The moment Ethan appeared back on the summoning circle he just wanted to sit down for a bit. There was so much going on and he felt like the tutorial and the system in general wanted to overwhelm him. So he tried to break everything down into more manageable pieces of a massive puzzle. So he checked the effects of his new armor set. While lore was interesting he just wanted the benefits of it now so he willed the system to shorten it down

  [Hat of the Wandering Wizard]

  [Gives the wearer a slight increase in casting speed, concentration and mana regeneration]

  [Robe of the Wandering Wizard]

  [Offers a slight protection against physical attacks. Offers a moderate protection against magical attacks.]

  [Boots of the Wandering Wizard]

  [Offers slightly increased movement speed. For a small mana upkeep the wearer will never lose his balance and will always find firm footing]

  [Staff of the Wandering Wizard]

  [Offers a slight increase when used to cast magical attacks. Offers a slight increase in mana regeneration. Can function as a conduit for rituals that involve the casters element]

  Ethan was impressed, while he couldn’t see his mana regeneration he knew that more was always better. The power underneath his skin was pulsing, waiting to be released. Still he had another puzzle piece to focus on. While there was still more to consider he looked at his feet, more precisely the ritual circle under him.

  With a wave he froze the mud that hid most of the circle and lifted it away with a thought, the chunks of it flying into the muddy water of the surrounding swamp. Magic felt so fluid now that he raised a wall around the circle, boxing it in. He looked over the symbols and tried to compare them to anything he knew. While he found the circle interesting he just wanted something different to occupy his mind.

  Sitting down and crossing his legs he studied it in detail, starting from the outside and working his way in. The fine lines, the gentle curves on every symbol. This was the work of a master, that he was sure of but how they did it. Ethan remembered the books he read, about magic and fantasy where large rituals could destroy whole continents or worlds. Next to him he created a blank ice sheet, with some testing he managed to make it white instead of crystal clear. Then he started to write all the symbols down, noted how often each one appeared and tried to find similarities.

  His studies continued for quite some time until he leaned back against the ice wall and just sat there in thought. An old race that he should be responsible for, the man that tried to kill himself and was only saved because of the system. It felt like some kind of sick joke to him that everybody he knew died only to end up alone in the tutorial, feeling like the whole world was against you didn’t inspire confidence in his abilities.

  It made him especially angry because he actually managed it…

  *Update* Skill acquired - [Ritualism(Basic)]

  When he closed his eyes he could see all the runes in front of him, moving around in his thoughts. Some he understood, others still shrouded in mystery. Some basic knowledge was ingrained into him. Like the fact that you could use this kind of runes for every ritual but there are different languages that work better for different rituals.

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  He sighed and stood up, summoning a new ice sheet above the ritual the system made. If he wanted to carve his own path he would fight his way, with ice, with poison and plague and now? He would add rituals to his arsenal.

  With the runes he had in his mind he quickly scratched out a ritual, it was complex but not also crude and clearly the work of an amateur. The anger he felt could be seen in his aggressive movements, each line he drew was a dead enemy in his mind. Finished, he slammed his new staff in the middle of the circle, freezing it in place.

  Taking a step outside he activated his aura at full power, crystals streamed down his face, his tears frozen the moment they appeared. It felt like the world was taking a deep breath when he activated the ritual with his mana. The symbols flared to life and a pale blue light exploded from the runes. He was stronger now, a lot stronger than before the dungeon. Slamming his hands on the circle he gritted his teeth and focused on the staff, his conduit. Blue blood dripped from his mouth, the inside of his cheek was a mess of raw flesh from the bites he inflicted himself.

  His aura got pushed out from the ritual and it expanded, reaching further with each second. It covered the ground, the sky, enveloping everything that was in its reach. Then the frost started, slowly the water froze, chunks of ice drifting on the water, bumping into others to form a large boulder of ice until the water was one solid piece. The ground froze around him, it cracked and broke from the expanding ice.

  The clouds grew bigger and darker, expanding over a large area and then it started to snow, slowly at first but soon the falling snow was so thick that it obscured one's view. Making everything blind that was brave enough to venture inside.

  Ethan gasped and jumped to his feet, his back straight, his eyes wide open from the magic he just used, it was the largest amount of mana he ever used for a spell. While the ritual was simple, just used to expand and strengthen the introduced energy, he never expected such a result. His notifications thought the same, he killed hundreds of tiny monsters that seemed to live deep in the water. They didn’t even give experience so he deactivated those messages.

  Letting the walls crumble around him to take a proper look at his magic, he seemed to have overdone it, his anger fueling most of his magic, but that was gone now. He found a valve for his emotions and his behaviour returned to the cold detachment he felt increasing since his bond with Nora. The snake was silent for a long time now and Ethan was worried she was keeping secrets from him, in her thought he couldn’t feel anything, but he knew something was happening. Still, he didn’t want to pressure her into telling him.

  Grabbing his staff Ethan wanders deeper into the swamp, there were enemies to kill and while he felt the clarity in his mind he still wanted to kill stuff, his anger only subdued for now.

  James watched the explosion of raw power from the distance, something was expanding like a wave and while he was far away he could still feel a cold wind on his body, the stillness, the death it carried was making him gasp. Like a shroud it blankets the whole area into white. From the frozen ground to the heavy snowfall, everything felt…angry.

  He looked back at his small group of cursed undead, how they burned with hate, his own hate. There was someone as angry as he was. But who was that person?

  Another shiver ran down his spine when felt that cold wind again. James turned around and returned to the forest, he would go to the other side of the swamp. Whoever had the power to summon winter over a quarter of the massive swamp couldn’t be normal. His eyes locked onto Marie’s frame, she was also undead but while he could kill his other minions with a thought, she wouldn’t die.

  Her cold fingers touched his cheek and she smiled, needle like teeths digging into her own tattered lips. She couldn’t speak but the small giggle she made every time turned his stomach. She was his real curse, of that, he was absolutely sure