The Mage Guild
Ardale City is one of the four major cities in the Hardenia Kingdom. It was a city in the southwest.
Ardale had a much larger player population than the beginner village. Players from hundreds of villages were dispatched to this location.
The city is basically split into four sections.
The Governor's administration, the noble's state, the commercial district, and the commoner's residence area.
The city was thriving, as evidenced by the lively atmosphere early in the morning.
People were arriving and departing as they moved through the main streets, which were bustling with noise and excitement.
Ethan took his time admiring his surroundings.
He yearned for this kind of feeling.
In his previous life as a guild captain, whenever he finished a task outside, he would simply stay in his large guild residence rather than taking a break in this type of place.
Many races that passed by were reflected in Ethan's eyes. Players were mixed within the crowd of NPC as they carried out their respective tasks.
He was unsure of the average level of the players at this time of the game.
But because the game has been running for two weeks, he estimates it to be between LVL 9 and 10.
Above these levels, the leveling speed would significantly slow down. The reason for this is the large amount of experience needed to level up.
After a while, Ethan had enough of the sightseeing and began to walk away from his position.
"This quest, uh, let's set it aside for the time being."
Ethan ignores the unique quest he received.
'For now, let's accomplish step one.'
He thought as his feet carried him to the city's commercial district.
If he had to describe this part of the city, he would describe it in a single word.
Noisy!
The bustling trade, as well as the players yelling for recruits, kept the place buzzing with life.
Ethan quietly moved on the side of the street while occasionally glancing around.
"Mm-hm, it's here."
After walking for a while, he found a large building made of stone.
Above its door, there was a signboard etched with a staff and book symbol.
This place is the Mage Guild branched in Ardale city.
The Mage Guild is a union of titled mage professionals. They either sell items or accept missions as long as these requests were related to magic.
Usually, players who recently graduated from the beginner village would most likely go to the market shops and buy their gear.
But for Ethan, it's not important how novice his gears right now.
Aside from not expecting to buy an excellent item at two silvers, he also had a purpose of coming straight to the Mage Guild.
Ethan, after confirming the place, unequipped his hat as he open the door and quietly strode forward.
The interior of the guild was well-organized; there was a large notice board and chairs for people waiting in the reception hall. Different names were written in each reception window, which appears to be professions under the mage category.
Right away, he found his goal among the receptions.
The word "Cursemancer" was written above its window.
After a minute or two, his turn came.
"Purpose?"
Asked the elf receptionist who was still in the middle of arranging the stuff on her table.
"I wanted to purchase basic curse sheets."
Ethan replied and the receptionist raise her head upon hearing his request. She fixed her eyeglasses between her brows and quietly scanned Ethan.
"Hmm, there is no trace of curse in you. Are you sure you're a Cursemancer?" Helena, the elf over the counter asked.
'As expected.'
Ethan immediately thought.
Certainly, just hiding his pointed hat is not enough to deceive her.
Every receptionist in this guild is also professional in their respective field. And the eyeglasses that this woman is wearing are not ordinary either.
He guessed it was an accessory being artifice to detect traces of curse.
It was an important accessory for Cursemancers since some of them had a rule of not selling or giving their curse sheets to others who do not practice curses.
To obtain the said sheet, one would need to become a Cursemancer's apprentice or simply learn how to cast a curse.
But Ethan has no curse spell right now.
'Fortunately, I still have a way.'
Ethan cast a smile and presented a mana crystal on the reception table.
"I'm a new apprentice hence I am yet to perform a curse. But I can prove to you that I am a Cursemancer." Ethan said.
"Oh, a mana crystal? Are you going to make a curse catalyst? Then show it to me, mister," urged Helena.
After receiving the permission, Ethan pointed both of his index fingers at the mana crystal and begin to concentrate.
Spirit began to flow.
As if sharp a needle, it pierces through inside the crystal.
Like roots that started to grow, the white energy in both of his index fingers scattered and began to cover the whole crystal.
'Concentrate...generate...twist the flow of spirit...'
Ethan recited in his head.
Making a curse catalyst was usually done by Cursemancers and Warlocks.
However, because he is neither of the two, he must use force to carry it out.
This method is called Inverse Refining.
It was a new extraction technique discovered when Utopia entered its fifth anniversary.
Inverse refining is a process that preserves the material body or vessel while extracting the body's attributes rather than refining the material by removing the 'waste' properties.
In the case of the mana crystal, Ethan was extracting its mana and other attributes by forcibly injecting his spirit into the crystal's body.
Because the method appears to be similar to the catalyst creation of Cursemancers, Helena only gave a casual look while Ethan was already sweating profusely.
[Warning! Further excessive use of spirit would lead to Spirit Drain!]
Ignoring the warning, Ethan continuously injects spirit into the crystal.
Inverse Refining has a clear disadvantage. It was a very crude and forceful method. Hence the reason why it was not widely practiced in his previous life.
It can cause a status effect of
[Warning! You have been subjected to
A warning flashes through his vision, but even so, Ethan continues to do his task.
A split second later, the raw mana disappears completely inside the crystal, leaving only its clear and naked body on the table.
Ding!
[You have crafted an uncommon material!]
[Obtained Focus +3, Cognition +2]
[Obtained 300 exp!]
'Ah, I almost forgot about these rewards.'
Ethan, a bit astonished, thought to himself as he saw the notifications.
He gains two substats at the same time.
Focus is a substat of DEXTERITY, while Cognition is a substat of INTELLIGENCE.
Both are related to each other since they can impact the player's ability to learn and perform a task.
Furthermore, Ethan felt his concentration has increased than before. Most likely because his Focus has risen to 11 points.
While Ethan was inspecting his stats, Helena examined the empty crystal.
"Hmm, certainly, it's a catalyst," Helena said.
"But it's only a catalyst. It's not a curse catalyst, though," she continues, shifting her gaze to Ethan as she adjusted her glasses.
"I—"
Ethan was about to give a reason but was interrupted by Helena, who was now wearing a smile.
"It's a joke; you're new, so I understand, also this is my first time seeing such a clean catalyst."
Helena picks up the crystal and examines it once more.
"My dear customer, can I trade this crystal for ten sheets?"
Helena inquired, as she expectantly gazed at Ethan.
'Eh?'
After hearing her request, Ethan, who had planned to exchange the crystal for only 5 basic curse sheets, was slightly taken aback.
He recalls that basic curse sheets cost at least 50 coppers.
So, by selling the crystal and using his two silver coins, he expected to get only ten of them.
But who would have guessed that this overly serious receptionist would be so generous?
'Luck is a hidden attribute.'
Ethan remarked jokingly.
However... Since it becomes like this, he'll take advantage of this opportunity.
"How about 15 sheets? As you can see, I used a little technique when making that catalyst," he said with a convincing smile but Helena shake her head.
"No can do. For starters, this type of crystal catalyst only costs one silver at most, so 15 sheets is a bit..."
"Are you sure you're not interested in the secret technique that made this catalyst so clean?"
Ethan did not back down, instead adopting a more persuasive tone of voice, while Helena appears troubled after hearing what he said.
She took a few moments to respond again. She sighs as she adjusts her eyeglass and takes a serious look at Ethan.
"...all right, I'll trade it for fifteen sheets."
She eventually gives up and goes to rummage her table cabinet. She handed fifteen blank white papers to Ethan.
They were the basic curse sheets he requested.
After inspecting the item, Ethan thanks Helena and immediately leaves the mage guild.