4 Zoroaster's Sorcery Manual

[ Programmer Mage

Currently unlocked:

-Small Variable 1x

-Ada's Basic Programming Manual

-Zoroaster's Sorcery Manual (Apprentice Version) ]

Aster looked at his new option in intrigue.

"One Variable? Does that mean that there are more to unlock?"

"What else is there? Programming and Sorcery manuals?" 

Aster felt elated. "It really is a sorcery manual!"

"The programming one may be useful, but it's useless if I'm dead before it." He decided to take a look at it later. 

"Programmers are a dying profession that is barely scraping by. Nowadays, AI is doing most of the job. Dungeon dwellers took over."

Aster's homeworld was invaded by portals, out of which appeared monsters. No returnee was recorded to date, which meant that entering the portals was a one-way ticket.

That was how Aster appeared in the cursed world. A portal randomly opened in front of him, and he accidentally entered.

"System, open Zoroaster's Sorcery Manual." He ordered the System in anticipation.

[ Zoroaster's Sorcery Manual (Apprentice Version)

Chapter 0 - Introduction

"What is magic? Is it the force that controls nature? Is it the mysterious power that rules the world? Is it a blessing that the gods had gifted the humanity?"

"Nay!"

"Magic is life!"

"And you, my dear reader, will slowly start to understand that Magic."

"Before we begin, let me introduce the rules of the magic world to you."

"Rule 1. Magic is creation. It is the father of everything. All mages must be creative, and all mages must respect magic."

"Rule 2. Every official mage must be registered at a magic tower."

"Rule 3... actually, who cares. You probably already know all those. I'll just skip to my rule."

"Hunt down every member of Transcended faction."

"I hope you will become a respectful Mage and won't sully my name. I really do. I need that reputation, or those geezers won't let me drink!"

Chapter 1 - What is Magic

"Btw, I forgot to welcome you. So, welcome to the great Sorcerer, Zoroaster's manual on how to learn magic."

"Anyway, I don't wanna waste too much space. The buyers will kill me if all they see are my ramblings."

"Magic is... everything."

"Let me explain."

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Aster read Zoroaster's introduction to magic with zealous eyes.

Sometimes, he chuckled. Sometimes, he reread several times just to make sure he understood. And sometimes, he was in awe at the truth of the magic.

"What a wonderful world." He couldn't help but comment.

At the bottom of the chapter were three spells and a cultivation manual.

'Zoroaster's Way Of Magic' was the name of the manual.

With excitement, Aster carefully studied the manual.

Then, after a few hours, when he felt like he completely remembered the contents, he closed his eyes.

The first step inside the manual was simple but complicated.

It was to sense mana, the mystical force that allowed one to cast spells.

The way of sensing mana was really simple. One just needed to concentrate hard enough and imagine it.

Once they had a clear image, they would be able to sense it. From then on, they would be able to sense mana.

The difficulty lay in the fact that mana could only be imagined through words.

If one wasn't creative enough, they would never be able to imagine it.

And so, Aster spent hours imagining it.

And hours more.

He felt drained both mentally and physically.

Until, finally, he had managed to think of a proper image just before sleeping.

'Thankfully, I have my own room. Otherwise, it'd be impossible to concentrate.' He thought tiredly before falling asleep.

For the first time in his life, he was thankful for his hellish childhood. It allowed him to be so daring to explore, which allowed him to learn magic.

The next morning, Aster woke up tired. He felt as if he almost didn't get any sleep at all.

'Huh?' He looked around him.

"Everything looks the same, but something feels different." He murmured, looking around warily.

Many things around him suddenly felt different. 'They feel more alive is the best explanation I can think of.'

Taking his knife, he left his room cautiously.

Once he was out, he looked to the side, noticing many survivors feeling more alive as well.

"This..." Aster blinked twice before opening his eyes wide. "I can feel mana."

"Does that mean that my room has many things filled with mana?" He shivered. 'I need to move out or deal with them as soon as possible!'

At that moment, he suddenly felt a presence approaching. It was much stronger than the rest of the survivors.

It was Cecil.

"Hey Cecil, how are you?" Aster asked with an awkward smile. 'She won't do another test, right?'

"Hi." She greeted Aster with a monotone voice. "Come, let's meet with others."

"Sure." He complied, following Cecil.

'The atmosphere among the survivors is divided again.' Aster observed. 'Cecil really only likes certain people. The people she considers kind.'

Most of the survivors looked gloomy. Some looked like they didn't care, while others bowed their heads down.

'Not one of them dares to look her in the eyes, though. Only the ones she cares about.' He almost felt like chuckling.

Although he didn't think that Cecil judged their character properly, he understood her motives.

"Why did you beat me up yesterday?" He asked her. 'Let's first deal with the awkward silence.'

"It was fun." She replied with a small smirk.

"You aren't going to deny it?" Aster felt like a fool.

"Nope. I'm not going to." He could almost hear her voice sounding cheerful. Almost.

"Alright. Thanks for beating me up." He grumpily said. "What is the goal of this joint exploration?"

Cecil glanced to the side, noticing the poor survivors.

"Nyle fought the first boss," Cecil said.

"First boss?" Aster asked.

"Ah, I forgot. You are new here. The first boss is the name of the monster that guarded a door that led to the secret passages."

"Nyle tested its strength. Now, he wants us all to beat it. Afterward, we'll decide how to proceed." Cecil explained.

"So it's a boss fight?" Aster felt scared and excited at the same time. He had watched professional gamers fight boss monsters, and it looked really fun.

"No, it's a warm-up." Cecil's tone became cold. "After all, there's a traitor among us. The real boss."