World Gift II

"A World Gift? What's that?" I questioned.

"Although I have limited knowledge on the subject, I'll do my best to explain. World Gifts are magical techniques bestowed upon people who pass the challenges the world gives them. Take this one for example, a young man in the Empire was given a world challenge where he had to relentlessly take punches from a stone golem for days. In the end, he survived and was bestowed with a World Gift that could make barriers. Unfortunately, the skill was so bad that he wanted it removed due to its poor attribute and stamina consumption." Mr. Auger explained.

"I'm still not getting it, so instead of mana, it consumes stamina?"

"Yes! Which makes it a perfect item for you to purchase. Although, World Gifts come with even more downsides than just stamina consumption."

"What do you mean by downsides? Wouldn't stamina consumption over mana already be the worst loss?"

"Yes and no, although the stamina drain is a heavy loss, it doesn't compare to the other downsides. First of all, World Gifts have something known as 'Drawbacks'. Like this barrier gift for example, although you can block pretty much everything, you will still suffer 5% of the damage the attack would've dealt."

"Wait what?!? That seems amazing, why would someone get rid of it?"

"Wrong! Let's say your barrier gets hit by 20 punches that could break a bolder. What do you suppose 5% of that punch will feel like?"

"I see, that could get a bit troublesome."

"That's not the worst part though. World Gifts require growth, making them far less superior than magic. With magic, one could cast a tier 3 barrier spell right away if they had enough mana, but with World Gifts, you have to grow them to become stronger. You see how this can slow down one's potential, and why people would get them removed?" Mr. Auger said while pointing at the book.

'In all honesty, the cons outweigh the pros by a landslide, but it's not like I have any other options. Ever since the old man told me that I possess a small amount of mana, I've been trying to find items that could compensate for that. This item could be exactly what I was looking for.'

"I understand Mr. Auger, so what would something like this cost?" I responded.

"Hmm, I think one ice attribute Uub antler would be enough." He said while smiling.

"An ice attribute Uub ant-" I tried to question.

"Mr. Auger, how would you know of something like that?" Ulta said while biting her bottom lip.

"Oh don't worry about such small details, I set my price... now can you match it?" He said calmly.

"..."

I sat there in silence as we waited for Ulta to respond. When she did, Mr. Auger had a confused look on his face.

"Mr. Auger, since you've set your price... allow me to grab the item so we can make a fair deal." She said while walking out of the carriage.

Minutes passed until Mr. Auger spoke again, and when he did he seemed surprised.

"Hey brat, that girl you have around you is about to do something very foolish. I advise you to stop her." He said calmly.

"Why? What even is an ice attribute Uub antler?"

"*sigh* I really do hate explaining things to little kids. When an animal gathers enough natural mana over their life span, they turn into something called a mana beast. Since it's an ice attribute Uub, that means it gathered most of its natural mana during winter, making it a precious resource for ice magic users. As luck would have it, that girl's father seems to be in possession of a single Uub antler containing said attribute. I'm not sure how he even acquired one though, since even a regular animal could kill him."

After the explanation, a knock came on the door. When it was opened, Ulta and her father walked into the carriage.

"Wonderful." Mr. Auger said out loud.

"It's a pleasure to meet you again manager." Ultas father said.

"Likewise, Chief Tyu." Mr. Auger responded.

"Let's skip right to the point, you want to trade a World Gift for my mana Antler?" Ultas father's voice was deep and cold.

"More or less Chief. You see... the boy to your right possesses little magical power, but still wishes to use magic. The only way he would be able to do so would be through a world gift. Making it extremely precious to him." The smile faded from his mouth as he talked.

"I understand very clearly that Hakkar is talentless when it comes to magic, but to request my mana antler as compensation is too far. If we were to do this trade you would have to throw in extra benefits."

"Tch, fine. The most I can do is give you a year's supply of arrows. More than that and I would be at a loss.

"How about 6 months' worth of arrows and you throw in a week's training session with Hakkar?"

I looked at the Chief and all I got back was his stern look.

"*Sigh* fine, but the training session will have to wait till next year. I still need to get it approved by the council, if I'm unable to acquire permission, I will give you another 6 months' worth of arrows next year. Do we have a deal?" Mr. Auger sounded impatient.

"We have a deal, but if I hear that you didn't even ask the council... I'll make the empire regret choosing you as its manager." The Chief said with a cold gaze.

"I'm a man of my word Chief Tyu, I promise you I'll do my best to acquire permission. Who would have thought though, that the second person from this tribe I'd sell a World Gift to… would be a brat? You could've been the first too, that is if your Elder didn't trade for a World Gift already. I don't understand why he did it either, it's not like your tribe uses magic anyways." Mr. Auger remarked under his breath.

'Wait, the old geezer has a World Gift? Does it have something to do with his knowledge on how much mana I possess? I always just thought he knew because of how 'wise' he was.'

"Now it's time for the fun part, all you have to do now... is open the book, Hakkar." Mr. Auger said with a smile.

When he slid the book directly in front of me, I paused for a moment and looked at the Chief. When I saw him nod I wasted no time and opened the book.

"Huh? It has no words... Don't tell me you li-" I said before passing out.

I don't know what happened while I was passed out, but it felt like something was 'added' to me. It's a weird feeling to explain, but I feel more 'whole' than normal.

"How long was I passed out?" I said as my eyes sprung back open.

"Passed out? All you did was blink after stopping mid-sentence." Ulta said.

"Blinked?!? All I did was blink? No that's impossible, I know for a fact that I passed out."

"Weird isn't it, welp that's a World gift for you. Oh, and you might want to check your left hand." Mr. Auger said.

After he said that, I slowly turned my head toward the palm of my hand.

"What… what is that?"