18 Chapter 18: Zero Tier Spell

Abium's hands and legs appeared more like a fog than a human. Moreover, the darkness that envelope had scared him a little.

In the empty void, Abium also noticed some white clouds scattered in all directions like stars and got curious. Some clouds appeared very far away while a few were hovering around only a few meters away from him. He thought of moving towards one of those clouds which appeared closer to him.

He quickly moved his fog like body towards that white cloud, but after a few minutes, he noticed Something was odd. Soon, his expression changed into a frown in the physical world because even after he tried to move towards the cloud at a fast pace, he felt his foggy form was moving like a snail!

'What the hell is happening here?' He became so frustrated.

The gap between him and the cloud remained the same as before, even after he moved for an hour. But Abium didn't want to give up easily. He clenched his fist and continued to advance. After a long walk, Abium felt that he had been moving towards the cloud for days, and finally, he managed to reach the cloud.

That tiny white cloud was simply floating in that void like a star. When Abium reached out to grab that cloud, it directly absorbed into his body.

Pa!

The next instant, he felt an electric current struck his mind and soon sensed a refreshing feeling.

At the same time, in the real world, he gently opened his eyes and observed everything around him. The surrounding areas inside the room appeared more evident. He also found his thinking ability also had improved a little.

Brilliant sunlight fell on Abium's face brought him back to his senses as he got up from the meditative state and walked towards the window.

Instead of vacant streets, Abium now saw full of peoples in the streets. Many shops and workshops arranged near the roads, and he thought the time should be around nine o clock morning as he gazed at the sun.

'It seems I meditated for a whole night.' Abium thought to himself.

He quickly shifted his gaze to examine his spatial ring to see how much currency he own now.

'only five silver coins?' He shakes his head while pressing his lips together.

These five silver coins were his entire savings from his childhood by doing extra chores.

'I won't be even able to buy a good sword with this money.' Grim expression appeared on Abium's face.

Abium knew that he had to find a way to get a large amount of money not only to participate in that auction but also for many other purposes.

'Well, I have to rely on Helena's money for now.'

After pondering for a while, Abium decided to improve his spirit and then to build zero-tier spells in his mind. Only then, Abium would be able to escape from any dangerous circumstances.

While he was in deep thoughts, he felt multiples eyes locking towards his direction from the outside. His eyes squinted sharper and quickly looked outside through the window with a frown. He saw a few peoples stood near the opposite side of the street stores and observing his room from time to time.

'They are not viscount's lackeys' Frown on his forehead deepened. Abium knew everyone from the viscount's household and could tell these peoples who were observing his room were not from Roseglen city.

'Are they Order of the dead members?' He narrowed his eyes. But he instantly dismissed that very thought because if they were the order of the dead members, then they would have already burned this town to ashes. Also, he could tell they also didn't want to show their origin to the populace and acting more strangely.

'They are somewhat skilled, but not professionals.' Abium thought to himself while nodding his head in understanding.

Shaking his head, Abium slammed the window and walked out of his room and then arrived in front of Helena's room. He carefully knocked on the door twice and waited patiently for her response.

A running footstep could be heard from the inside, and soon a blue eye peeked from the tiny door hole.

"What happened?"

A worried voice echoed from inside, and slowly, Helena opened the door with a nervous look.

"I noticed a few people are observing us from the outside. Do you know who they are?" Abium asked with a frown.

"Ah! Yes. Inn lady also told me that thieves' guild members were up to Something and warned me not to go outside frequently."

'Eh? Then why didn't you tell me anything?'

Abium stared at her a few seconds while opening and closing his mouth, and he let out a heavy sigh.

He also didn't know what to say now because the thieves' guild background itself was mysterious to everyone.

The criminal gang members were the ones who controlled these thieves' guild branches. They mainly involved in activities like information gathering and sometimes thievery. Slum areas and other impoverished areas were under the control of these gangs.

But their main branch was a mystery to even the kingdom's high administrators.

'Why are these thieves guild members keeping an eye on us? Are they linked to the order of the dead?' Doubt arose inside his heart.

He suddenly felt more confused about the situation because of the thieves' guild's activities.

These guild members were mostly individuals who committed more crimes in cities and towns, and not someone he could offend casually.

Abium quickly shook his thoughts and took a book from his ring, then turned his gaze towards Helena.

'Even if they are not targeting us, I need to prepare for the worst situation.'

"Thieves Guild members are observing us means they will likely attack us once we leave this town. But now this town is the safest place for us. Utilize this opportunity and improve your cultivation using this advanced manual."

While listening to his advice, she caught the advanced cultivation manual and gave a puzzled expression.

"I wrote both sword and warrior cultivation techniques. Both are more advanced, and it will help you to improve your strength quickly." Hearing Abium's words, her azure blue eyes widened.

After Abium told her to be careful of the surroundings, he returned to his room and continued to meditate. Meanwhile, Helena also started to read the advanced technique and began to improve her strength using the manual.

…

Two days later, Slum street, Dust gate town.

In the thieves' guild branch office, a few figures were standing in the meeting room while staring at a middle-aged man with a grim expression on their faces. Meanwhile, that middle-aged man stared back at them with a cold look and finally spoke.

"Did you guys found anything about that half elf's background?"

"No, Boss Baines, we already checked about him our thieves' guild record books but couldn't found any information." A tall guy with short black hair responded with a solemn expression.

"That's a problem indeed. So, who is that hooded figure who came here yesterday?" Baines squinted his dark brown eyes and pressed his lips together in frustration. Well, yesterday suddenly a stranger who wore a black hood showed up in front of his office and asked his help to get information about an unknown half-elf. But what made him surprised was, he told Baines that he would give him a sum of 25 white gold coins to finish a job.

'He also asked my help to cause some trouble during their mission in this town. But what are they after? How do I contact them?' Baines felt deeply troubled inside.

"Yes, Boss. After following him stealthily, we found out that he went to Viscount Gauvain's territory." That tall guy paused for a moment and continued. "We also noticed many people are coming to our town." When he finished his word, the room went silent for a few moments.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The sudden knocking sound broke the silence, and Baines asked with an irritated expression.

"Who is it?"

"Boss, Lord Baron's disciple Sir Giles is here to meet you. He said it has Something to do with the Half-elf." Baines's expression suddenly froze when he heard those words. After a short moment, he immediately responded.

"Invite him here-."

Click!

Before he could finish his words, with a clicking sound, the wooden door unlocked and revealed a guy who wore linen clothes with some decorations.

Soon, that guy named Giles walked inside and sat on the chair opposite to Baines.

"Mister Baines, Nice to meet you," Giles said with a wide grin.

"I didn't expect disciple of Baron Auguinare has time to visit this slum area," Baines replied with a sarcastic tone and soon turned his expression serious.

"So, why are you here, Sir Giles?" There was some uneasiness in his tone. Although both would be equally matched in strength, Baines knew Giles was a cowardly snake like him.

'A guy like him is more dangerous.'

"I want you to work together with some friends of mine for a while." Without minding Baines's nervous tone, Giles spoke.

"Who are they? How can I trust them?" Baines's eyes squinted sharper as he asked Giles while observing his facial expression cautiously. But the reply came with silence made him so frustrating.

"What is there for me?" After a long pause, once again, Baines asked another question with the same nervous tone.

"You will get another 25 white golds if you agree with that." The room once again went silent when Giles finished his words.

'25 white gold!' He startled inside. Now, he understood that the guy who came yesterday must have some connection with him.

"Ha! Okay. But can you please tell me why you are all after that half-elf?" Baines didn't understand why many people were after that half-elf. Giles didn't reply. Instead, he stared at vacantly at the window while pondering and finally spoke.

"Well, I don't have any permission to share information with outsiders, but I will make an exception for you." Giles paused while others in the room, including Baines, started to listen carefully.

"It's a distraction to lure out the baron from the fortress." Everyone became puzzled while Baines asked with some interest.

"What's in the fortress?"

"I don't know. But that friend told me it is Something far more valuable than white gold. If he and his comrades succeeded in this mission, he also promised me that he would grant me a noble title." Giles answered with a grin. Meanwhile, Baines startled inside when hearing those answers and sighed.

'So, he is scheming against that old man's back, huh!' Baines got more worried. After some discussion, Giles left that building leaving Baines and his lackeys in a grim expression.

"Boss, is he also plotting something against us?" That same tall guy asked.

"I don't know, but I think something big is going to happen in this town." Baines gave a bitter smile and continued after a short pause.

"But it might also be an opportunity for us."

…

Meanwhile, Abium continued his meditation and entered again in the empty void and absorbed a few more clouds. After a few days, his spirit form started changing and resembled more like a white humanoid figure.

He now capable of moving his spirit form more speedily than before. At the same time, he also felt mana in his body also increased rapidly.

By the end of the sixth day, Abium noticed that his spirit had already reached 2.5 and became overjoyed.

'It's time to construct my first spell model.'

His lips curved upward and formed into a smile.

With a smile, Abium took out the zero tier spells book from his spatial ring and searched for a spell that would be suitable for the current situation. Abium knew he could only be able to construct spells based on his elemental affinity and began to contemplate deeply.

'i have a high affinity to darkness and fire elements and an average affinity to space elements.' He wondered which affinity spell would be suitable for him now.

Every mage could only be able to build up to six spells in their minds for each tier. So Abium's option now was, he could choose two spells from darkness, two spells from fire, and another two spells from space element.

'Hmm, my main weakness is agility and defense. With the current mana, I can use sword arts for attacks, so I don't need that for now.' He thought of choosing a spell that would help in most of the dangerous situations.

He first searched that spellbook and marked a few spells that might help him escape in dangerous situations. First, he picked the spells like Orb of fire, blink, blue flame, mind burn, dark bolt, fears touch, etc.

With those lists of spells, after some analysis, he finally chose 'blink spell' without any hesitation.

Blink spell was a short distance teleport spell used mostly by every mage who had a spatial affinity. Although he only had an average spatial affinity, he thought choosing this spell would benefit him during battles.

Following that, Abium used his spirit power to construct the blink spell model inside his mind. There were a total of twenty rune letters in that blink spell model. Using his spirit, he started to inscribe 20 rune letters inside his mind slowly. It took him nearly 4 hours to completely inscribe those letters inside his mind, and finally, he finished inscribing the last rune letter.

Buzz!

As he finished inscribing that final letter, his surroundings began to vibrate, and the spell model inside his mind flickered. Next instant, many crystalline space elemental energies started to absorb into his body from the surrounding then form a crystalline spell model structure inside his mind.

"Success!" He shouted out loud.

The next moment, Abium transferred the mana from his body to the spell model inside his mind and muttered inwardly.

'Blink!'

The second later, spatial energy appeared around his surroundings and completely warped his whole body. He felt space began to twist, and the next instant, his figure vanished from his room and found himself standing outside his room.

'I finally became an apprentice mage.' Abium was delighted.

After that, he calmly studied the blink spell model and quickly found out how this blink spell works. He found out that this spell mysteriously allows him to shift his body to any point within 20 feet of his current location.

Unlike the other spells, 'blink spell' also enables Abium to choose the exact time of his jump, the correct destination, and the orientation or facing of his choosing.

For example, a mage confronted by an enemy fighter could blink just before the opponent attacked, reappearing directly behind his foe for a back attack.

Once again, he cast a blink spell and found himself inside his room.

At the same time, a light dizziness feeling appeared. Abium quickly checked his body and felt his mana drained a bit.

'Two times is the limit.' He confirmed.

But Abium knew he could be able to cast blink spell multiple times if he continued to increase his mana.

'Azolla, show me the current body status.'

[Name: Abium

Age: 16

Race: Half-elf (???)

Class: Apprentice mage

Health: Normal

Attributes

Strength: 3.4

Agility: 3.4

Vitality: 3.2

Mana: 5.0

Spirit: 2.5

Skills

Master swordsmanship, Intermediate sword aura.

Spells

Zero tier spells: Blink. ]

A blue screen popped up in front of his eyes, and soon, he noticed the changes. He saw his mana already rose to 5, and his spirit also rose to 2.5 and got delighted. From the analysis, he confirmed each time he needs two mana points to cast a spell.

'Also, to maintain a zero tier spell, I need two-spirit power.' A sigh came out of his mouth.

'Hm? With this tiny amount of mana, I can only be able to cast the spell up to two times. But it will help me in any critical situation.' He nodded with a pleased expression. After that, Abium shifted his gaze towards the window and noticed it was still dark outside.

Shaking his head, Abium sat on his bed and waited for the morning sun. After two hours, the sun rose as a canopy of gold, bright amid the blue, bidding the stars to take their nightly rest. As darkness surrenders, every color changes from tinges of charcoal to vibrancy. He simply watched the sunrise vacantly and fell into deep thoughts.

Knock!

Suddenly a knocking sound was heard from outside the door.

"Abi, are you there?" Soon, Helena's voice came from the outside made him woke up from the daze. Abium stood up from the bed, then walked towards the door and quickly opened it.

"Come in." She nodded her head and stepped inside.

Helena dressed as a regular adventurer and also carrying large baggage on her back. Abium could tell just by the look; she had already prepared for their next trip. He shifted his gaze towards the luggage then asked while furrowing his eyebrows.

"What's in the luggage?"

"These are dry loaves of bread and some clothes. I also bought some things for you too, so you don't have to buy them."

She carefully examined his reaction and said with a chuckle.

"I can tell with a simple glance you don't have any money, so I already brought other necessary things."

"Thank you." Abium thanked her and shifted his gaze towards that luggage, and continued.

"Put down that luggage over there. I have a better option." She gave him a questionable gaze but soon let out a sigh and placed that luggage on the floor. Abium nodded his head as he walked towards the large bag and slightly tapped his spatial ring.

Swoosh!

In a blink, Helena saw her bag disappeared from her eyes.

"What are..you- w-where is the luggage? W-what did you do?"

Helena instantly jumped up and almost fell on the floor due to his sudden action. She stared at the floor and then towards his face with her wide-opened azure eyes and took a few steps in panic.

He wanted to scare her a little but didn't anticipate her to be in this much panic. But he didn't have any time to fool around, so he tapped his spatial ring again, then the luggage reappeared.

"It's a magic artifact." He said while pointed his finger towards his spatial ring.

Helena instantly noticed the ring on his forefinger and slowly calmed down. Silently clicked her tongue and started averting her eyes to hide her embarrassment.

"Let's go." With a pleasant smile on his face, Abium said.

Instantly Helena recovered her senses and nodded.

Silently, Abium walked out of the room while Helena followed after him, and both walked out of the forgotten Inn.

But soon, both deeply frowned and gazed at each other.

Because they already noticed multiples eyes were observing them from every direction.

"Ahem...' cough cough' you told me earlier that Watson wouldn't make any trouble for us inside this town, but why do I feel many eyes are following us now?"

An irritating voice came from Helena's mouth. Abium could tell just from her tone she was furious at them.

Abium also thought they wouldn't follow them here, but he didn't anticipate the thieves' guild even dared to watch them this openly. His amber eyes scanned every hostile eye and spoke.

"Something is not right. I don't know why those thieves are following us, but I can guarantee these guys are up to no good." Hearing Abium's words, Helena's expression turned ugly. She suddenly recalled what had happened during the past few days and became anxious inside. These guys were watching her even when she went to buy groceries and clothes. She felt Something was wrong but didn't do anything reckless because of Abium's warning.

Helena now realized the seriousness of the situation and became more vigilant. Slowly both advanced towards the northern gate, and within a few minutes, both found themselves at the entrance gate.

But Abium's face froze as he saw a figure stood in front of them blocking their path.

'Why is he here?'

He was a middle-aged warrior with short black hair stood in front of them. He looked more like a knight than a warrior. He had a long sword on his waist and wore old silver armor. He had an average height, elongated, thick eyebrows, fair skin, and square face.

"Finally, you came out of that Inn! Boy, tell me why the thieves' guild members are after you?"

A majestic voice came from his mouth, and his midnight blue eyes stared at them like daggers.

"We also don't know why they are targeting us, old man. Get out of the way; we have to go."

Helena responded in an irritating tone while Abium instantly bowed towards that old man and answered politely.

"I apologize for my friend's rude words, my lord. But like she said earlier, we also don't have any clue, Lord Baron."

When the Baron heard his words, he was amazed by the half elf's polite speech.

In the last few days, Baron also noticed Something was amiss, and finally, all those clues lead to both of them. At first, he shrugged it off, but when he heard thieves' guild continually watching both of them, he became startled.

Then immediately, he also sent out his men to verify their identity. Within a day, he found out about Helena's history quickly using adventurer's guild.

However, even after using all his information networks, he couldn't be able to find any clue of who this half-elf was.

Meanwhile, Abium had different thoughts running in his mind. He had never seen this Baron face to face in the past life, and only he heard about him a little. Because he knew this Baron would be the first one to die even before the arrival of the chaos era.

His name was Auguinare, governor of Dust gate town. He was a man who served as a second commander of the Peral army and gained the title of noble from being a mere commoner.

Baron won many battles against Wadel kingdom's invasions twenty years ago. And because of his numerous achievements to the kingdom, Margrave Eliot bestowed him the title of Baron to honor his lifetime service, and he became one of his vassals.

"What do you want from us, Lord Baron?"

Helena asked with a nervous tone, which caused Abium to return to his senses.

BOOM!

At the same time, a loud explosion shook the whole town and caused dust to rise in the center of the town. The next moment, everyone's expression changed into shock.

'Alchemic bomb?!' Abium felt a slight change in the atmosphere and instantly confirmed. Soon, everyone shifted their gaze shifted towards the direction where Baron's fortress was located.