Magic and Bram's Blessing

"Um..."

"What have you done to our holy relic?!?!" The previously timid Sylvas shouted at the top of her lungs with an accusatory voice.

Drew frowned at the over-the-top action but put on a confused face despite the pressure that he felt coming from the small girl.

"I... don't know," He said simply, trying his best to act confused despite knowing full well what had occurred.

Sylvas still had a face full of Wrath upon her but she seemed to be less so at his words.

"Then so be it!" She said in a humph.

A Light seemed to escape her fingertips and fill her eyes as magic seemed to stream from her body at an incredible pace.

'So this is magic... interesting,'

The lights acted faster than he could react as they formed chains in an instant that lurched forward and bound him to the place in which he stood.

It was almost as if a light had sprung into existence from her fingertips into long strands that folded and became as thick as steel chains in a matter of moments.

'Her hair has lost some of its golden light... It seems as if practicing magic changes one's appearance and using it diminishes that very change,' Drew thought to himself as he felt a sense of calm and clarity overwhelm him despite his circumstance.

A searing feeling coursed through his body but seemed to be mitigated slightly by a suction feeling that appeared within his chest.

'Must be the Mana Reaper skill at work,'

For some reason, the pain that Drew felt was not at all shocking. It was as if his body was used to it...

Sylvas nodded at her handiwork and marched out to fetch someone who was more qualified.

'Status,' Drew thought simply as he wanted to check out what changes had occurred to his status after he had absorbed the energy.

-

[The Peasant System]

---

Status:

Name: Drew Pence

System Upgrade Energy: 84%

---

Renown:

Peasant:

No bonus gained

---

Affinities:

Magic Affinity:

Light Magic: Spark Affinity(First and most basic level of magical affinities)

Weapon Affinity:

Scythe: Master Affinity

---

Skills:

Scythe Mastery: Lv: 1

Mana Reaper: Lv: 1

Light Magic Mastery: Lv: 1

Blessing of Bram: Lv: ???

---

Spells:

None Currently Learned

-

'Two new skills and I gained an elemental affinity...' Drew thought with a puzzled expression on his face.

'It seems as if magic should be within reach then... though I expected it to be much more difficult to obtain,'

'But what does 'Spark Affinity' mean?' He thought to himself and pondered.

[Would the user like the System to explain the magical and physical affinity range?]

Drew mentally nodded at the system's question.

[Physical and Magical Affinities are each separated into 10 levels as listed below:]

Weapon Affinity Levels:

1: Uninitiated

2: Initiate

3: Novice

4: Practiced

5: Adept

6: Expert

7: Master

8: Grandmaster

9: Saint

10: God

Magic Affinity Levels:

1: Spark

2: Gale

3: Wave

4: Bonfire

5: Lighting Strike

6: Tornado

7: Tsunami

8: Eruption

9: Heavens Strike

10: God

-

[Each level corresponds to an increase in skill and ability that isn't seen in the previous level. Affinities are merely a depiction of what level of comprehension you have. For example, You have a master affinity with Scythes, which means that your journey towards the 'Master' level of strength will be a smooth ride while anything beyond it would be far more strenuous and may require outside help.]

Drew nodded at the words and realized that he was but a speck in this world with no true power.

'So... Master affinity doesn't correspond to strength but more so growth,'

'While my mastery skills would probably correspond to actual strength,'

'System, Describe my new skills for me please,'

-

[Light Magic Mastery: Lv: 1]: Your current level of mastery with Light Magic. The pace at which you increase this skill varies depending on many factors but the main one is your Affinity with Light magic. Once you assimilate a basic amount of knowledge on Light magic the status page will gain more information.

[Blessing of Bram: Lv: ???]: You have been blessed by Bram, though only with the intent to get you to stop doing something against his will. You are lucky you escaped unscathed… especially so since you have gained this strange skill. You have an innate increased mana pool compared to others and your mana is more pure and powerful. You have increased gains when learning about the Light Element and you can increase your affinity with the light element by earning Bram's favor.

-

'Interesting,' Drew thought before he was interrupted by the sound of feet pounding upon the marble floor of the temple.

'It seems like they have arrived,'

He raised his head from the system page and found himself watching the doors of this chamber intently.

After a while, the sound of the footsteps grew louder and the door finally burst open.

Standing at the door was Atun. He was wearing more formal robes than before but had confusion clearly etched upon his face.

His eyes first landed upon the tied-up body of Drew but quickly drifted to the gate of creation that was in a sorry state.

Its light had dimmed to a barely visible level and Atun saw that in a glance.

"Hmm,"

Atun moved forwards in a more unhurried manner than when he seemingly ran into the room.

He approached the Gate and moved to about an arm's length of the gate before finding himself unable to move further.

Atun turned his gaze towards Drew with an intrigued look on his face before snapping his fingers in a casual manner. The chains made of light dissipated into particles of light akin to stars before fully disappearing.

"What happened?" Atun asked calmly.

Drew felt an odd sensation come over him but answered nonetheless.

"Something in me absorbed the energy of the Gate and I heard a voice that asked me to stop,"

Atuns face turned from intrigue and curiosity to pure fascination in a moment.

"What did the voice sound like?" He asked in a hurried manner.

"Um... It sounded rough and old, yet gentle and wise,"

Atun nodded, as if in understanding.

"You have heard the voice of Bram... and to see that you are in a state that would betray my expectations means that the talk he had with you went well,"

"Yeah... He blessed me after I stopped the force inside of myself from draining the gate's energy,"

Atun's eyebrows raised a whole inch from where they were previously stationed at Drew's statement.

"Blessed?!"

Drew only nodded gently as a calm filled his body that prevented him from becoming flustered and confused.

'Weird,' he noted before turning his attention towards the old man.

"I can't really feel any differences, however..."

"A blessing of Bram usually induces a magical transformation of the user... and for someone who couldn't use or sense mana beforehand that makes sense,"

Atun furrowed his brows for a moment in silent contemplation.

"I must ask you to leave. Not of my own will but of that of the temples,"

Drew nodded.

'What I have done is probably taboo. It's a good thing I'm not getting beheaded or some shit,' Drew thought while still thinking of this new world he was now in and would come to call home.

"Follow me," Atun said simply as he turned his back towards Drew and walked down the marble floors of the temple in a much more calm manner.

-

What followed was a blur of events. Drew was presented with a simple bag with some supplies in it and 10 gold coins. And without a single word, he was ushered out of the doors of the church.

Drew stood upon the stone road outside the church once more... though he felt like he had some semblance of identity in this world now. And knowledge of what was going on to a small degree.

'The real question, however... is what to do?'

'I could try and find a job and work... or try and find a place to learn how to increase my affinities,'

Options scattered themselves before Drew and a limitless amount of paths presented themselves.

After a few moments of standing in place pondering Drew heard heavy clunking footsteps running towards him.

"Get him! He's the one that destroyed the Church's holy relic!" A drunken voice echoed out through the streets.

Drew snapped his head towards the sound and noticed 3 guards clad in iron armor running towards him at a speed that seemed inhuman.

"Fuck!"

Drew turned his back towards the men and began to sprint as fast as possible away from the approaching guards.

'I thought Atun had let me off the hook?!' Drew thought as he dashed into a nearby alleyway.

But as soon as Drew walked into this alleyway he noticed something was not right.

'Dead end?!'

The sounds of the guards became louder and louder as he realized that he was screwed.

He looked at the tall wall in front of him and slowly turned around with a sense of fear and... anticipation that had never been there before.

"Halt Desecrator!" One of the guards said in a course and angry voice.

Drew stared at the sprinting guards with a strange energy building up within him.

'I can't just lay in a jail cell for the rest of my life...'

'So I better put up a fight!'

Drew flicked his wrists at his side and two Scythes glinted with a powerful glint in his hands.

'It's like I've done this before...'