Chapter 7: Apprentice Fire Mage

“Haha, Interesting. Charles, I’m impressed.” Reynolds let out a booming laugh and went near Eve Nightwind.

“Indeed, I knew about your identities long ago. When I visited your house to ask about the land matters, I checked your identity and learned about your surname. But I’m not the one who informed your presence to your family. I’m a greedy fox, and I do some shady works. Even the Honourable Divine Lady Nira knew about my schemes. But I’m not a betrayer.” Reynolds said while pointing his finger at the beautiful Life Goddess’s statue.

John followed after Reynolds with hurried footsteps and became puzzled inside.

“Then, who is the informer?” He asked out loud.

“That… I don’t know. But one thing is certain. Your family members or the one who is after your heads will send more men in the future to kill you.” Reynolds said with a sigh and then took out a scroll from the altar table.

“Now, let’s come to the current business. This scroll is a contract scroll, and I already wrote the contents. Once you signed the contract, you will get 500 gold coins and save your mother.” Reynolds said and passed the brown scroll to John.

“You don’t need to see the land document?” John furrowed his brows.

“Nah, no one can fool our almighty Goddess’s eyes.” Reynolds chuckled while waving his hand.

Meanwhile, John opened the contract scroll and began to read word by word. Although the language was a strange one, he didn’t face any difficulty at all.

‘Charles’s memories helped me in many ways.’ He muttered inwardly and then said with a sly smile.

“Father Reynolds, I heard from my mom that ‘Life Potion’ is very cheap in other Gods’ Cathedrals. I heard her saying that it was only 40 gold coins. Why is so high in Life Church’s Cathedral?”

Reynolds narrowed his eyes for a second and said indifferently.

“If you feel that I’m scamming you, you can go to other churches and buy ‘Life Potions’ or some other ‘Healing Potions’ from them.”

A bitter smile appeared on John’s face as he heard Reynolds’s words.

‘This guy sure is after something. What a poisonous snake.’ John heaved a heavy sigh and shook his head.

‘Other than Life Church, there are two more churches in this city. But there are only priests working there. I don’t want to make a bet using Eve’s life.’ He took a quill pen from the desk without saying anything and dipped it into the black ink. He then opened the scroll and signed in it.

A heartbeat later, the scroll began to shine brightly and then disappeared from his eyes.

‘I need to find a way and repay the debt quickly.‘ He said to himself and then turned his attention towards Bishop Reynolds.

Meanwhile, Bishop Reynolds arrived near Eve and took out a white vial from his pocket. After that, he opened her mouth using his other hand and poured the potion into her mouth. Simultaneously, he recited a short incantation and placed his hand on Eve’s throat.

A moment later, Eve moved her lips and swallowed the ‘Life Potion.’ Once Bishop Reynolds noticed that she was okay, he turned his head towards John and patted his shoulder.

“You can go back now. It will take 4 to 5 days for your mother to wake up. I will send someone to inform you when she wakes up.”

After that, he moved towards the front pew, sat on it, and then started reading the ‘Sacred book of Life’ book.

Meanwhile, John saw a notification popped up in front of his eyes and smiled.

[Sub-Quest Completed! Rewards: 100 Exp obtained!]

John didn’t walk out of the Life Church. Instead, he also sat beside Bishop Reynolds and fell into deep thoughts.

‘If Bishop Reynolds is not the informer, then who is it?… Think John…Think…What did the informer want from us? Is he after money? Probably not. Is he after the treasure that hid in our house or land? Possible. Hmm, I don’t have any clue. But, the informer must be hiding in this town and gathering information about me…Wait!’ John suddenly recalled the shadow with green eyes.

‘That shadow. He knew about the assassination incident. If he has some big background, I will be in deep shit.’ He thought of the worst possibility and made an emergency plan.

‘I already killed 14 assassins. If the informer wants to frame me, he might use their deaths as excuses. If I’m not careful, I will end up being in Iron Prison. In the worst-case scenario, I will be executed in public. Although I can avoid the execution by selecting a Mage Class, I will still get punished if I’m not careful.’ John frowned deeply and turned his gaze towards Bishop Reynolds.

“Father, can you do me a favor?”

Bishop turned his head towards John in annoyance and asked,

“What is it?”

“I want you to stop the City Lord for some time if an Execution happens,” John said in a solemn tone.

It was his backup plan if something went wrong.

“Execution?” Bishop Reynolds widened his eyes in surprise and asked hurriedly,

“Who’s Execution?”

A wry smile appeared on John’s face as he pointed his finger towards his chest.

“Mine.”

“What did you do?” Bishop Reynolds turned his face serious and asked.

“I killed a bunch of assassins,” John said and then started explaining everything while skipping some information.

“I’m amazed by your ruthlessness. Although I love to help you, I don’t want to offend Ethan Walker.” Bishop paused for a moment and then added,

“But if you died before paying the debt, I will end up losing 500 gold coins. Moreover, the contract will also go invalid.”

John smiled as he heard Bishop Reynolds’s words.

“Thank you, Father,” John said and stood up from the pew.

After that, he gave a bow towards the Goddess Nira’s statue and walked out of the Life Church.

But soon, his face turned grim as he saw tens of security guards in brown uniforms stood outside the Life Church and held different weapons in their hands.

As soon as they saw him walking out of the Light Church, they started surrounding him and aimed their weapons at him.

Then, a black-haired officer took a step forward and loudly announced.

“Charles Miller, You are under arrest for killing normal citizens. We have multiple witnesses saying that you killed more than 10 citizens in your house.”

‘Charles Miller? It seems Eve done a good job.’ He nodded inwardly and glanced at the officer.

He had wide-set green eyes, an oval face, and thin eyebrows.

‘Green eyes!’ John raised his eyebrows and spoke coldly.

“I indeed killed a few people. But they are not citizens of Riverdale. They are professional killers. I killed them to defend myself. You should have already found out about their real identities, right?”

“But killing someone in this city is still a crime, Charles. Say your useless excuses to the City Lord during your execution.” That black-haired officer responded as a matter of fact.

At that moment, John also noticed a smirk on the officer’s face and furrowed his brows.

“Execution, is it? Are you sure about that? Do you have an authority to execute an apprentice mage?” John let out a cold snort and asked.

“A-Apprentice Mage?!” All the security guards took a step back in anxiety and muttered in unison.

John had already expected their response and smiled.

From Charles’s memories, he learned that Mages were precious treasures in any kingdom.

Moreover, one needs a considerable amount of luck to get any Mage Class gems.

John was very familiar with these types of Class gems.

In the ‘Mystic World’ game, wealthy NPCs would send out multiple quest missions to search for Class gems from the Mystic Towers.

Although the Classes and abilities were totally different, John felt that there must be some link to it. Moreover, there were no Mystic Towers in this strange world.

Instead, 13 Lawful Churches controlled these Class gems all over the continent and monopolized them.

As for where they get these Mystic Gems, no one knew. But few lucky ones would get these ‘Class Gems’ from killing monsters.

Yes, many monsters were lurking in this mystic world, and some of them were very dangerous.

‘But the possibility of getting a ‘Class-Gem’ is very slim like the ‘Mystic World’ Game. There are some similarities between the Mystic World game and this strange world.’ John mused in thoughts.

“You are not a mage! You are still a Classless human.” The black-haired officer quickly snapped out from the shock and spoke in a grim tone.

‘Oh? It seems he knew more about me.’ John shook his head and turned his gaze towards the game interface.

‘1396 Exp! Well, this should be more than enough to flip the situation.’ He shifted his gaze towards the main Class option and started to ponder.

…

[Available Classes for Host: Apprentice Swordsman (300 Exp), Thief (380 Exp), Apprentice Warrior (340 Exp), Learner (120 Exp), Cook (140 Exp) Dancer (100), Teacher (150 Exp) Archer (450 Exp), Killer (400 Exp), Deceiver (250 Exp),… Apprentice Fire Mage (750 Exp), Apprentice Darkness Mage (1000 Exp), etc.,]

…

‘There are only two mage options on this list. It might be due to one’s own elemental affinity.’

‘Although Darkness Mage looks cooler, they have some bad reputation. Not only that, but the strange feeling also wants me to choose Apprentice Fire Mage Class… This feeling is much powerful than before. Darkness Mage or Fire Mage… A tough choice, indeed.’

In this unknown magic world, surviving without relying on external help is almost impossible. I know almost nothing about Darkness Mage class… Was it a curse-related Class? Or, black magic? Shadow magic? Do Churches hate them? Will they burn me in the name of purification if they found out that I become Dark Magician? I can’t bet my life on it… On the other hand, Fire Mage has a good reputation among the masses… Life or gamble… I choose life.’

He hesitated for a moment and selected the ‘Apprentice Fire Mage’ option.

[750 Exp deduced!]

[Apprentice Fire Mage Class obtained!]

[2 Free Attributes Rewarded!]

[+1 Wisdom obtained!]

[10 skill points]

[Spell Book option will be available from now on!]

[You can use Experience points to buy suitable fire spell models!]

[With your current Wisdom, you can construct only one spell model!]

[You have an ‘Inheritance Gift’ in your body]

[Opening the ‘Inheritance Gift’…]

[You have learned a unique ‘Inspect’ skill]

…

Many information about Fire elemental spells appeared in John’s head!

‘I can think faster than before.’ He was surprised and soon widened his eyes as he glanced at the ‘Inheritance Gift’ notification.

‘[Inspect] skill, huh? Not so special, though. Maybe it can evolve in the future? Hmm, Main Class gives me more attribute points. From the information, I have to increase my wisdom if I want to learn more spells. But currently, I need to increase my body strength. Otherwise, I won’t be able to use the full extent of my assassin skills.’ He pondered for a moment and then added one free attribute to the ‘Strength’ and another free attribute to ‘Constitution.’

After that, he shifted his attention to the ‘Spell Book’ option.

[Available Fire Spell models for the Host: Fire Orb (430 Exp), Fire Arrow (250 Exp), Fire Breath (250 Exp), Fire Shield (320 Exp), Flame Body (350 Exp), Flame Jump (540 Exp), Fire Wing (450 Exp), Fire Wisp (240 Exp), Fire Blade (459 Exp), Fire Prism (310 Exp), etc.,]

‘Oh? Do I have to spend Exp again?’ He grunted in dissatisfaction.

‘This is also a tough choice. Should I select [Fire Orb] or [Fire Arrow]? But these all are Rank-1 spells, right? Can a Rank-1 spell kill a Rank-2 Mystic? What if it didn’t? Wouldn’t I be wasting all these exp points? Yes, I can kill multiple Rank-1 Mystics using my assassin skills. So, why should I need to waste it? I should focus on my survival first. Let’s see. If I choose the Fire Wings spell model, I can intimidate these soldiers and even escape in case something bad happens.’ Multiple thoughts whirled in his mind.

He made up his mind in an instant and clicked the ‘Fire Wings’ Spell model.

Within a second, something exploded in his mind, causing him to stumble a little!

Security guards also noticed his strange behavior and gripped their weapons tighter.

“Capture him!” Security Captain Noah roared in excitement.

On the other hand, tens of weird mystical letters emerged in John’s mind and started constructing into a red crystalline hexagon!

No, it was a spell model!

The ‘Fire Wings’ spell model flickered in his mind and began to glow like a raging fire.

‘F*ck! I’m losing focus!’ He also saw a strange timer appeared in the corner of his eyes and got stunned.

‘Constructing spell models take time? 58 seconds?’ He was completely stupefied.

This was completely out of his expectation!

At that moment, the spell model construction also started interrupting his focus!

‘Thankfully, I already made some backup plans. I hope Bishop intervenes when the time comes. Otherwise, I’ve no choice but to escape.’ He thought. 

Meanwhile, Noah and a few other brave guards arrived near to him and yanked his legs. Due to the attack, John lost his balance and fell while staring at the dark-orange sky.

‘Dawn appears! Haa, I feel so tired.’ A heavy sigh came out of his mouth.

The construction process continued in his head, causing him to completely lose focus.

Meanwhile, multiple soldiers attacked him with their fists and made him immobile in two minutes.

Although he struggled a bit, the spell model construction process completely caught him off guard.

But instead of panicking, John curled his lips upward and grinned.

‘Spell model construction is over.’

‘Stats Window.’ He said in his mind.

[Name: Charles Nightwind

Race: Human

Rank: 1 (Common)

Class: Level 1 Apprentice Fire Mage (0/150)

Sub-class: Level 3 Trickster (0/337)

Health Points: 61/61 (Healed)

Exp: 196

Attributes:

Strength- 10

Dexterity- 11

Constitution- 10+1= 11

Wisdom-11+1 = 12

Charisma- 12

SP (Skill Points): 10

AP (Attribute points):

Class spells:

Fire Wings

Sub-class skills:

Trickster’s hand- 20

Clown- 20

Sixth Sense- 50

Unique skills:

Snatch-51

Conceal- 50

Dark Vision- 44

Intermediate Dagger Arts- 50

Inspect- 20]

After checking at the status, he became astounded.

‘I have already upgraded most of my unique skills. But there is one unique skill that I don’t need to upgrade in the future. [Dark Vision] has almost reached its high state. Even if I add more skill points, it will give the same result.’ He nodded inwardly and then shifted his attention to the [Inspect] skill.

After thinking for a moment, he added 10 skill points to the [Inspect] skill. He then looked at the black-haired officer and cast [Inspect] skill on him.

The next instant, a cold glint appeared in John’s deep-set jade eyes.

[Inspect (30) skill has been used…]

[Wisdom Check…]

[Inspect succeeded!]

The black-haired officer’s main information appeared in front of his eyes.

[Name: Noah Moore

Race: Human

Rank: 1 (Common)

Class: Level 4 Soldier (204/506)

Sub-class: None

Health Points: 35/35

Attributes:

Strength- 11

Dexterity- 10

Constitution- 12

Wisdom-10

Charisma- 9

Class skills:

Shadower- 21

Charge-23

Fearless Body-20

Weapon proficiency (Basic melee weapon proficiency)-24

Sub-class Skills: None

Unique Skills: None]

‘Hmm?’ He furrowed his brows and then laid there motionlessly.

‘Prison is not a bad place to take some rest.’ He chuckled inwardly and cooperated with security officer Noah.

Within seconds, Noah cuffed his hands using a handcuff chain and waited for the reinforcement team to arrive.

Meanwhile, Bishop Reynolds also walked out from the Church and became shocked when seeing the scene. He hurriedly went near Hunt and asked with a frown.

“What happened?”

“Father!” Hunt got startled by Bishop Reynolds’s sudden arrival and answered,

“They are arresting him for killing 14 men in his house. Even after I told those security guards about the kidnapping incident, no one listened to me. Charles also said that he became an apprentice mage in panic, but no one took his words seriously. Well, even I knew that kid is lying.”

Bishop Reynolds’s eyes widened as he heard Hunt’s words. The next instant, he turned his gaze towards Charles and cast [True Eyes] skill on him.

A second later, a look of astonishment and shock appeared in his eyes!

‘H-How?! I didn’t see any changes a while ago!’ He mumbled in shock and then widened his eyes as he thought of a possibility.

“Interesting! He must have obtained some skill to fake his information.” He muttered slowly.

“Hunt, don’t worry about his safety. He is playing with these fools.” He patted on Hunt’s shoulder and then added,

“Don’t sneak into City Lord’s mansion often. There are few people already started paying attention to your movements. Your partner Robb also became more suspicious of your movements now.”

“F-Father, what should I do?” Hunt’s face turned pale as he heard Bishop Reynolds’s words.

“Lay low for now. Although City Lord didn’t care about his second wife’s secret affair, we can’t act recklessly. We need Lady Charlotte’s help in this matter. She is the only one who has a more friendly relationship with Target. Also, be careful of Charles. He appears to have changed. We have to keep a low profile for a while. As for getting the A-035 from that place, we will have to make some changes in the original plan.”

Hunt’s body went stiff for a moment and soon he relaxed. Hunt then nodded his head repeatedly and walked away from Bishop Reynolds.

Meanwhile, more security guards and patrol officers arrived near the Life Church entrance and then transported John to the Iron Prison through a horse carriage.