18 Arcane Spells

They were now in front of the flat-roofed structure. It looked the most drab of all the buildings Vincel had seen in the Estate so far.

Zay'in approached the door and gripped the handle as she turned to smile at Vincel. The smile wasn't in any way comforting.

"Come on in."

The inside of the building was just as drab as the outside. It was also empty and the only light was coming through the small windows high up on the wall.

Zay'in took care of the lighting problem quickly by slamming her palm on the wall. Lamps lit up all along the walls of the empty hall and Vincel turned to look at her.

"How did you do that?" he asked.

It wasn't that he was shocked. He was just curious.

"Magic. The lamps are enchanted to light up as long as mana is channeled into them."

"Nice"

"Yes, it is. This way, one doesn't have to be a light or fire mage to light up a room. Anyone can do it because everyone can channel mana."

As Zay'in spoke, she was observing Vincel and Vincel was, in turn, observing her.

Zay'in continued.

"There are different Classes or areas of martial expertise. We have the Archers, the Barbarians, the Warriors/Knights, the Assasins and of course-"

"-The Mages"

Zay'in looked a bit surprised at Vincel's interruption but she pushed on.

"Yes, the Mages.

Every career is determined by what they want to specialize in and the special skills they acquire along the way.

Barbarians for instance are known for investing their development in bodybuilding. Making their bodies the height of their foundation in boundless strength.

Not all barbarians possess a massive build but the proud ones do"

"Proud?"

"Yes, proud.

When you train your muscles with Mana, they get stronger but you don't infinitely get bigger. If the body gets bigger the stronger Mana makes you imagine how difficult movement will eventually become"

"So a big body is just a look. It has no impact on the strength a person has?" Vincel asked.

Zay'in shook her head.

"No impact at all. It certainly looks intimidating, and if done well, it looks good but it can also just be for show. You sculpt your body how you wish to be viewed and Barbarians want to be viewed as forces of nature" she said.

'I guess that makes sense. Jilan is already quite big and he is nowhere near strong enough to crush a mountain as he one-day dreams of doing.

If he needs to get bigger to get stronger, he'll have to eventually become a gigantic powerhouse lacking any fine movement at all.

Also, this is good news for me. It means I won't get gigantic from adding to my strength stats.

I don't want that look. Imposing or not, it's not my thing'

"Knights and Warriors on the other hand prefer a more neutral build. A middle ground between large and speedy." Zay'in said.

"What's the difference between a Knight and a Warrior?" Vincel asked.

"Honestly, they are both pretty similar.

Which one you prefer depends on your interpretation or on what you prefer to be called however, on standard, Warriors are believed to be more war ready and rugged compared to Knights.

Knights are believed to have more structure when they fight and that structure restricts them." Zay'in explained.

There was something about the way Zay'in was talking now that made Vincel ask,

"Which are you?"

Zay'in smiled, reached into the pouch at her back, and drew out a shaft. She kept pulling and the shaft kept getting longer until it ended in a spearhead that had two crescent moon-shaped blades attached to its side.

*Thud!*

She slammed the bottom of her weapon's shaft against the floor and stood proudly beside the weapon that was about two feet taller than her.

"Take a guess"

Vincel answered immediately.

"You're a warrior"

Zay'in smiled.

"Not a Knight?"

"No. Not a Knight"

'She kept going on and on about how 'Knights are restricted' and 'Warriors are more war-ready'. She's either a warrior or a self-hating knight.'

Zay'in nodded.

"Correct. I am a warrior and the Halberd is my weapon of choice. It has a good reach and also a powerful head.

Anyway,

Archers prefer a lighter build while also investing in an enhancement of their eyesight.

Assassins are stealthy and prioritize speed.

As for Mages, on standard, they don't focus on any form of physical enhancement. Theirs is a mental game.

What is tested is their mental capacity and just how many spells they can memorize and how well they can utilize them in battle.

Becoming a powerful spell caster takes commitment to that craft and there is hardly any time to train yourself physically"

As she spoke, Zay'in stared at Vincel.

"What is it?" Vincel asked her.

Zay'in reached into her pouch and pulled out a scroll which she handed to Vincel.

"Inside that scroll are the two basic Arcane spells that the Sorceress wants to use to ease you into Arcane Spellcasting," Zay'in said.

Hearing that there were spells inside the scroll, Vincel opened it immediately and beheld two complicated-looking spell circles.

[Arcane Spell detected- Bind <Initiate>]

[Arcane Spell detected- Repel <Initiate>]

The messages flashed in front of his eyes but Vincel ignored them.

As he stared at the two spell circles, he could feel something stirring in his abdomen. Something spherical that was slowly spinning and he was suddenly very aware of the Arcane Mana he had flowing through his body.

He became especially aware that it was all originating from the spherical thing revolving inside him.

Before long, Vincel lost himself inside the two spell circles and he was filled with wonder as they imprinted themselves on his mind.

'These are not ordinary circles of strange symbols- at least they don't act ordinary. They act alive- and excited.

Is this how it feels for everyone?'

"Spell casting is difficult. It requires too much sitting and studying so I gave up on it long ago. Keep the scroll and study the spells. When you're sure you've learned them-"

"I think I have"

"What? It hasn't been a minute since I gave you the scroll" Zay'in said in disbelief.

Vincel raised his brow in surprise.

"Really?"

'I could have sworn I was lost in my thoughts for at least Five minutes'

"To cast any of the two spells, you will have to remember every single detail of each of their spell circles.

You will remember them and then infuse them with Mana to make them appear.

Any omission of any bit of detail, and it won't work"

All through her words, Zay'in's tone remained steeped in disbelief.

"Again, are you sure you've learned the two spells?"

Vincel took a second to check if both spell circles were still imprinted in his mind before he nodded.

"I think so. Yeah"

"Okay," Zay'in said and moved away from Vincel towards the wall which she slammed her palm against.

Mana from her hand lit up the section of the wall and that mana trailed to the floor. The floor opened up and two life-size figures rose out of it.

The two figures were marked with lines that were glowing subtly. Even after Zay'in took her hand off the wall, the figures continued to glow.

"If you are so sure you have learned both spells, then test them out on these two enchanted puppets"

Vincel shrugged.

"Alright"

He had just spoken that one of the puppets charged at him.

The 'Repel' spell circle came to the forefront of Vincel's mind and he harnessed the Arcane Mana he could very clearly feel Inside his body.

The spell circle appeared on his palm and a wave of Arcane Mana charged from it to slam into the Puppet and send it flying into the opposite wall.

*Bam*

*Bang*

'Awesome'

Vincel's eyes widened in awe at what he had just done but he did not have long to enjoy the feeling as the other puppet came charging at him.

He cast the spell circle for 'Bind' and watched as strings of Arcane Mana charged from the circle and wrapped around the Puppet to instantly halt its movement.

The Puppet struggled and it likely would have eventually pulled free of the Bind but it never got the chance as Vincel delivered a punch squarely to its faceless head and sent it to join its fellow against the wall.

*Bam*

*Bang*

Zay'in's eyes were wide as she watched Vincel so easily cast spells he had only just learned.

While she was staring, Vincel received a notification from the system with an update.

[Arcane Mana Reserves: 105/125]

Casting the two spells had cost him 10 Arcane Mana reserves. Each.