24 Daniel: a spark of magic

The crater filled with blood was enough to make any man question his courage. The graphics of this game were definitely something that were astounding. Even among the realistic virtual reality games that were ever present this one was top notch. Daniel could not help but admire the grotesque scene in front of him.

He had lied to Guy when he told him that the emerson of the game was not high. He had simply copied what he had heard from the other players around him. The last time he had played he had been so sore he could not get out of bed for two days. That combined with Guy's 'death' had kept him out of this game for a long time.

These thoughts were useless at the moment though, he needed to figure out the situation. There were countless forums that he could look at, but the answer would not be something that would come quick. From the looks of it, the events had happened recently, the players had likely kept playing after they spawned elsewhere.

Keeping to the shadows, he circled around the blood filled crater. The town was dead quiet, the creepy feeling sending a shiver up his spine. He explored the remnants of the starter village, creeping in the shadows as to not startle anything that might be lingering.

The shops had been looted of anything of value, swords, potions, and magical items were all gone. Magical tombs of any worth were gone as well. Daniel did have a surge of luck however, he managed to find the most basic of spell books, one that did not teach him any spells, but rather the concept of the flow of mana. It was a spell book that any mage automatically started off with, something that had no value. The information could be learned from any third rate magician. However at this moment the book was like a drop of water to a man dying of thirst.

Daniel had an affinity for fire, but he had no skills whatsoever when it came to magic. The only skills he had at this moment were basic swordsmanship, which he had not yet unlocked; he was only 57% of the way to unlocking it. The other skill he had was his class skill devour. Because of this skill, no matter how much he trained he was still at level 1. He had yet to kill anything, and therefore had not been able to gain experience from eating his prey. The third skill was cooking, which he had managed to get to level one.

This book was an amazing find for him, with this if he would be able to summon a flame. This meant that if he managed to kill something he would be able to raise his cooking skill. Meaning he would not have to eat the meat raw! He was not an animal, the idea of eating raw flesh made his stomach form a knot.

With a sense of excitement he found a secluded corner in which he was hidden and could keep an eye on the door to the shop. He sat down and immersed himself in the book. As he read the skill began to slowly unlock in his skill slot. 1% 3% 7%...

{The art of magic can be described as the beginning of our advancement as intellectual creatures. Before we had technology, before the invention of the wheel, there existed the world of magic. A person could argue that Magic is the grandfather of Technology. }

Daniel nodded as he read the book, this was something that he believed as well. In ancient times cultures had often performed religious ceremonies that could be described as magic. There were extremely superstitious beliefs, some of which had even carried over to the current era.

{Magic is a power that inside each of us, this Is why even a person who awakens a class such as a fighter still has an elemental affinity. There are some people who are more fit to work this magic than others. This comes into play not only with class and stats, but also with their degree of elemental affinity. While every person has an affinity to an element, there are those who's affinity is so strong that it overwhelms everything else. Their affinity becomes part of who they are. A person with a high affinity towards water will not only love the beach, but dislike when it is too hot. A person's level of affinity can be tested by certain magical equipment. A person's level of affinity is not fixed however. The affinity can raise by special circumstances, and can likewise be lowered. The lowering of an affinity however is always the cost of gaining the affinity for another element.}

{The way that a mage, or any person for that matter, uses magic is by merging the natural flow of mana on their bodies with their elemental affinity. The Elemental affinity is something that is not present in their entire bodies, rather the element is sealed in the brain of a person. The actual area of the brain is unknown, however the easiest way to access it is through meditation. By mastering meditation a person can fuse their element and the natural mana that occurs in their bodies. Only by using this method can a person have access to magic."