Chapter 2: Amateur

"Look at this, a new bracelt! Trace Happy Birthday".

"Thank you master. But I already have so many".

"These bracelets are precious to me Trace. Treat them with care".

Trace slowly opened his eyes, which, oddly enough carried a different light than before. The runes on the bracelet formed a head similar to that of an owl. It was an ancient looking owl with deep phantom eyes. Eyes that carry wisdom of generations. Trace was still laying on the ground, covered in the green light that slowly healed him. He was facing the gray sky. A sky that seemed dull compared to the owl's eyes and his. The information from the treasure filled up his mind and left his in a daze.

On the other hand, Darkseal's robes were tattered. He got up kicking dust and coughed out blood. The blast was not within his expectations. Without ado, he carefully examined his body. Only after confirming that the injuries were not severe, he looked towards Trace.

"What a pain", he grinned.

There was no going back now. Looking at the mark of the Yuushine family etched on his robes only made his grin wider. He tore his robe and lit it up in flames with magic.

The burning magnifying glass mark on his robes brought a sense of crisis to the Yuushine sister and they retreated in fear. Not only they lost a servant today but also a chance to get better position in the family. The sisters were only level 1, thus received great suppression by their elder brother. Both sisters did not even dare to look back. They were powerless against Darkseal.

Darkseal, in turn, felt powerless against the Yuushine family. His action clearly made him a deserter, a traitor. Burning the sign of the family was one of the most ridiculous things he could have done. If he could not get the bracelet, there was no place left for him to go. He rapidly thought about all the possibilities.

Holdinberg was divided into five regions by an invisible magic field. Every person in Holdinberg was confined to the region they were born in. Only level 3 Sorceres and above could cross them.

Trace was still in awe by the information he received from the treasure. The treasure could simulate emotions and thoughts, giving temporary traits to the user. He felt warmth as he looked at the treasure. Master made this treasure from his own experiences. It was exclusively made for Trace. Since Trace had never been to an adventure and was naive and unknowing about the world his master made a treasure to aid him. This treasure could simulate Trace to have courage, confidence and other traits he lacked.

Traits develop over time. Even an all knowing person would falter while taking action. For example, knowing about all the magic spells, or martial art moves in this world would not make you a master automatically. Indeed it would aid you but the information is useless if not practiced upon. Knowing about how to be confident does not make you unless you put in time to master your fears. In reverse, a confident person does not need to know the steps to be confident. Repetitive actions make a habit, repetitive habits make traits. These traits settle in and become a part of the being itself.

The bracelet did not give information but it let the user borrow the emotions themselves. It was an unheard of treasure and naturally had drawback. One trait could not be borrowed again and the effect would only last for limited time. It just gave a gist of how it feels to be a master of something by simulating emotions and thoughts with magic. The bracelet could vaguely be called a personality switching treasure but did much more.

Information about the treasure was etched into his memory. The green light around Trace faded and he came back to his senses. He looked around and when he noticed Darkseal's figure, his hand unconsciously touched his face. Before he could retreat Darkseal began dashing towards him.

Trace activated a movement spell and pulled away distance from his pursuer. At this moment he forgot about the treasure and ran on a whim. Looking back from time to time, he saw could see Darkseal grinning at him. Sometimes, Darkseal would his speed for a while and then slow down to the original speed again. He did this multiple times. Thus, even after an hour the gap between them only lessened a bit.

Darkseal's grin widened with his increasing helplessness. He could not determine if the person in front was toying with him. No magic fluctuations emitted from Trace. Furthermore, Trace's speed did not change since the beginning. On the other hand, Darkseal had to slow down multiple times to maintain a certain level of mana.

'It seems like he is an amateur. His thoughts are readable from his actions but why can I not detect magic fluctuations from him? And what is up with his speed? Do I gamble that he does not know mana management and will run out of it soon? I cannot determine how much mana he has, what if he lasts long enough to cross the Retention Line?'

At this point, Darkseal thought a lot less of level three Sorcerers. He was at the peak of level 2 and truly believed that the gap between peak level 2 and a newbie level 3 was small. Regardless, the person in front of him had the ability to cross the Retention Line and go out of Central Holdinberg but he did not.

Trace was feeling bitter, the surrounding had been unfamiliar for a while now. No matter what route he took his pursuer was always behind him. After putting some thought into it, he decided to use the bracelet.

As soon as Trace looked back Darkseal knew that this lunatic was up to something funny.

"Last effort before your mana runs out"? Darkseal increased his speed without any constraint on his mana this time. He was also ready to activate a shielding spell and an attacking spell. Mana dropped to ten percent as the gap was instantly closed. But the only thing Darkseal heard when Trace dodged was.

"Agility".