbled inwardly and started flipping the pages once again.
The sky turned darker, and soon the three ominous red moons painted the sky with dark-red lights. In the meantime, Charles lit the magic lamp and continued his study.
Around 9 P.M, he went downstairs to have dinner and then returned in 30 minutes. He then continued to study the book for another two hours and finally finished it around midnight. After that, he went to his bedroom and rested for the next four hours.
...