Fatebound (1)

"This is not me."

I currently staring upon the water which I think is my reflection.

"Who the hell is this handsome man??"

This stranger's appearance's clearly equal to most male supermodels.

Well-trimmed black hair, dark blue irises like the aurora, and a sculpture-like face.

"Excuse me, would you mind stepping away from my fish pond?"

"Ah, right. Sorry."

Well, I've spent a few minutes looking at my(?) face in a stranger's pond, it's only normal for everyone to give me weird looks.

By everyone, I meant not just human. Elves, Dwarves, Beastmen, etc.

Multiple races you would only see in Fantasy currently walking the streets like it's every day.

"Besides, is that place what I think it is?"

A shop decorated with magical trinkets that looks very shady and a huge sign is written, "Ravencrow".

One of the shops that appears in Fatebound, I remember when the protagonist brings an extremely rare magical item and gains the shop owner's favor.

"This is really bad."

Clearly it's one of those phenomenon.

As a high-schooler myself, I have read this multiple times, but to think it'll actually happen.

"I have to find a way home..."

There's no way I will spend the rest of my life here, what about my family?

Yes, survives and then runs away, the perfect plan!

Do not disturb the storyline, I'll just pretend I never existed and it should be fine, surely!

Now that I have decided my grand final goal, on to doing what is important in the moment.

"Food."

---

"Thankfully this person brings some money with him, or I'll starve and sleep outside for the night."

I have rented a room for one night, good thing an inn was close by.

The interior itself is pretty medieval based; brick wall, wooden furniture, and an oil lamp attached to the wall.

The bed was surprisingly decent, though it is a shame they don't have a bath.

"I suppose this is all you got for the price, it was pretty cheap."

Next, I spend the next few hours trying things up.

If there's one thing that could help me survive and return to my world, it's Magic.

Arcane Forces that is the pillar of power in Fatebound.

If this body didn't have the talent for it, I was thinking of branching into the Forbidden Arts but it looks like there's no need for it.

"2nd tier magic, Protection."

A spell that engulfs the user's body with thin Arcane Barrier, giving them the toughness close to steel.

Looks like this body was used for casting magic, as he is also carrying a sword, perhaps a Spellblade?

I cast 2nd tier spells with ease as if I have the muscle memories for it, but 3rd tier spells seem currently impossible.

But that's good enough, as long as I know magic is not impossible for me, I can use my knowledge of what I read to back up my effort.

I can do this, I will work hard!

...

Starting tomorrow!

This is definitely not a procrastination.

"I need sleep."

Maybe this is all indeed but a dream and I'll wake up in front of my computer.

Who knows.

---

Tomorrow

"Aagghh-!!!"

It hurts, so much.

"Ghhh, Someone help..."

If there are any of you wondering what exactly am I doing, let me enlighten you.

Training!

I know reality can't be so kind to you, as if there's a scenario where everything will suddenly back to normal after you wake up!

So here I am, screaming in pain while lying down on the floor.

Arcane Deficiency.

Is a state where one cast too many spells exceeding their limit capacity, headache, nausea, fast heartbeat, trouble breathing, and pain all over is the effect.

Why am I in such a state?

The reason is to forcibly expand that very Arcane limit I have.

No one in this world yet knows about this method, for until this time Arcane Deficiency was seen as a mere demerit for mages and spellcasters.

In reality, by repeating the process over and over again, the vessel will realize the body needs more capacity for the Arcane and will adapt to survive.

The side effect is, well the pain.

The damn pain.

This method was only legally allowed after the Kingdom found out the common purple grass that grows near the street has an effect to reduce that specific pain caused by Arcane Deficiency.

If not for that, I would be dying.

It was worth collecting those grass even though the people looked at me like I was some kind of weirdo.

Hopefully the wall is soundproof enough, I'm planning to scream in pain for the entire day.

My next plan is to apply to Arcane Academy.

I'm pretty sure you still remember the prologue, so I will skip the explanation.

Basically, that's the best place for me to get stronger and learn the mystery of magic.

There's not a single spell I've read in the book where I can travel through dimensions or world, but it doesn't mean it does not exist.

Even if it doesn't, then I will have to try on creating it myself. For that, I need to be skilled and knowledgeable enough in the expertise.

And that's where lays the problem...the requirements to be accepted in the Academy were ridiculously high, and so was the competition.

If it's not cause of that, I wouldn't do this kind of spartan training.

I will keep spamming protection while holding on to these damn grass, at least for now.

---

The sun set as the sky slowly turns dark, Gerrard, the Captain of the Guards in Rosemount, still clad in his armor, made his way to the guard quarters with a weary gait.

The candles flickered, as more guards entered the room, sighing in relief they could finally go home.

"Good work today too, Captain." The young guard, Cedric, greets him. Followed by everyone in the room.

"Good work for today, everyone." Gerrard replies with a nod.

As everyone prepared to depart, Gerrard stood up and cleared his throat.

"Alright folks, before we wrap things up, there's something important I need to address." The room immediately fell silent.

He continues, "I'm sure you're all aware of the thief prowling the shopping district. Merchants and shopkeepers have reported missing goods, and there are rumors of a shadowy figure slipping into the alleyways at night."

"The Swift Finger Robin?" Cedric asked.

Gerrard approached his desk and picked up a piece of paper, while the others waited expectantly for him to speak.

"Gentlemen, starting tomorrow night, we have received direct orders from Lady Viscountess Leticia Rosemount to initiate an operation to pursue and capture the thief. The thief has managed to steal a valuable possession from a neighboring Baron, Thaddeus Duskwood. Once the night shift guards arrive, I will brief them on this operation. Any questions so far?"

The room erupts in loud chatter after the guard realizes it was a direct order from their very lord.

"Viscountess herself?"

"The same Lady Leticia?"

The panic lasted a few more seconds before Gerrard had to take a step in and raise his voice.

"Silence!"

...

"Lady Leticia has ordered us to make it happen. Rosemount's security shall not be questioned nor doubted by its people. Is that understood?"

The guards looked at their captain with confused expressions, some of them gulping nervously.

"The Baron has confirmed the stolen goods was a treasured magical ring. We have been given a deadline of three nights to capture the thief alive and retrieve the stolen goods before the Baron himself sends out his army to search the city."

As a city centered on trade and its shopping district, any doubt in security would cause many merchants to be reluctant to continue their business, potentially relocating elsewhere. This would cause the city's economy and primary income to crash, taking years to stabilize again.

For Rosemount, reputation is important.

"That is all, dismissed!"