Jareth released his sorcerer's chart.
–––
SORCERER'S CHART
[Name]: Jareth Idren
[Race]: Human
[Body]: ⟨5% Mana | 95% Oblivium⟩
[Source]: [Oblivium Forge], [Caniblaze]
[Spells]: [Weeping Ward], [Grieving Echo], [Quagmire], [Infernal Torrent], [Quintessence Claws]
[Core]: 20/200
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Nothing had changed except for the additional value in his core, which had increased from zero to twenty.
He dismissed it, unsheathed his sword, and approached the table.
Sitting in the chair, he pointed his left index finger at the arcanist badge lying on the table. In a moment of intense struggle, he made a slight cut on his finger, grappling with the urge to harm himself.
The moment the blood touched the arcanist badge, it sank into it and vanished.
A bizarre connection suddenly linked him to the bracelet, and when he focused on it, he could see a dark space of about five cubic meters.
He tried moving the sword in his hand, and it disappeared into the space. He retrieved it with a command, and it reappeared in his hand.
Nodding his head, Jareth thought, "Since I'm going to be hunting, I need to research accessories for arcanists, learn my spells well, and practice with weapon."
After making his decision, he wasted no time and began researching what arcanists needed when venturing into the wild.
Many daily necessities came up, like a packed battery for the comm band, but the thing that captured his focus was the shock bracelet. He remembered Esta mentioning it; it was the bracelet she had given him.
When he saw its function, he realized it was indispensable.
The shock bracelet is used to hold the comm band and arcanist badge because of its strong protective nature. However, that was not what made it indispensable. It was crucial for arcanists during core absorption to interrupt tainting.
When arcanists are stuck in their mental world and are about to be tainted by oblivium, the shock bracelet sends a strong current through their body to awaken them. Although it will definitely cause injury due to the interruption as the mana goes wild trying to escape the body, temporary injury is way better than going mad.
"Really? I seriously missed this! I was busy skipping all this, thinking it was useless equipment for my previous predicament while focusing only on the arcanist part," he mumbled.
"But… I didn't get shocked. Is it because I wasn't being tainted?" He tilted his head slightly.
After a few seconds without an answer, he pushed the thought to the back of his mind and continued his research.
"The cost of all this is going to leave me almost broke. I should avoid Liana before she 'treats' me to another meal."
But his expression darkened when he thought about needing her instructions for learning about weapons.
Facing the holographic screen, he searched for sword techniques, and his face darkened further as all he saw was barely educational content, with the few instructive videos delivering a 'subscribe for full course' message.
He shut off the screen.
"I will just wait for Liana."
With that, he went down to practice with the robot.
Upon reaching the basement, he had already made a decision. Now that he had survived, he had to be cautious with his source, and the first thing to do was avoid using or training [Quagmire] in public; it bore a striking resemblance to oblivium.
Jareth even guessed that it might be the oblivium he had absorbed that was being used as fuel for the spell.
As for the rest of the skills, they were clean, including [Quintessence Claws]. While watching the sword technique videos, he saw some semi-transformation spells that resembled [Quintessence Claws], which made the videos somewhat helpful even if they didn't fulfill their primary purpose of teaching sword.
With that, he threw himself into training. He focused majorly on [Infernal Torrent] by creating different weapon shapes, with the robot 'Jareth' recording the damage it could cause. After much training, he settled on a spear shape as it dealt the highest damage.
The girls returned, and Liana came to find him in the basement.
"I never realized I'd be getting a new housemate apart from Nadia. C'mon, tell me. How did you convince my sister?" Liana's inquisitive eyes stared into his.
Jareth could only shrug as he had no answer.
"Well, can you please teach me some basic sword movements? Your sister told me to ask you," Jareth pleaded politely.
Liana was stunned for a moment before her lips curled into a smirk. "You asked the perfect person."
And that was how he got a passionate teacher who beat him every day with the wooden sword they used for practice. Jareth wondered how much strength was packed into her small frame.
But she always complained that his physique was too tough for a person who has a fire source and had only absorbed one core. She saw his fire spell and assumed.
On the last day of the week, he lay in bed, looking at the ceiling while lost in thought.
'What a hectic week. And a monotonous one. From researching and spell training to battling—no, getting beaten by Liana—and healing by Nadia. Damn! I better have a good relationship with Nadia, as she is a healer. With all the wounds that come from hunting, making friends with a healer is a big necessity. Lastly, eating Esta's cooked food, which was surprisingly delicious for her character. Wait! When does character dictate taste? But it's surprising she can cook. Well, let's go down and eat.'
When he went down, Liana was waiting for them, and he was the last to arrive. Before he could sit, she went into beast mode, devouring the food as if she had a competitor.
After they finished eating, he received the adventuring necessities he had asked Liana to buy in a big bag from Nadia, as she could tell the original from the fake.
***
The next day, Jareth woke up very early before the sun rose, took his shower, and struggled to put on the leather-like armor. And yes, he had learned how to do it online.
He inserted his arcanist badge and comm band into the holder in the shock bracelet, and he could still feel the connection to the badge's pocket space. Inside were his sword, a packed battery, several cans of water and energy drinks, dry rations, a bottle of healing potion, and spices. Instantly, he knew the spices were Liana's idea.
And this was how his money returned to zero.
He was against the idea of buying things in bulk to save his money and because hunting is a daily work, but Liana argued that one of their teachers had once been stuck in a cave when he awakened and nearly died due to not buying bulk daily necessities. It surprised him, as he had never seen her as the meticulous type.
Jareth walked up to the mirror.
He quickly arranged his short burgundy hair, having no comb.
Staring at himself in the mirror, he felt as if he was resuming a new school.
He walked around the room to get used to the armor.
After checking his things one last time, he went and sat on the balcony, watching the day brighten.
When the time hit 6:00 AM, he went out but bumped into the armored Liana and Nadia, who looked sharp.
"You done? Good. Let's go," Liana said, turning and walking.
"Don't wet your pants at the sight of beasts," Nadia warned with a chuckle.
'I never thought they would allow me to follow them, but they have experience, so it will boost my chances of successful hunting.'
He quickly caught up. After the regular healing after getting drilled by Liana, their relationship had pretty much patched up.
They left the house and took a cab to the gate.
Jareth looked around, as he had never had the time to see the city.
They soon reached the gate.