Chapter 6 - Learning about the Mission and Magic

Alex goes to the nearest temple in the early morning. He sees the quiet nature of the streets which is completely opposite from how noisy it was during working hours. He follows the direction from the map. He reaches a temple. It is a small temple with an underground door. He goes through the small door to the inside of the temple.

He could see the holes in the roof filling the light into the temple. The pillars and the floor is white. There are life-sized figures of idols, which are the gods on this planet. He still couldn't see the goddesses figure who he had met. He admires the beauty of this small temple. His heart is filled with calmness. There is no one present at the temple but him. Then suddenly everything disappears and he is in a room with white walls. He turns back and sees the Goddess on her chair.

The Goddess says, "Let's start with your backstory. You are an orphan who was adopted by an old couple in a small village. The village is near to the woods where you landed. The whole village was destroyed by beasts and you are the sole survivor. You have escaped the beast attacks and made a journey to the nearest city to make a living. I'll send some information to your mind. So you can remember the village and the couple. The memories are based on the real persons in the village. Bear with the shock."

Alex's eyes went black before he could process the situation, he started mumbling under his breath. After 20 seconds, he fell to the ground. He vomits blood on the clear white floors. He lived a life in seconds and then died. This experience almost killed him. As his mind was not ready to accept so much information in such a quick manner. He shook it off. He says, "That was an interesting backstory."

The Goddess says, "Now you have proof of your being in this world."

Alex says, "Let us talk about my missions. That I am supposed to fulfil."

The Goddess says, "It is a very big mission that I hope you have the hardest time completing."

Alex says, "What have I done to make you hate me so much?"

The Goddess says, "Your mission is to travel to the Wild Kingdom. Make them an active part of continental politics. It might take you years to complete this mission. It's going to be a very hard task where you could lose your life with a single wrong step. No one on the continent has ever returned alive after meeting the folks of Wild Kingdom."

Alex says, "Do you have any other easier mission that someone like me can do fast and get the hell out of this place!"

The Goddess say, "Fucking pile of Trash! You have two to three years to complete this mission. The earlier the better."

Alex asks, "What if I fail?"

The Goddess replies, "Some Gods can lose interest and destroy everything with you."

Alex says, "I guess I'll have to do this impossible task with no help from anyone."

The Goddess says, "Oh! If you want help, there is someone who can help with this task."

Alex says, "Are you finally starting to like me? Who is this person that can help me with the mission?"

The Goddess, "You will love that person. It's the Princess of The Kingdom of Darcus"

Alex says, "Yes, yet another easy task to get her on my side."

The Goddess, "She is the Queen of Beasts, she hasn't awakened to her powers yet. Or knows about it."

Alex says, "How am I supposed to convince her?"

The Goddess says, "She is visiting this city in a few weeks time. Maybe, you can kidnap her!"

Alex, offended by The Goddesses statement says in fury, "How can you suggest something as kidnapping a royal!"

The Goddess says in a monotone, "It won't be your first time."

Alex reflects back and replies, "That is true."

The Goddess says, "Take your time. I'll give you the ability to use basic magic. I saw you spending time in the library. Read some more on magic and improve yourself. Or else you might die before you start the journey. This is a scary world with lots of lawless people."

Alex had a few more questions but as soon as he was about to speak. He was thrown out of the temple's gate. The people visiting the temple looked at him as some weird noble doing his routine shenanigans. He tries to escape the embarrassing situation quickly by rushing into the bazaar.

He walks through the crowded street which was silent before. He goes to the place he is staying at. He enters his room and lies on the bed. He wanders about the mission. He got a headache from all that thinking. So he tried to clear his head. He went to the library to learn about the magic in the kingdom. The Goddess had given him the ability of basic magic. He needed magic to fit in this kingdom as well. He is starting to work toward his mission step by step.

He reaches the library and goes to the magic section floors. He rumbles through many books. He collects books for beginners. The books are very simple, so even a child can understand.

There is mana in this world which helps people to perform magic. Mana is present everywhere and all the people on this planet have mana in them as well. There are various different ways that are proven to help control mana and fill your body with it. With mana reserve you can perform magic. Mana reserve of every person is different. Some have great mana reserves which enables them to perform magic continuously without getting fatigued. With this talents are born with a high mana reserves. Others can try to raise their mana reserve with training of years, but they still might not reach the talented magicians.

He finds a corner of a library and picks a few books and gets himself a spot on the floor. He tries meditation to feel the mana. It is the easiest method to gain a sense of mana. He stays in a meditative state for half an hour with no result. He stays like that for a few more hours after that he gets a faint reaction in his surroundings. He wonders if it's mana and tries to absorb it in himself. He tries hard in controlling the little bit of mana he could sense and get it inside his body.

He successfully manages to store mana in his body after many trial and error. He opens the books of Four Elements - 1st tier. He opens his palm to create a ball of fire. He closes his eyes to let him imagine fire. He says ' "Fire." very quietly under his breath. He feels the warmth and opens his eyes. He could see a very little flame of balls. He feels the heat but his palm below the fire is in normal condition. He makes a fist and the fire is dismissed, giving out little smoke.

He turns the page, now moves on to the second element. He makes water with very ease in his palm. The water ball stays very still in his palm. He loses focus for a second and the water drops on his palm. The water ball was tiny, so it didn't make a big splash. He proceeded with further magic. Just like that he summons a wind ball in his palm. This time he tries to move the wind ball slowly. He blows the wind ball, causing it to disintegrate and scatter into the air. Next he summons dirt which he is unable to control and makes the place dirty. He keeps practising for a while.

Alex is fatigued after practising magic. He goes into deep slumber after magic practice. He hadn't realised that he was not given proper mana reserve by the Goddess. He kept cursing her in his dreams. His hatred for the Goddess grows every day and every sleep. He sleeps in the library, overusing his mana reserves carelessly.

He wakes up in the library completely dark. He uses a fire spell to see his surroundings. He walks around. He goes to the exit and there is an invisible barrier to the exit. He realises he is locked in. For the time being he goes back to the magic section and reads a few more books about mana reserves usage and limitations. The time passes quickly as he reads about magic. The door opens and the barrier is now disabled making him able to go outside of the library. The guards looked at him suspiciously but didn't raise any hand on him. He walks back to the establishment where he is staying with extreme hunger, his stomach gnawing after a long night at the library.

He reaches the establishment and orders the food to be sent to his room. He freshens up and the food is on his table, he starts devouring the meal with great ferocity. He cleans up the meal in mere minutes. He receives a knock on his door as soon as he is finished with his breakfast. He says, "Come in." The Madame enters the room with a shocked expression, seeing the empty wares on the table in front of him. She says, "I was hoping to join you for breakfast, but it looks like you've already finished! I sent enough food for two people."

Alex says, "I didn't eat anything yesterday."

She says, "Yes, you were not in your room last night. I sent those girls to you again."

He says in a disappointing tone, "You did?"

She takes a seat next to him and says, "Are you leaving soon?"

He says, "What made you say that? I will be leaving but I am not sure when."

She says, "It's just my feeling telling me that you're not a kind person. You're not someone who stays in one place for too long."

He wanted her trust, so he reveals his backstory given to him by the Goddess. He reveals every detail and minute details about his childhood in the village. The memories which were imprinted in his mind by the Goddess. This made the story more believable. Even if The Madame checks out the details, she will find everything to be true. This will make Alex a reliable person in her eyes. She believed everything about Alex, it seemed real and not made up. She will still run a background check according to the details shared by him.

She says, "The Old Man probably helped you out of pity. You've been through a lot. You should rest up. Let's meet up at night for dinner. Let's hear your plans moving forward. What do you aspire to do?"

He asks, "Is The Old Man that helped me someone important?"

She replies, "You don't need to know about him. He is just a crook."

She exits the room leaving him alone with the big empty plate in front of him. He goes over to his bed and tries the meditation to feel mana more accurately. He then practises magic control over and over. He couldn't control it again and fell asleep. He wakes up before dinnertime. The duration of sleep this time was less. He feels extremely famished again after mana exhaustion. He sees a cloth set on an open coat hanger. He picks the most suitable one to his style.

He walks down the stairs with all eyes on him. All the men and women look at him. The only reason people look at him is jealousy. Because of the woman he is going to be accompanying. The concierge guides him out of the door to a horse-drawn carriage. He enters the carriage and The Madame is already sitting in it. They talk a little while they move toward their destination. The destination was just a fifteen minute ride. The carriage door opens, he sees a magnificent castle.

It is a grand and ornate castle, adorned with lavish and opulent decorations. He enters the hall of the castle which is filled with people of royalty. He feels like he entered a place that is not suited for him. He looks at The Madame and says, "I thought we were having dinner?"

She replies, "After the dance, there will be a banquet. Eat some finger foods till then."

The Madame goes to meet some acquaintance leaving Alex alone. He goes to the table which is filled with food. He tries different types of finger foods to calm his hunger. He keeps filling food into his mouth without realising the amount of people staring at him as he is devouring food very quickly.

A man with a big build and in knights clothing approaches him. He looks at him and immediately says, "Woah, you're big!"

Knight says, "Who are you? How do you know The Madame?"

He replies, "I am her guest. What is it to you?"

Knight says, "I verify everyone that enters the castle. The Madame is a respected person and I verify people that surround her foremost."

The Madame approaches them and says to the knight, "You don't need to worry about him. Are you doubting my ability to verify people around me?"

Knight gets very flustered, bows down and apologises. He leaves the scene.

She takes Alex to meet some of her acquaintances.