Paths & Classes

Aeim reached home late at night because Edward came home late both Cilia and Arler went to bed earlier. Holding ingredients in his left hand Aeim took out a key from his pocket and inserted it into the front door. Twisting the handle, he opened the door slowly and entered the home. He took the stairs and proceeded to his room without making any nose on his tiptoes.

Entering the room, Aeim placed the bag of ingredients on the table, and he went to the washroom to take a shower. Aeim turned on the shower; the water was a little hot, but this was what he liked. Soon the washroom was filled with white steam Aeim entered the shower. He let the water pour over his body while thinking about the discovery of magic and today's incident in his head. The incident at the market entrance was truly scary, and it did open his eyes to how dangerous the world is.

'I have to be more careful outside...' Aeim hardened his resolve.

After half an hour, he exited the shower. Wiping his body, he wore a loose pajama, which also belonged to Edward. Bare-chested, he entered the bedroom and went over to the study table. Aeim opened the ingredients bag and took out the book he bought with a quarter of his pay. The elementary introduction to magic and mages.

Aeim felt a little excited holding the thick book in his.

'Maybe this will be a turning point...' he mused.

He flipped open the book and started to read it from first. The book compiled the general situation of mages and magic users on the first few pages. After reading, Aeim got an idea of how big the world was. There were no magic schools or academies to teach anyone if one wanted to become a mage. They depended on themselves.

'Weird! In stories don't the magic worlds have schools to teach magic to young people?' he wondered.

Aeim continued to read; the situations of mages in the world were also in weird harmony. They were not allowed to appear in front of the general public. However, as long you keep it secret, you are allowed to practice magic.

'Mr. Edward might be a mage too...' Aeim confirmed.

Flipping the book page, Aeim entered the types of mages section. This part especially attracted Aeim attention. The section about types of mages in the book was detailed, and it seemed the author spent around eighty percent of the book describing types of mages. Aeim straightened his back and started to read.

To start your orthodox mage path, one first must choose a class. The book then went in detailed about orthodox classes, such as a healer mage can become a doctor, an assassin or a battle mage can join law professions, and other class mages like nature, illusionist, astronomy, elementals, Beastmaster, and diviner were openly recognized by government and societies of the world. These types of mages were freely allowed to work in the open world and did not attract much attention from the public.

/There is a difference between classes and paths/

Then there were unorthodox paths mages chose to follow. These mages worked mostly in darks, hiding in the shadows of the world from government and authorities. However, unorthodox mages also had more freedom and power. On the surface, they may hide in shadows, but most people who decided to become mages still opted for unorthodox paths.

The reason was that the orthodox path only allowed one to choose classes. They were never allowed to choose a full pathway or progress in their classes. Whereas, if one follows unorthodoxly, one can choose a full pathway and slowly advance class by class. The second reason people went for unorthodox paths was that the full pathway allowed one to break free from human limits and advance further toward the unknown.

At the end of this section, the author wrote about several unorthodox paths and their nature. Such as The Sun, Moon, Absolute Order, Seeker of Truth, Watcher, World Origin, Door, Chained, Way Opener/Finder, Preserver, Eternal Wheel, Everlasting Darkness, Virus, Death, Hidden, Devil, Destruction, and the list goes on.

'What should I choose...?' Aeim went into deep thought. When he bought the book, he had already decided to become a mage. However, he did not know it would be difficult, such as deciding between only classes or choosing a whole pathway and then buying a potion.

'Why it's so expensive and hard?'

'Can't I just study some spells and channel so-called mana/qi in my body and become a mage...?' Aeim's face suddenly fell, and he felt depressed. The happiness he was feeling while reading all went puff like a cloud of smoke dissipating in the air.

'Going with single class is not an option...'

'In my situation, surviving matters most; everything else comes second, and the only way to survive in this world is to become powerful. Which can only achieve by choosing a full path...' Aeim carefully pondered while reclining on his chair.

'So which pathway to choose...?'

'Sun and Moon are too shiny...

Death, Devil, Destruction, and Chained are too dangerous...

Watcher, Seeker, and Door involve exploring...

And Absolute Order, World Origin, and Way Finder are time-consuming...

Then I left with Eternal Wheel, Everlasting Darkness, Preserver and Hidden, etc...'

"Which pathway should I choose" Aeim muttered.

'I need a pathway that can help me survive and keep me hidden from danger...'

Aeim opened the table drawer and took out an empty book from inside. Picking up a pen, he started to write all the pathways he found would suit him best. After writing, he compared them to each other, trying to find the most useful one.

"Hidden," Aeim spoke suddenly.

" 'He' who concealed in the Darkness. 'He' Who wanders the Twilight Zone...."

Aeim muttered the prayer written in the book, but something suddenly stopped him from completing the prayer. This feeling came from his head. The voices that were quiet from the time he entered the house at time burst forward with splitting pain.

"Ahh!" a painful cry escaped from Aeim's mouth. Clenching his head, Aeim fell from his chair onto the ground. The pain and voices he was experiencing and hearing right now were ten times more horrible than the first time he opened his eyes in this new world.

Aeim lay on the floor with a pale face and clenching his head. His breath was out of place, and two bloodstreams were dripping down his face. His eyes were bloodshot, and his burning body was drenched in a cold sweat. The hell he experienced for a whole hour was enough to make anyone lose hope in living.

'Ahaa! So painful...'

Aeim lay on the floor, slowly moving his hand and gripping the chair leg. He tried to stand up. He felt extremely weak from the sudden outburst of voices, and he could not tell why they went out of control. In the last two-three months, Aeim had figured out one thing, as long he stayed calm and controlled his emotions, the voices in his head would remain at low levels. However, this sudden outburst was totally out of control without any reason.

Slowly dragging himself, he fell on the bed. All his excitement of discovering something was gone, and sleep was the only thing he wanted to do right now.

Aeim lying in bed, continuously changed his positions the whole night. It was easy to tell he was experiencing some horrible dream.

The night slowly passed, and an orange sun rose from the east.

In the early morning, Aeim woke up from his sleep. After taking a shower, he went to the dining area to eat breakfast with his new family. Edward was already at the dining table; Cilia was getting ready to serve the food, and Arler was playing with table wears on the side.

"Good morning, Mr. Edward and Mrs. Cilia," Aeim greeted and pulled back the dining chair before sitting on it.

"Good morning, Aeim. How did you sleep last night." Edward spoke with a smile.

"It was okay. I had a nightmare tonight too."

"Try to take your mind off too many things,"

"Also, bring all the stuff you bought into my lab after breakfast" Aeim nodded. He picked up a plate from the side and waited for Cillia to serve food.

Finishing the dinner, Aeim dropped Arler at his school. After taking a little stroll on the street, he returned home. Aeim went to his room. Edward's home lab was in the basement carrying the ingredients bag; he made his way toward Edward's home lab.

"Knock! Knock!" Standing in front of the lab door, Aeim Knocked.

"Come in"

Twisting the handle, Aeim opened the door and walked in. He placed the ingredients bag and pouch of left gold coins on the empty table and waited for Edward to check them.

"The moonlight ivy flower I found in the market, the shop owner was asking for a high price, so I could not buy it."

"It's already good you were able to find it. I'll give you more money next time so you can buy it next time."

Checking the ingredients, Edward placed them in different glass jars. Afterward, he looked at Aeim, still standing on the side.

"Something you want to talk about," Edward asked.

"Yes, I wanted to know if you're also a mage?"

"You should have figured it out by now," Edward answered, looking Aeim in the eyes. Hearing, Aeim nodded.

"Mr. Edward, what path did you choose, the orthodox or unorthodox path?"

Taking a seat at a nearby chair, Edward looked at the Aeim and pondered for a few minutes before responding.

"I just wanted to practice medicine and earn a little money, so I chose the orthodox path. Moreover, the unorthodox path is not safe, and I also have a family to take care of. Theirs is no need to take a dangerous path when it does not even provide you with enough benefits."

"You should think about it. Practicing a whole pathway is only beneficial if you can advance to high classes, but how many people could achieve this? Most would probably lose their lives in missions or collecting some ingredients, or some may even lose their insanity. Well, I never heard of someone achieving godhood or becoming even an angel. I don't think losing yourself over some trifling power is more beneficial."

"All right, enough of these classes and pathways; if you also want to become a mage, you should decide yourself what you want to become. You should first think if you can handle all the dangers that come with it and if you would be able to survive in this completely different world."

"In my opinion, given your position, someone is after your life, maybe you should choose a path instead of some class. It will come with a price, but you would be able to keep yourself safe from dangers in the outside world."

Edward spoke, advising Aeim like his own son. He told him everything he knew about mages and the dangers of becoming one. Edward had come to see Aeim as one of the family in the last few months Aeim was an honest young man played by destiny and thrown into a new world to die without even knowing how to defend himself.

"Okay, enough of this, you can go to your room and think about it thoroughly, and when you decide what you want to do, you can let me know. I'll try to help you if I can."

Listening to Edwards's thoughts, Aeim pondered. He even felt emotionally touched by Edward's care toward him. Edward had picked him up half a year ago from a road where he was left dying. How many people in this world would do that? Lost in thought, Aeim moved to exit the room.

However, suddenly Edward's voice stopped him.

"Also, next week, go to the night market again and ask if someone is still selling the moonlight ivy flower. I'll give you extra money."

Looking back, Aeim nodded and exited the room closing the door behind him.