Chương 103: Chapter 064 Please Don’t Blow Up! (Part 1)

(Part 1) Having slept on a mattress-free bed, Jack woke early the next morning, feeling sore.

"At least I'm alive," he muttered as he got out of bed to stretch his aching body. He looked at the time.

"Mom will be up in half an hour… just enough time for a [Fireball] scroll." He spent the next twenty-seven minutes inscribing a scroll with the [Fireball] spell.

"That should be enough for the test," he muttered as he heard his mom heading downstairs to prepare breakfast for herself and his father.

"You want some help, Mom?" Jack asked as he entered the kitchen, where his mother was preparing breakfast.

"Always happy for a little help and company." Anna smiled. They worked together to prepare bacon, eggs, fried tomatoes, and toast for them and Jack's father. William entered the kitchen as breakfast was being served. He gave his wife a kiss on the cheek.

"You're up early, Son?" Jack nodded.

"Not used to a mattress-free bed, but I'll get used to it. Maybe it will toughen me up a bit." His dad smiled.

"That's the spirit, Jack. Did I tell you about my time in the army?" Of course, Jack knew the story, but he shook his head, wanting to hear it again.

"I was in my early twenties," Willian explained.

"I'd been an Apprentice Scribe for only a few months when I was called up to support the King's Army inscribing spell scrolls." Jack smiled as he listened. Interesting, Dad's explaining it a little different ly this time. Hmm… all the minor differences result in a different outcome. His father continued.

"I crafted thousands of spell scrolls. They saved many lives on the frontlines. You don't have to be a warrior or a flashy mage…" He looked at his son with a look of loss. The story about sleeping on a hard floor was lost to the reality of the moment.

"It's alright, Dad." Jack forced a smile.

"I would've been proud to work beside you at the Library, but I can't ignore a vision from the Gods. I had to choose time mage." His pseudo [Rogue's Tongue] skill was working, but what he was saying was mostly true. William nodded.

"No, Son. You can't ignore the Gods… Your mother and I have talked about it, and if we're careful, and I inscribe a few spell scrolls in my spare time, we can cover the first year's tuition." They're so good to me. Jack lowered his gaze, fighting the tightness building in his chest.

"Thanks, Dad. Thanks, Mom. But I don't think I'll need it." He forced confidence into his voice.

"I have a feeling the Gods will find a way for me to attend the Academy." The lie left a bitter taste in his mouth, but there was no safe alternative. Telling them the truth—that he was a level 50 Apprentice Scribe, Novice Archer, Novice Assassin, Novice Blood Mage, and Novice Time Mage—would only invite disaster. At best, panic. At worst, the Inquisition. Secrets and half-truths were the only shield he had left. And beyond the danger, there was something else he couldn't bear to lose.

He wanted a normal life, however fragile the illusion might be. The moment his parents learned their sweet, innocent, sixteen-year-old son had effectively been replaced by the mentally scarred forty-one-year-old man he had become, everything between them would change forever. It would destroy any semblance of normality between them. He couldn't take the risk of not being part of the family.

"The offer's there if you need it." William smiled.

"Let's eat before this gets cold," Anna said.

"Thanks." Jack cut into his breakfast.

"Are you planning on a walk on Sunday, Dad?"

"Yes. Why?" William asked.

"I'd like to tag along if that's alright?" Jack bit down on his first mouthful of bacon. Damn, that's so good. Much better than what the nobles' cooks gave us. His father frowned, looked towards his wife, and then his son.

"You want to go for a long walk?" He looked confused as he again looked at his wife for guidance; Anna shrugged.

"Are you serious?" Same response as last time. Jack wanted to bang his head on the table. I wasn't tha t lazy. Was I?

"Yes," Jack replied.

"I'd like to go on your next hike. Help me keep fit, you know, like you." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Of course." William offered a wide smile.

"You're welcome to tag along anytime… Seven sharp on Sunday's my next hike."

"That sounds fun." He filled his fork with bacon, eggs, and tomatoes.

"Already looking forward to it."

After breakfast, his father went to work, and Jack helped his mother in the kitchen for an hour before grabbing his things and heading out. His destination was the Adventurers Guild. Jack stood in front of one of the Guild's display boards while entering his membership details.

"There, done. I'm a Guild member again." He flipped through the screens for a basic training room to test an idea he'd had.

"Nope. Nope… That's the one. 10 coppers for thirty minutes," he muttered while paying the fee. A few minutes later, he entered Training Room 30c. He looked at the basic room. It consisted of a simple ten-foot square room with no Guild system and no features beyond rune-protected walls. These rooms were designed primarily for two warriors to practice duelling. Jack dropped his pack and bow on the small table near the door and pulled out the eight [Fireball] scrolls he'd inscribed.

He grabbed one of the scrolls, moved to the centre of the room, and placed his right hand on the scroll while holding it as far away from his face as possible. Jack loosened his grip on the scroll so he could drop it.

"Let's see if this works." He narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth in case something went wrong as he willed the pseudo [Fireball] spell into the scroll. Although Jack was a mage, he was only a Novice Time Mage. Only basic mages and fire mages had access to the [Fireball] skill after they reached level 25 and selected the Apprentice Mage or Apprentice Fire Mage class.

That day could be over ten years away, and the Apprentice Time Mage class did not include the [Fireball] skill; one of its main skills was the [Chronos Sphere] skill. Over the next few seconds, he felt his mana reduce as the scroll absorbed the pseudo spell. Jack gritted his teeth. Please don't blow up. Jack breathed a sigh of relief. Hmm… at least it didn't blow up or something.

He'd been concerned the spell scroll runes wouldn't accept the pseudo spell's magic, and he'd fire a pseudo [Fireball] at the wall, or worse, the scroll would absorb the magic and blow up in his face. There were stories of exploding spell scrolls where the wrong skill was pushed into them. He examined the spell scroll. When a spell scroll became imbued with a mage's spell, a small group of runes would change form to indicate the scroll was 'charged' and ready to use.

"Damn. It didn't work." He scratched his head.

"But I felt it absorb my magic?" Jack held the scroll as far away from his face again and willed another pseudo [Fireball] spell into the scroll. Again, he felt his mana reduce. He let out the breath he'd been holding.

"No explosion." He examined the spell scroll again.

"Hell, yeah!" He pumped his fist in the air.

"By the Gods, it worked." He was now holding an imbued [Fireball] spell scroll.

"I should test it." He moved back to the table, holding the [Fireball] scroll in his left hand. He pointed his right hand towards the far wall and willed the [Fireball] through his right hand and said, "Fireball." A [Fireball] flew out of his right palm and hit the far wall. The rune-encoded wall lit up blue as it absorbed the [Fireball].

"Yes! It worked." Jack jumped in the air with joy.

"I can make my own imbued [Fireball] spell scrolls." He grabbed another unimbued [Fireball] scroll and, over the next minute, willed two [Pseudo Mage: Fireball] spells into it.

"This is awesome. I can make an imbued [Fireball] spell scroll in under thirty minutes."

"I just found myself a gold-making machine." Jack smiled as he estimated how much gold he could earn selling fully imbued [Fireball] spell scrolls while attending the Academy. Although [Fireball] scrolls cost 6 silver and 50 coppers each from a merchant, he could make one in under half an hour. If he could sell them direct for 6 silver each, he'd earn 12 silver an hour without leaving the Academy. That compared to 7 silver per unimbued [Chronos Sphere] spell scroll, which took fifty-five minutes to inscribe.

He'd need to craft almost one hundred and sixty-seven [Fireball] spell scrolls each term.

"Just an hour a day and I'll earn over 10 gold each term." Jack nodded.

"I'll easily pay the tuition fees." He smiled, knowing he wasn't going to be a burden on his parents. He imbued the other six [Fireball] spell scrolls, stored three in his pack, and folded the other four scrolls and stored them in his breast pocket. I hope I don't have to use them. He shuddered, recalling the huge swordsman's and Fenton's faces melting. That was awful. Having no more use for the room, he grabbed his gear and headed for the door.

"I wonder how many I can make before I run low on mana?" At around 12 silver profit an hour, he could build up his gold reserves in no time to buy a mage wand and other items. The most likely limiting factor would be his mana. If he spent six hours every day crafting scrolls, could he cast twelve [Pseudo Mage: Fireball] spells and still have enough mana to practice as a Novice Time Mage? He headed back to the main Guild hall.

"On the plus side, imbuing spell scrolls will count towards levelling." Jack froze as he entered the noisy Guild hall. Fuck. It's them. He ducked back into the training rooms' hallway to hide before remembering they didn't know him in this lifetime. He took a deep breath before reentering the Guild hall. At one of the tables, he saw all six of the adventurers who had chased him in the forest. He gripped his dagger in anger. If it weren't for you bastards. The group was laughing and smiling over tankards of ale.

They deserve to die. He took another deep breath to control his anger.

"Move on, Jack. They aren't your problem this time," he muttered as he left the Adventurers Guild without looking back. The streets on the way home felt quieter than usual, but his nerves stayed sharp as he scanned alleys, windows, and rooftops, dreading the sight of the dark inquisitor robes. He didn't have to deal with the murderous adventurers, but he still had to avoid the Inquisition until they hopefully lost interest. As he approached home, he kept a lookout for inquisitors.

Seeing none, he breathed a sigh of relief as he spotted his home. [Assassin's Intuition] triggered.

"Come here, boy." A familiar male voice called.