Chapter 5: The Contract and the New Path
Every path offered... is a form of bondage...
But for a soul that was once lost...
bondage with a 'destination'... is always better than freedom with no direction.
— From "The Philosophy of the Apprentice"
"Little one... what is your name?"
The question from the man in the fine robe pulled my consciousness back from the dizzying success. I turned to look at my mother... Elena... She still looked just as stunned as I was, but she gathered her wits and answered for me, who was still speechless.
"His name is... Faelix."
"Faelix..." the man repeated my name slowly, his gaze filled with awe and curiosity. "My name is 'Vulcan.' I am the head appraiser of the Ashwood Craftsman's Guild."
[...You have met 'Vulcan', Head of the Craftsman's Guild...]
[...Skill 'Gaze of Structure' has detected something...]
I looked at Vulcan, and the image I saw changed slightly. I could see the "aura of mana" circulating within him, complex and stable. But what was more interesting was the "oak staff" he held... I could see the 'runic circuit' inscribed inside... it was a code more beautiful and intricate than anything I had ever seen. But it had a tiny 'bug'... a point where the flow of mana was impeded by 0.5%, reducing its overall efficiency.
"Lord Vulcan!" the old shopkeeper cried out excitedly. "This boy... he's a genius! He solved the problem with the Astrometer Compass that even you couldn't fix!"
Vulcan nodded slowly, but his eyes remained fixed on me. "I saw... Your understanding of runic structure... is not something a child of this age can possess." He paused for a moment, before making an offer that would change my life forever.
"Faelix... would you be interested in becoming an 'apprentice' of the Craftsman's Guild?"
My mother's eyes widened. "But... but he's only five years old! And his body isn't very strong..."
"I know," Vulcan said. "We will not have him do heavy labor like an adult. But the Guild has a 'library' that houses the greatest collection of texts on mechanics and runes in the kingdom... and a 'laboratory' filled with the finest materials and tools... For a child with such a gift... that is the best playground in the world."
[ New Quest Appeared: 'The Craftsman's Path' ]
[...Accept Vulcan's offer to enter the 'Artisan Apprentice' class...]
[...Reward: Access to the Guild's library and laboratory, Creation EXP +500, ???...]
A library... a laboratory...
For someone like me who needed to "learn" to restore MP... it was an offer I couldn't refuse.
But it also meant... I would have to step out of my safe world... interact with others... and face expectations...
It was then... that my father... Aether... walked out of the Guild building. He saw the whole situation and came to stand beside my mother.
Vulcan turned to my father. "Aether... what do you think? You know well how rare a talent like this is."
My father didn't answer immediately... He knelt down to my eye level. He looked deep into my eyes... not asking "Do you want to go?" but a question far more profound...
"Will that place... make you happy... Faelix?"
It was the first time... someone had asked about my "happiness."
Not my ability... not their expectations... but my happiness...
[...You have received the effect of 'Paternal Understanding'...]
[...The effect of 'The Devouring Shadow' has been temporarily suppressed...]
[...MP restored by 5 points...]
I slowly nodded...
Not because I thought it would bring happiness... but because I knew... this was the "path" that would allow me to continue to survive.
(Two weeks later, at the Craftsman's Guild)
My life had changed completely.
Three days a week... Father would bring me to the Guild in the morning and pick me up in the evening.
My world was no longer just my father and mother... This place was filled with craftsmen who looked at me with a variety of gazes... awe, suspicion, and sometimes, envy.
Vulcan taught me nothing directly... He simply gave me the right to enter the "library" freely.
It was heaven... Thousands of books on mechanical theory, the properties of magical metals, and the fundamentals of runic characters... Every time I opened one and understood...
[...You have learned the 'Theory of Torque Transmission'... INT +1, MP +2...]
[...You have understood the 'Crystal Structure of Orichalcum Ore'... WIS +1, MP +2...]
My MP restored continuously... It made me feel "good"... more energetic than I had ever felt in my entire life.
But the real world always slapped me in the face...
One day... after reading for several hours straight... I felt the "Shadow" begin to creep in.
MP: 312/1000 ...it had dropped significantly from the heavy use of my brain.
I felt exhausted... empty...
I walked over to a storage cabinet and took out a "Low-Grade Mana Restoration Potion"... something the Guild provided for all its members.
I opened the bottle... a pungent herbal smell mixed with a sickly sweet taste wafted out... I forced myself to drink it all in one go.
[...You have used a 'Low-Grade Mana Restoration Potion'...]
[...Your body is incompatible with the potion's ingredients...]
[...MP recovery effect reduced by 90%...]
[...MP restored by 1 point...]
[...You have received the abnormal status: [Nausea] for 10 minutes...]
"Cough... Ugh..."
I choked... A wave of sickness rose up, forcing me to run to a wastebasket to vomit.
Vulcan, who happened to be passing by, saw me and rushed over to check on me.
"Hey! What's wrong, Faelix?"
I wiped my mouth and shook my head. "The potion... it didn't work..."
Vulcan frowned, then looked at me with an even more complex gaze than before.
"I see... Your body... it's too 'special,' isn't it... for better... and for worse."
That day... I learned another new truth...
My talent... and my curse... were inextricably linked.
I had ways to restore my mental power that others did not... but at the same time... I could not use the easiest way that everyone else used.
I... had to find my own path...
The path of one who must repair the world... while still being broken inside.