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Chapter 1 - Magic, Monsters & Levels

  Elix turned the page of his book; the sun was shining down through the branches of an old oak tree that he was sitting between the roots of. Reading was an escape for Elix, which, like many, took him away from his everyday life. Outside of helping on the family farm and never leveling up, reading was the most exciting thing he could do. This was mainly down to him being a Level 5 human at G rank.

  People were born and started their life at Level 1, G rank. During a person's life, they would gain experience, which would contribute to them progressing to a new level if they gained the required amount. There were all different ways a person could gain experience—XP for short—and once a person reached a certain level threshold, they would automatically move to the next rank of their existence. Ranks were easy to understand as they started at G rank and progressed up to A rank.The highest ranks playing host to the world's most powerful and influential people.

  The book was titled Magic, Monsters & Levels by Estellion, and it had cost him three weeks of his pay from farming, which was 3 Tethrons—Teth for short. Teth was a magical, non-physical currency that could be traded from person to person or gained from various events out in the world Via the M.i. A person could view their Teth simply by opening their inventory menu.

  Unlike the fantasy worlds without magic that Elix would read about, the people of Arcadion lived with a Magic interface, M.i for short. The M.i has existed since before records began. It has many uses and is woven into the very fabric of the world. The M.i is how people interact with the world, from finding out the details of objects to viewing other people’s levels. There were many uses for the M.i. The main use for the M.i was its synergy with magic cards.

  Arcadion was vast and expansive, but Elix had never left his family's farm, save to go to the local market, and he knew little to nothing about the outside world. Even the books he read were made-up fantasies about other worlds. The book he had just finished reading was some ridiculous story about a being from a non-magical world entering the elevator at his place of work and ending up in a system-run magic world like his.

  Shit, I really need to get transported to a new world and blessed with super O.P. skills, he thought, half-joking but opened one eye to check he was still sitting under the same tree.

  Elix closed his book, leaning back into the large tree, and sighed, rather relaxed and at peace.

  Inventory, he thought to himself. The book that was in his right hand disappeared. Elix could see five square slots in front of himself. He could see a small image of his book, and when he looked at it, a message appeared reading:

  Book, Estellion, Magic, Monsters & Levels.

  Elix sat there pondering the topics he had just read about. He noticed a small white creature rustling around in some shrubs amongst the twisted roots of the tree. He concentrated on the unassuming, white, furry creature. It was roughly the size of the palm of his hand, it had small spikes over its round body, and small pointy ears. Using his inner voice, he spoke the word unveil.

  The moment Elix spoke the word internally, three question marks appeared in a box over the creature's body, slightly glowing blue.

  Damn, he thought to himself as the creature disappeared out of sight into some shrubbery. Unveil was a basic skill anyone could use, and depending on a person's level, they could gain the basic information of most things that they focused on.

  “I really gotta practice more.” He frowned.

  Elix pulled out a small cracker from his inventory, broke it in half, and threw it down to the ground so that it landed just in front of the shrubs where the white creature had hidden itself. The creature poked its nose out of the bush and quickly hurried to the cracker, which it ate in one bite before rushing back to the bush. Elix laughed at the creature as it was visible even though it was doing its best to hide.

  Elix was by no means an overachiever when it came to levels and skills. Most humans at his age would reach Level 10 and would have chosen a class path by now. This would bring with it a plethora of new options as more specified magic cards would be usable. Living on the farm should have gradually leveled him over time, but for some reason, he never seemed to gain levels from the farming tasks he performed. Elix always seemed to manage his tasks with ease, but the lack of levels led to the odd jibe from others his age. He often felt like an outsider choosing to spend his time working on his physical attributes by training with his father.

  A cool breeze made the tree leaves dance as they cast shadows on his face.

  “Crap!” He jumped up and began running in the direction of the farm.

  “Oi, slow down!” an old hermit-looking man shouted after Elix as he ran past, narrowly avoiding a collision.

  The path was winding and made from large cobblestones with patches of green moss between them. There were broken wooden fences and thickets lining the road leading out of the wood until he came to some open, well-tilled fields. Elix reached the farmhouse where his father stood frowning. It was a rickety wooden building that looked like it would not withstand a strong storm.

  “Where have you been, son? You were supposed to repair the east fence today.” Elix’s father was a tall, slim man who had a weathered face with wind-blushed cheeks. His clothes were dirty and very worn, and his brown hair was unkempt.

  “Sorry, Dad, I lost track of time. I'll get it done right now.” Elix knew he had promised to do the repair, so he would. He was like that, always keep your word. That was a lesson that had been taught to him by none other than his father who stood before him.

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  Elix’s father held up his hand, and a card materialized between his fingers. It was the size of a regular playing card. The back glowed with intricate veins like a magic infused circuit board. He moved his hand forward with the card between his forefinger and index finger.

  Elix took the card and looked at its face. The card had an image of a stone hammer on it.

  As he looked at the card, he used Unveil again, and a transparent M.i box appeared over the top of the card's face. The box fit perfectly over the card so that the image on the card was not obscured.

  There was a name written at the top of the M.i box which simply read Stone Hammer. As Elix scanned the card information, he could see that there was a level in the top left corner which was Level 5.

  Elix read the description that the M.i had materialized.

  Stone Hammer: A basic hammer with no attribute. This hammer is ideal for basic menial tasks. Requirements: none.

  Elix took the card and placed it into one of his empty inventory slots, then headed off to the east field to repair the damaged fence. Upon arrival at the fence, he selected the card in his inventory by imagining the card materialising which it then did in his hand. He thought back to the first magic card he had ever used.

  When he was younger, his father had taken him fishing. At this time, he knew about magic cards but had not seen them in person.

  “Son, this world we live in depends on card magic. Let me show you.” Elix’s father took out a card from his pocket. Upon its face was a wooden fishing rod. Elix used Unveil and the name of the card was Wooden Rod. It had a level on it which was 2. Elix stared at the card in wonder. The card’s description appeared in a translucent M.i box above the card. The description read:

  Wooden Rod: A basic rod with no attribute. This rod is great for catching small to medium-sized water-attribute creatures.

  Requirements: none.

  His father held the card between his fingers, and in an instant, faster than the eye could see, a rod appeared in his hand. It was the same rod depicted on the card.

  This was Elix’s earliest memory of card magic, and it had been a fond one. After that day, Elix had become fascinated with card magic. From peering through a window, watching a local baker hold a card and then in the blink of an eye, a mouthwatering cake appear, to seeing a village construction worker throw a card into a clearing and a wooden cabin appear with all its components coming together from out of nowhere, all joining together as if magnetized. What his father had told him was true: Arcadion was a world of magic, card magic.

  Elix sighed as he held his Level 5 hammer. This was a reusable card item that, when summoned, could be returned to its card form and used again in the future. He wished that he had a higher level. Then he may be able to use a more powerful hammer and fix the fence much faster.

  The sun was setting, and it was dusk. Elix often practiced card magic, summoning a trusty wooden staff that his father had gifted him and spending hours learning stances and new ways to swing it around. No matter what he did, the experience he gained never leveled him up. He wanted to find his path in life but his options were very limited which really bummed him out.

  Some others his age had already left the village to seek out adventure or exciting professions, but this seemed to be something he could not achieve. He gained X.P. like everyone else, but when he reached the required amount to advance a level, his X.P. would reset back to zero. Each time this happened, the amount of X.P. needed to advance would increase but he remained at level 5. At Level 10, humans could choose a class path that would enable them to specialize in certain card types, but not Elix—no, he was stuck as a regular person for life his dreams of becoming a Cardmancer nothing but daydreams while he carried out his mundane tasks.

  Elix finally struck the last nail, and as it sunk into the wooden post holding the fence panel in place, he smiled.

  “Take that nail, feel the power of my stone hammer,” Elix laughed in exaggeration.

  The sky was a dark gray color, and an early moon had risen, casting shadows across the fields between Elix and the farmhouse in the distance. It was quiet—too quiet—and Elix felt uneasy. A feeling of anxiousness started to build up in his stomach. He could not explain it or come up with a reason why he felt like this, but his senses were telling him that something was not right. Returning the stone hammer to card form and slipping it into his inventory, he began to walk back to the house. It was two fields away which was not far, but every step he took seemed to feel heavier. There was a strange pressure in the air, and he could feel its effects on his senses.

  “What the hell is this?” Elix let out in shock.

  He was no longer walking towards the house and instead was heading left away from the route he thought he had been taking. What is going on? He began to panic as he felt disoriented. He knew something was wrong—something was seriously wrong—something was there with him. Elix steeled himself, and with what little sense he had, he made off in the direction of the house again. There was now a dense fog obstructing his view, and to make matters worse, he swore he could hear a whisper in the air, faint and nearly inaudible.

  “Who’s out here? Show yourself!” Elix knew running was futile. Something inside him told him that whatever it was, there was no escaping it while he couldn’t even see straight or get his bearings.

  The fog parted, and Elix was at the end of the first field, facing back the way he had come. The clouds broke, and the moonlight lit up the fog-covered field.

  “What the actual fuck is that?” Elix laughed out loud.

  There before him was what could only be described as a skinny zombie cow. The cow was visibly rotting, and its bones were sticking out under its leathery skin. It had glowing red eyes, and its tongue was hanging out of its mouth. Elix stood staring at the disgusting creature, still feeling the presence of its aura.

  He used Unveil—or tried to—but as always, three blank question marks appeared above the cow’s head glowing red. Although the cow looked like it could barely hold itself up and its tongue seemed long and comically drooped down its chin, it was still, after all, some kind of evil monster. With his instincts taking over, Elix took out his stone hammer card and summoned the hammer into his hand.

  A freaking zombie cow. It's a few feet away. If I get close enough to hit it, I could get infected or bitten, or it might touch me with that gross tongue. Elix was thinking fast. Also, what's with this strange aura?

  Suddenly, the fog began to swirl in a circular motion, but this felt different. The air felt lighter as the strange aura of the cow gave way to something entirely new. A figure stood between Elix and the monster.

  From its stature and from what Elix could tell, it was a man—tall and muscular. He was wearing a green hooded cloak, and the hood was up so that none of his features or any other parts of his clothing could be seen.

  Time seemed to drag a little as Elix, the stranger and the monster stood in a circle.

  Great I should have guessed a badass would show up and fight the monster, that's how these things go. I have read enough novels to recognise a gripping fight set up. I hope I get to see some crazy card magic! He thought to himself rather relieved that he was no longer alone.

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