Scraping the last bit of rice and meat from the pot, the man slammed them onto Arthur's plate, then started packing up.
"Thanks" Arthur thanked the man then walked away. He looked around, seeing all of the kids sitting in groups, obviously leaving him no space. After all, who would want to sit next to a thief?
"Back to the carriage I go" Arthur sighed and went there, sat at the edge and started eating.
[Iron Boar meat consumed..]
[Spiritual Points absorbed (2)]
[Would you like to use (1) Spiritual Point to activate the Magus System?]
A Bright golden paper appeared in front of him, the words looking ancient and odd, his eyes widened as he looked at it, a memory of his past life resurfacing. "I bought an undeciphered golden scripture from a rural village back on earth, I thought it might be worth something, but when I got back to the city, I got hit by that car.. This oddly resembles the paper and letters on that scripture, although now they are written in a language I understand!"
Arthur was shocked, but worrying that the paper might vanish, and never getting this chance again, he accepted.
[...]
[Magus System V1 is activated, congratulations]
[Function available: Status]
[Spiritual Ability: Gluttony (lvl 1)]
"Damn… Is this what they call a golden finger?" Arthur laughed in joy, he knew he finally had something to rely on now, although he had just arrived in this world, with what little memories he received from the boy, he knew that this world was a hierarchical world, where the weak are used and eaten alive.
"Looks like that idiot didn't get away scot free, he got brain damage!" One of the kids in the group spoke out loud, causing others to laugh, Arthur, on the other hand, was already in his own world.
"Status" He muttered, and the golden paper took shape in front of him again.
[Name: Arthur Collins]
[Pathways: Unavailable]
[Spiritual Points: 1]
[Physique: 3]
[Vitality: 2]
[Spirit: 0.3]
[Elements: Fire and Darkness]
"Since when was Darkness an element? And what are Spiritual Points and Spirit? And Pathways might be something similar to a class in a video game, right?" Arthur started muttering to himself, thinking.
After reading the Status window a few times, he decided to close it, then spoke again. "Gluttony" He spoke the word, but nothing appeared in front of him. "Hmm.. Is it because it isn't a function of the system, but an ability? What does it do?"
[Gluttony is an internal ability, allowing the holder to absorb spiritual Points]
"Is that what happened when I ate the meat? Is that my cheat?" Arthur smiled, then asked again. "Since 1 Spiritual energy activated the V1 of the system, does that mean I can only use those points to upgrade the system? Or do they have other uses?" Arthur asked the question to nothing, hoping the golden paper would explain again, even though he was being looked at like a crazy person by the kids, he didn't care, and to his delight, it appeared.
[Spiritual Points can be used to upgrade Pathways and Skills]
"Damn!!" Arthur laughed again. He thought for a minute, then jumped onto the carriage, closing the door behind him.
***
"He really did go insane!" One of the kids spoke.
"A deserving fate for a thief!" Corina, the girl that the previous Arthur tried to steal from, spoke, showing no empathy.
"What was he saying anyways?" Jack, one of the kids that beat Arthur, asked.
"Not sure, he was muttering to himself, probably talking to the voice in his head" The blond boy said, chuckling, his name was Finn.
Finn looked at Corina, seeing her laugh at his joke, and felt glad. He had been pursuing this girl since back at the city, and when they both had Wizard Talent, he was certain that it was fate.
***
"Is the boy ok?" One of the knights guarding the camp asked his friend.
"Don't know, after that beating and the hit on his head, I'm sure he isn't"
"Poor kid"
"Hopefully the lords won't be upset about losing a potential talent.. What a waste!" The man looked towards a large, fancy Wizard's carriage, runes shone on it as it sat there, quietly.
***
"I found it!" Arthur smiled, pulling out a familiar book from his bag. He turned it over, reading the cover. "Soal Kingdom's Knight breathing technique!"
Arthur smiled, sat down, and started reading. Unlike the previous owner, he knew how to read, as he slowly focused on the book, an hour or so passed. He stood up at one point, got into an odd looking posture, and breathed in, then moved again, getting into another posture, slowly breathing out
***
[Pathways: Knight Apprentice (1/10)]
"It actually appeared!" Arthur, covered in sweat, nodded. He had been at this for hours now, and finally got a reaction from the Golden paper. "Add the Spiritual Point into the pathway please!"
[Adding point into Pathway (Knight Apprentice)]
[Pathways: Knight Apprentice (2/10)]
"It.. actually works" Arthur muttered, grinning. "So through food I can gain Spirit Points? Is it specifically Spirit Beast meat only? Or anything with potential Spiritual Energy?" Arthur started thinking, not sure of the exact details, but slowly he would test and discover.
"Status!"
[Name: Arthur Collins]
[Pathways: Knight Apprentice (2/10)]
[Spiritual Energy: 0]
[Physique: 3.2]*
[Vitality: 2]
[Spirit: 0.3]
[Elements: Fire and Darkness]
Looking at his status, Arthur noticed the new Pathway and the small increase in his physique and spoke with a smile. "The idea of progress is addicting.. I should find a way to get my hands on more Spirit Beast meat, as for other sources, I'll figure them out as I go" Arthur then took his bag, and left the carriage, ignoring the stares of the kids, he started walking towards one of the knights.
"Hello sir" He spoke.
"Hey kid, what do you want?" The knight, who was on alert, answered back.
'These must be official knights, beyond the apprentice level' Arthur thought to himself before speaking. "I wish to go bathe in the river nearby, could you please escort me?"
The knights were guards, although the Wizards did not need protection, they needed people to look after the kids, like a glorified, lethal babysitter.
"Now?" The guard said with annoyance. 'I am about to go on break and this kid shows up' the guard thought. "Sure, but make it quick"
Arthur, with the guard's protection, bathed, washing away the sweat from his first knight's breathing techniques training, then quickly changed his clothes, washed the dirty ones, then walked back with the guard and hung his wet clothes on a branch not too far away from the camp.
"Thanks" Arthur said before heading towards the carriage. This was going to be his bed for the day, as in the camp, amongst all of the tents, no one would allow him to sleep near them.
"Dinner is ready!" The same gruff man yelled, and the whole camp moved.
***
Arthur sat at the side of the carriage, his plate in hand, looking at the piece of meat. "I hope I get some Spirit Points from it" He said, but as he was about to take a bite, he saw 4 kids start walking towards him, some held sticks in their hands.
Sigh
Arthur, without a second thought, moved, circling the carriage then sat near the Wizard's carriage, only a few steps away.
"Cowardly bitch!"
"Running away like a little girl"
The boys laughed, they were Finn, Jack, and another 2 kids Arthur didn't bother to learn their names. Not too far away, Corina sat looking at the scene, clicked her tongue, then went back to eating.
***
"I'll need to deal with those 4, and somehow get my hands on 3 Spirit stones" Arthur muttered, looking at the group, before he started eating as well.
[Iron Boar meat consumed..]
[Spiritual Points absorbed (2)]
"Another Iron Boar? Can the 2 points be considered a good amount or not?" Arthur smiled, then put down his now empty plate, and started practicing the Knight's breathing technique. He breathed in, moved, then breathed out, and he continued in that cycle.
'Add 2 points to the knight's Pathway' Arthur thought, and like butter, the points were added to the pathway, and Arthur felt an itchy sensation around his body.
[Name: Arthur Collins]
[Pathways: Knight Apprentice (4/10)]
[Spiritual Energy: 0]
[Physique: 3.4]*
[Vitality: 2.1]
[Spirit: 0.3]
[Elements: Fire and Darkness]
"This is addicting!" Arthur laughed to himself, but his laugh froze as he heard the sound of the carriage door open, the one the Wizards were in.
"You're annoying, go sit somewhere else!" The Witch peaked out and spoke, waving her hand, and just like that, Arthur felt himself getting lifted up by an invisible force that not so gently threw him far away. "Take this and stay away" The witch threw a small bottle, shaped like a pear, at Arthur's feet before she went back inside.
Arthur was annoyed, who wouldn't be? Especially since he came from a world where laws existed, and being treated this way bugged him.
'First the kids, now you, does everyone think I'm a fucking pushover?' He thought that, but didn't say it out loud. He looked at the bottle she threw at him, and picked it up. 'If I throw this thing away, I'm sure the witch would be offended, and I wouldn't know how she might react' He thought, knowing damn well he wasn't even a threat to her.
Arthur sighed, flipping the bottle over, looking for the label on it. "Here it is… Minor Spiritual Potion" He read it, and then froze for a second. "Is this the legendary mana recovery potion?" He thought, looking at the blue liquid inside the bottle.
Arthur then read the small text under the title. "Used to recover a few strings of Spiritual Energy" Arthur didn't know what use the potion was to him right now, other than maybe selling it when he gets to the Academy later to earn the 3 spiritual stones, he couldn't think of anything else. If he used it, it wouldn't have an effect, since he wasn't a Wizard yet, not even an acolyte.
"Would Gluttony work?" Suddenly an idea came to him, which made him freeze for a second. "If it does, then I should get a lot more Points from this than a small piece of meat" Arthur thought. "But if it fails… I would have wasted what might have been my only chance to get into the Academy early without the need to become a servant!"
Arthur, now sitting inside the carriage, had a resolute look in his eyes. "Fuck it!" He said, unplugging the potion and gulping it down.
Ugh
"It tastes like an old water bottle that sat in the sun for too long.." Whatever that meant, Arthur seemed to agree with himself with a nodd. He sat there, and waited.
[Minor Spiritual Potion consumed..]
[Spiritual Points absorbed (86)]
"FUCK YES!" Arthur punched the air, acting like a 14 year old cheerleader. He laughed louder, not caring about anyone. "Let's level up!"
"Add 6 points to the knight pathway" He instructed, and closed his eyes, waiting for the comforting feeling, but what came was a wave of pain. "What the fuck!!"
He felt as if every part of his skin was on fire, burning him alive…
"Damn!" He said, gritting his teeth for a while before the pain finally receded.
[Pathway upgrade..]
[Name: Arthur Collins]
[Pathways: Knight Apprentice I (0/20)]*
[Spiritual Energy: 80]*
[Physique: 4.9]*
[Vitality: 2.7]*
[Spirit: 0.4]*
[Elements: Fire and Darkness]
Seeing his new stats, and the refreshing power coursing through his veins, Arthur felt invincible.. "Most likely an illusion due to the sudden power increase.. But it still feels awesome!"