“It’s done. Hold on a moment, let me find that note.”

  After telling the clerk at the desk to “prepare reward #121”, Ornyl took out a page of high-quality, thick and rigid paper, with my name on it.

  That was the aforementioned document, addressed to the Adventurer's Guild itself. On the bottom, it had a large empty square, which the deputy leader stumped with the seal from one of his pockets, before filling one small field and handing me the document.

  Before the clerk even returned, he bid me farewell, citing his lack of time, and left me with the document still in hand.

  “Ehem… for your outstanding contributions in resolving a delicate matter with the potential to grow into a disaster on a larger scale, the Ministry of Internal Security awards you the following:

  Three hundred gold coins, in the form of two Valorian Bank currency cards and 100 coins.

  A personal road toll exemption for two years, to be attuned to your identification token.”

  The clerk’s gaze shifted lower.

  “For your assistance in dealing with the goblin incursion near the Red Pine Forest, including the bounty for all slain goblins, the Ministry awards you 50 gold coins. In addition to the above, the cost of your identification token shall be covered by the Ministry.”

  All in all, the combined worth of those rewards was exactly 400 gold.

  First, here's your money.”

  Without batting an eye, the clerk gave me a heavy pouch, and two relatively thin metal plates, slightly smaller than my palm, each with a small white crystal embedded inside. Each metal plate had a single yellow line, half a centimeter wide, engraved into it.

  “How do I use this?”

  “They can be exchanged for gold at any Valorian Bank branch, or used as-is in certain businesses and high-end establishments.”

  “I see. What about this?”

  I was talking about the small metal cylinder embedded with another crystal, much like Thomas's, which I received from the clerk while he answered my previous question.

  “Right now, this token is inactive.”

  The clerk handed me a verbose document, with my name on top, and a familiar seal at the bottom.

  “Two doors to the right – give it to the mage there, and follow her instructions.”

  ‘So even this was prearranged? Guess the two year permit was the best I could hope for.’

  It was pretty clear the rewards were already decided beforehand. I could reasonably assume that apart from whatever small change the deputy branch leader made, those rewards would be given to me as-is, as long as I passed that interrogation.

  ‘Well, at least my money problems are solved for now.’

  With those thoughts I knocked on the door that had a sign saying “Logistics Wizard – Anne Silver”.

  “Come in!”

  What lay beyond the thick wooden door was a medium-sized office, two of its walls fully occupied by tall metal drawers, one side containing a few shelves with a mix of magical and mechanical looking items on them, and finally, a wide table, with two large document-filled shelves behind it, and an older woman sitting behind it, filling out some form.

  The woman had long black hair, with a few silver streaks, tied in a ponytail behind her back. Her black eyes rose from the document and quickly scanned the newcomer.

  “Did you come for a token?”

  “Yes.”

  “Give me the form.”

  Without delay, I passed the page I received from the clerk earlier.

  The woman slowly scanned the information, before taking out a big scroll.

  The scroll contained a large circle made of strange sigils.

  Within, there were a couple smaller structures, some made purely of sigils as well, some composed of a large sigil surrounded by smaller ones.

  Many of the sigils were encircled by perfectly drawn polygons, sometimes circles, and had straight and curved lines connecting them in an intricate pattern, almost like some alien diagram.

  The ink itself was unusual, too – it had a silvery-blue color, shining strangely under the oil lamp light.

  Inside this diagram, I saw two small empty circles, and one larger empty square.

  “Place your token here.”

  I did as instructed, placing it inside one of the circles.

  The women took out a tiny needle from one of the drawers, along with a small vial. She opened the lid, quickly plunging the needle into what smelled like pure alcohol, and wiped it with a nearby cloth.

  “Put your finger exactly above this circle.”

  Already foreseeing what would come next, I extended my hand to have my thumb pierced by the needle, releasing a few tiny drops of blood onto the parchment. The woman then quickly put a tiny piece of white cloth over my finger, motioning me to pull it away.

  Then, she took the initial document, and began carefully cutting off its bottom section - which, upon my quick glance, seemed to contain some administrative data - and turning the page into a square, one which just so happened to perfectly fit the empty square on the diagram.

  “Hmm… Luskar escapee? I'm surprised they approved an expedited procedure. Anyway, please stand back.”

  I did as instructed, watching the woman, Anne, with unconcealed curiosity. She was too busy to notice, though.

  Suddenly, I felt a strange sensation – like a faint gust of wind passing by, only that there was no wind in this windowless room.

  Instinctively, I closed my eyes and desperately tried to enter a familiar meditative state.

  Within a few seconds, I began to vaguely feel the nearby tides of arcane energy. My ‘vision’ wasn't vivid, having gained the ability less than two days ago.

  I could vaguely feel the Arcane Tides flowing forward, towards where the woman and the large diagram on the table were.

  ‘Wait, this is.. a sense, isn’t it?’

  Driven by burning curiosity, in a desperate attempt to make out what was happening in front of me, I had a certain thought flash through my mind – if this ‘arcane vision’ was a sense, why wouldn't it be affected by my Awareness attribute?

  ‘There is no reason for me not to sense it!’

  Instantly, I began trying to focus on the ‘arcane vision’ the same way I'd focus on my natural senses.

  ‘Not this one… not this one either…’

  It seemed to work on a completely different principle than sight or hearing.

  ‘This.. oh! It's a little better!’

  There were some similarities between ‘arcane vision’ and touch – it was a strange sensation, but trying to feel this flow like it was the extension of my nerves actually worked, to an extent, increasing my ‘vision’ radius and clarity.

  ‘This still feels incomplete.. almost like I'm seeing the world in black-and-white. Wait, could it be?’

  I tried somehow applying a similar principle as I would to smell, and…

  ‘This is so weird.’

  I could sense different currents ‘smelling’ somewhat differently. In my mind, I translated those ‘smells’, which weren't real smells, but felt more like abstract concepts, into vibrant colors.

  ‘I can see it clearly now!’

  The outer circle was already ‘shining’ with the same translucent neutrality present in most ambient arcane particles around me, although the intensity was much higher.

  Half of the inner sigil structures were already lit up, as well.

  ‘Oh! Those seem to convert the neutral arcane energy into a sticky purple one. This one seems to turn it into an observant pearl-white. Then, they connect to the square, which already has an excluding purple line connected to it, and another sticky purple line with a crimson hue…’

  Half of the diagram was already ‘lit up’ by the time I managed to discern it, and the arcane currents quickly moved the complex spell to its conclusion.

  Before I could even fully comprehend most of what I saw, two colourful lines connected to my token, and the sigil ring around it flashed with tangible energy, momentarily sending my ‘arcane vision’ - or rather, surrounding arcane currents - into disarray.

  “It’s done- umm? Did something get in your eyes?”

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

  “Oh, no, it's nothing.”

  I realized I was rubbing my eyes out of instinct, despite my real vision being perfectly fine.

  “Here’s your token. It's now activated, and can be used normally for two years and one week. You are to return to the nearest Ministry branch for evaluation after the two years have passed. They can be found in the central cities of each province, the old capital, and a few border cities. If the token is lost or stolen, report to the nearest branch immediately."

  “Thank you.”

  I took the token from her hand, placing it in one of my two new cases – the one that now housed my main coin pouch, and my newly received currency tokens.

  “You may leave.”

  Seeing me stand there with a hesitant expression, the woman waved her hand, shooing me away, and turning her eyes back to her previous document.

  “Erm… excuse me. Could I ask you something?”

  However, I simply couldn't resist my curiosity.

  The woman looked at me once more. Her gaze now contained less professional courtesy, and more annoyance.

  “If you intended to ask about my looks and surname – yes, I am related to the Silvertons. My family is a distant collateral line. Did I satisfy your curiosity?”

  “Ehh.. what? Silverton.. that's the ruling family, right?”

  I was taken aback by her expression suddenly turning cold, and her voice laced with barely veiled disdain.

  She looked at me with skepticism for a few seconds, until suddenly, her eyes opened in realization, and her hand shot to cover her mouth.

  “Oh! I'm sorry. I forgot you're not from the city…”

  She looked to the side with a glint of embarrassment in her eyes.

  “Why- Is it something that happens alot?”

  “Yes… collateral lines may take the surname ‘Silver’, and my looks match those of the main bloodline.”

  The woman sighed.

  “Nearly every second child of a wealthy merchant or some minor noble that comes here asks me this question. Anyway, what did you wish to ask?”

  Perhaps out of embarrassment for her unwarranted attitude, her tone became warmer and more open.

  “It’s just… you are the second Wizard I've met.”

  “Oh. You're curious about magic?”

  “Actually, I'm more curious about this scroll. It was an enchantment spell, wasn't it?”

  “Hmm… What makes you say that?”

  Her gaze became sharper, and her tone stricter. However, this was not a look of hostility, but rather that of a professor testing his students.

  “For one, it took some attributes from my blood, and that document, and enchanted the token with them, didn't it?”

  “Hoo…”

  A small glimmer of curiosity shone through Anne's eyes, and her lips subtly curved upwards.

  “That is indeed a good observation. Even if it wasn’t hard to guess, given the context, I’ve met many people who wouldn't even think that far.”

  The woman looked at me with contemplation.

  “Your answer implied there was another reason.”

  “Yes. Well, it was due to how this spell looked.”

  “Looked?”

  The woman raised an eyebrow.

  “Erm.. it's hard to find the right words…”

  I took a few seconds to think, then pointed at the now-charred and blurry ink stains on what was once a complex spell diagram.

  “Those glyph circles converted the ambient arcane particles into two.. types. Then they went into the document, and carried out something out of it. That line merged with the sticky purple line that extended from the blood circle, and became something multi-colored that went into the token.”

  “...”

  “The outer sigils activated once it reached it, so I could only assume it imprinted some information from both my blood and the document into the token. That, by definition, sounds like an enchantment.”

  I was so engrossed in trying to remember the exact shapes and colors, as well as their location and activation sequences, that I didn’t even notice when it was that the woman's expression changed.

  By the time I looked at the mage, her eyes were wide open, and even her mouth was slightly agape, until she closed it a second later.

  “You.. you learned [Arcane Meditation]?”

  “Yes… I finished it two days ago.”

  Her brows burrowed, this time in skepticism.

  “You’re telling the truth?”

  “Yes…”

  Under her scrutinizing gaze, I couldn't help but feel like I did something wrong.

  “Close your eyes and activate it again. Then tell me the shapes you see in my hand.”

  “Sure…”

  I closed my eyes, drawing upon the newly-familliarized sensation once more.

  The arcane currents around me flowed slowly, until a few nearby streams suddenly changed direction, moving towards the wizard's palm.

  “What do you see now?”

  “A triangle.”

  “...and now?”

  “A square with a circle inside.”

  “...what about now?”

  “A four sigils around a bigger one at the center. Oh! It turned illuminating yellow. The energy, that is.”

  “...”

  “Now there are different sigils. Four smaller groups of observant pearl-white, surrounding a bigger structure one at the centre, with a large diamond shaped sigil of piercing pearl-white at its core. Now, it looks like some mist is forming around it… Hey!”

  I quickly ducked and moved my arms in front of my face, bracing both my body and mind against a possible attack, as the most shot forward in a blazing-fast concentrated jet.

  However, it curved and hit my chest through my hands. The sensation was the faintest of tingling, however, and I couldn't feel any effect which could be resisted.

  “Oh, sorry! I lost myself for a moment. Still, this is incredible. To actually develop True Arcane Sense at this age, days after grasping the basics…”

  “It’s alri- no, actually, what did you cast?”

  “Ah, I'm really sorry. This was just a simple information gathering spell to test your level of arcane energy. I promise I won't cast any more spells on you without permission.”

  “Fine… what did it show, then?”

  “A pretty good arcane reserve for a newbie. However, this level of comprehension is truly remarkable. Even the best student in my cohort- no, I think the fastest one throughout all my days in the tower took nearly a month to discern energy types.”

  The woman, Anne, took a deep breath.

  “I don't know about your control, strength or finesse, but your talent in arcane perception is truly remarkable.”

  “Umm… thanks. I just had a.. flash of…”

  Before I finished my sentence, a certain name came to mind.

  I quickly brought up my panel, only to find my skills haven't changed, besides the minor increase after yesterday's training.

  ‘I might actually level up [Arc Slash] today. But, more importantly…’

  I opened up the Traits section, intending to re-read the description of [Inspired Creativity], only to find a new addition to said Traits:

  —

  [Arcane Sense (Minor True)]

  Ability to accurately perceive arcane currents in a small area or cone.

  Ability to discern arcane energy essence.

  —

  ‘So… it’s called Arcane sense.’

  The first thing I noticed was that it was the only trait without an Attribute bonus.

  The second thing that surprised me was that it wasn't a Skill – and thus, wouldn't benefit from [Inspired Creativity]’s bonus.

  ‘Well… I guess it could also be regular inspiration. This sense feels like it has some similar parts to the improved senses granted by my Awareness. Although it's hard to put a finger on it…’

  “I apologize once again – I completely forgot. The thing you wanted to ask – it wasn’t just to confirm this was an enchantment scroll, right?”

  Anne's words brought me out of my thoughts.

  “Erm, yes. Actually, my… I suppose I can't really call him a teacher. The wizard who showed me the basics of [Arcane Meditation] isn't around, so I wanted to ask where I can find more books on the basics. Especially enchantments – learning them is extremely important for me.”

  “He taught you the basics of [Arcane Meditation] and just left? My, how utterly irresponsible!”

  I could hear the insult in Anne's voice, as if that Blackwood fellow hurt her very pride as a wizard.

  “Ehem… he had his circumstances.”

  In truth, given that I received that page on his drunken whim, I could only recall him with gratitude.

  Well, Sebastian's father did teach him the basics, but I'd never unlock those memories until I knew what to look for, which could've taken weeks or months. In fact, I might have already stepped on a different Path by then.

  The woman sighed with disappointment, likely directed at her neglectful colleague.

  “There are a few basic books at the Adventurer's Guild library. However, they are truly rudimentary, and not the most efficient source of learning. Hmm…”

  The woman sank into deep thought.

  “How about this – I'll write down the names of two books, as well as important chapters within each one. Once you learn the basics of arcane control, and can cast any cantrip, I will give you a few proper lessons.”

  “I- I'm flattered, but I don't think I can afford such lessons.”

  “Nonsense! I'm a High Mage, working as the logistics Wizard for a Ministry branch. Do you think I lack for money, so much as to squeeze a few hundred gold coins from a talented youth?”

  “I’m probably not even that talanted…”

  “If you disappoint me, I could just stop the lessons. There is nothing for you to lose.”

  “Hmm…”

  In truth, this was an amazing offer. I really wanted to say yes!..

  “I… I might have to leave the city for Valor's End soon. Due to personal circumstances.”

  This statement was true, although the driving force behind the ‘soon’ part was different from the other personal circumstances.

  “I see. Well, if you change your mind, or return here in the future, you can pass me a message via the receptionist. I spend most of my days here now. I'll probably do so until I'm on my deathbed.”

  The woman chuckled at her own dark humor.

  “I’ll write down what I promised, either way. Just a second..”

  She took a clean sheet of paper from under the desk, and used her elegant ink pen to write two book titles, with a few numbered subtitles below each, and even a few short comments beside some of them.

  “There you go.”

  “Thank you very much.”

  “Oh, think nothing of it. It's the joy of us older folks to guide the bright young minds of the future.”

  Feeling my cheeks flash red with embarrassment, I gave her a quick bow, and turned around, intending to leave.

  “By the way… it's pretty annoying that whoever made that report defined you as a ‘Pre-Path Martial Fighter’, when you're clearly a ‘Pre-Path Wizard’, if you haven't stepped on a Path already.”

  The woman sighed.

  “Someone will probably have to update your token soon. So soon after imprinting.. Bah! Such carelessness.”

  Anne clearly felt more comfortable around me now, to complain so casually.

  “Actually, I’ve already stepped on a Path.”

  “Really? That must've been when you finished [Arcane Meditation]. Although… you don't know a single cantrip, right?’

  I turned around, nodding, as her face became more hesitant.

  “Wait… do you know what Path you received?”

  “Yes. There were a few, but I chose the one named Spellblade.”

  Anne’s eyes opened even wider than the first time.

  What if cultivation was engineering?

  Engineer mind + Taoist cultivation + Blacksmith MC

  He died. He glimpsed infinity. Now he's building his way back—with a hammer.

  No shortcuts. Just a nine-year-old forging lightning generators and formations in a dying kingdom.

  ? Daily Updates ? Slow-Burn ? Real Cultivation