31 The power system is strange

"Have we met before?" Aric couldn't help but say as he didn't understand the hostility of this man.

"No, and I don't care who your father or mother is, or what family you belong to. If you don't buy today, you will be banned forever," the man said. Aric didn't like the attitude at all and was also confused by his violent reaction.

Sadly, there wasn't another runic circle and herbal shop in the whole city, and this was the only one; thus, he couldn't just leave while huffing and puffing.

"Fine, show me runic circles for beginners," Aric replied with a tinge of anger in his voice. Since this guy didn't show him any respect, he wouldn't either. The man stood up from his seat annoyingly and opened a drawer.

He brought out a few parchments of paper and placed them on the table while looking at Aric with eagle eyes, as if Aric might just break into a run. Aric didn't bother with the gaze and just looked at the several pieces of paper.

Cleaning dust Runic circle - 1 gold coin

Spark starter Runic circle - 100 silver coins

Washing clothes Runic circle - 1 gold coin and 50 silver coins

Sharpen Runic Circle - 2 gold coins

....

Aric went through multiple ones and was mesmerized by what he saw. There were different kinds of runic circles that could be used, and these were just the basic ones.

"Uncle, are these all basic? Can I use them as a starter?" Aric asked.

"If you are a poor lad only, then you use these ones as the starting runic circle to learn," the man scoffed.

"Oh! Then what kind of runic circle do the rich people use?" Aric asked.

"Ask your parents or someone from big families," the man said, to which Aric replied.

"I don't have parents with me at the moment," Aric replied with a bit of nostalgia. This was when the man's eyebrows frowned a bit. He looked deeply into Aric's eyes and replied.

"Some families have their own special runic circles, which they have bought, made, or stolen over the years. Some have connections to the schools, and thus, that too helps. You can also buy them in auctions or bigger shops in bigger cities if you have the coins to spare. There is no special effect for being the first runic circle. It depends on your concentration, dedication, will, and focus. Some can't even draw one simple cleaning dust runic circle, while others can draw the first one with a strength runic circle. It differs from people to people," the man said. This was the first time the man was eager to speak and didn't have an annoying tone.

Aric looked at the parchments and started looking through them, and in the end decided to buy the cleaning dust runic circle. There were no offensive runic circles as starters, and thus, he decided to go for a generic one.

He put a gold coin on the counter, which surprised the man.

"I thought you were one of those annoying rich kids who only come here to see and not buy," the man said as he took the gold coin and handed over the parchment.

"Rich kids come and don't buy? That doesn't sound like them," Aric said.

"They only come here in order to look at the circles and try to memorize them, hmph... As if one could memorize these circles with a few looks and then replicate them later. Fat chance," the man said. This was when Aric got the idea that the man was angry with him because he thought Aric was one of those guys.

Aric didn't say any more words and just left. Though he could understand the anger of the man, his lack of respect for his own customers was not something he would overlook. He just stereotyped him with others.

------

He was back at his grandparents' home for his next steps.

Today was the last day of his vacation in this place, as his grandparents would leave for their quarterly medical checkup to Mumbai, and he would need to go back to his parents' place. It was fine with Aric as he had settled down and he wouldn't need to go out of his place for a long period of time.

After dinner, he went to his room after hanging out with his grandparents for an hour or so since they would be leaving. After bolting the door of his guest room, he sat on his bed and tried to calm himself.

This was his moment of truth. According to Albert, every single person of their world had consciousness, which one could access whenever one wanted. It was like a giant sphere where one could look into. The size of the sphere differed from person to person.

Apparently, it was rumored that the size of consciousness was important in the magical career, but he didn't know why. Now, in one's consciousness, one would need to draw using their own thoughts. Once one completed the whole drawing in their consciousness, the drawing would permanently settle down until one actively sought to destroy them in the future in order to make space for future runic circles.

One person's consciousness's ability to hold runic circles was limited and couldn't go beyond. This had nothing to do with the size of their consciousness. There were still many gray areas where Aric had questions about it, but that was all Albert and Tony knew.

After calming himself, he found himself inside his own 'consciousness'. There he could see the two spheres being brightly lit up. He had been here multiple times now and was almost sure that it was his own consciousness.

He looked at the runic circle drawing on the parchment and went back to his consciousness and tried drawing for the first time. A simple circular line suddenly came to life and started to extend on the open space inside the consciousness. He felt surreal as he saw a circle being drawn on the open space which was lit up in bright orange.