Chapter 13 - Practicing Spell

Alaric reread that journal entry several times. He wanted to be absolutely sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.

"Ruby's sister worked for Vergo? Was she the one he was talking about?"

He kept reading more pages of the journal, and after a few entries, he was certain—it was definitely Vergo's shop.

But suddenly, the writing stopped. That was it. The diary only covered her first week working at the shop.

It was strange. Alaric couldn't understand why she had stopped writing so abruptly.

Still, despite the frustration of not uncovering more, Alaric had discovered something important.

"For now, I'll keep this to myself."

He put the journal back where he'd found it and checked the rest of the bookshelf, hoping to find another piece of the diary—or perhaps a magical tome hidden among the ordinary books. But there was nothing.

Once he realized there was nothing left for him there, Alaric decided to take a nap. There wasn't anything else to do.

Four hours later, Alaric woke up with two extra points added to his total mana thanks to the rest.

[+2 maximum mana]

[2 pages of the book read]

With those two pages, Alaric was starting to learn the next beginner spell—a water orb.

But there were still several pages left before he could truly cast the spell. This was just the beginning.

"No rush. I'll learn that spell tonight," he thought to himself.

He woke up to the sound of Ruby arriving home from her shift at the restaurant. She saw him still lying down.

"Wow, you really do love sleeping," Ruby teased. "Just make sure you don't fall asleep at your new job."

"I know, I know. I don't want to get fired for that. How was your shift?"

Ruby sat down beside him on the bed.

"A bit tiring… but the worst part wasn't the physical exhaustion—it was mental. I just can't stop thinking about Ashley… Poor thing must be going through a lot."

Alaric felt the same way. If it weren't for Ashley, he might not have survived out in the jungle.

"She'll be okay," he said. "Let's give her space and be here for her if she needs anything."

"I think you're right."

Ruby stood up. "Wanna grab something to eat?"

Alaric's stomach was already growling. Of course he accepted.

When he got downstairs, a meal was already waiting. Ruby had made it before waking him.

It was a simple meal—fish cooked on a wood-fired stove, vegetables, and rice. It tasted great. Alaric devoured it happily.

While they were eating, Ruby asked more about the job Alaric had gotten. He did want to keep it secret, since he was trying to dig deeper into Vergo—but it was impossible to hide it from Ruby.

"It's a shop that sells fishing gear and rents out boats. Seems pretty chill, not too physically demanding—just what I needed," Alaric said.

"Sounds like it suits you."

Ruby didn't say anything more, and Alaric used that as a segue.

"Did your sister ever work with you at the restaurant, or was she employed somewhere else?"

"She worked there for a while, but once she started learning magic, she focused more on that and didn't work anywhere anymore. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. For someone who reached her level, she'd probably have to dedicate herself fully to magic studies."

"No doubt. If you want to get strong, you'll probably have to work less eventually too."

Ruby hadn't suspected a thing, which was great. After eating together that evening, she headed upstairs to her room to rest.

She was exhausted—not just from work, but also from everything that had happened.

Alaric, on the other hand, wasn't sleepy and had nothing to do. He decided to go out and practice a bit of magic.

Even though he had memorized the books while he slept, Alaric still needed to practice his spells if he wanted to improve his control and the potency of his magic.

The System helped him a lot—but it didn't work miracles. Alaric still had to put in a minimum amount of effort.

The island had plenty of empty spots with no one around, which made it perfect for practicing without drawing attention.

The guards were already watching Alaric, since he had just randomly shown up on the island. No outsiders ever came here, which made his arrival suspicious.

If they ever caught him practicing spells, they'd want to know even more about him—and that would be a disaster.

As soon as he reached a secluded area of the island, Alaric began practicing his only spell—Fireball.

He chose the ocean as his target. After all, hurling fire into the forest wasn't exactly wise.

Once he focused his mana and mentally shaped the runes for the spell, a small fireball formed in his hand.

The heat was intense, but the mana coursing through his body shielded him from burns. Alaric tossed the fireball toward the sea.

The projectile wasn't particularly fast. Alaric learned something valuable.

"It's best used up close. If I cast it from too far, anyone—or any magical beast—with half-decent reflexes will dodge it."

He knew he could enhance the spell and eventually learn new ones. He was eager to reach the midpoint of the book where stronger spells waited.

He kept training with Fireball. Beyond refining his mastery, Alaric also figured out how much energy the spell consumed and how many casts he could manage before exhaustion hit.

The energy drain wasn't too bad.

"It only really burns through energy if I'm moving around or fighting physically. Practicing while standing still is pretty easy."

Time slipped away as he trained. By the time he looked around, it was deep into the night. Darkness surrounded him.

"Damn," he muttered.

He'd have to trek back through the forest in the dark. Luckily, the spot he'd chosen wasn't far from the city, so he didn't expect to run into any magical beasts.

And he was right—he didn't.

But, as in all worlds and all places, humans were often the real problem.

A group of three hooded men emerged from the forest, intercepting Alaric. They had daggers in hand, and their stares were sinister.