After making the bold promise, Leo left the shack. He went straight to the market to find Trevor. The only way that he could earn that much money was to risk his life and go into Valkyr’s Forest. He went to where Trevor’s stall normally was and saw him sitting there, waiting for customers.
Trevor saw him walking towards him. He smiled and got up to stretch.
“So, you have come back. For more work, I presume?” He said to Leo.
Leo nodded.
“I need 800 Star coins. Do you know how I can earn that much money?” He asked Trevor.
Trevor thought for a while and said, “Yes. But the chance of you doing it without dying is zero.”
Leo’s eyes showed no signs of backing down. Trevor sighed.
“Fine. I don’t need any more Glimmer roots since you got me enough for this week. I already had bought enough for last week from a mercenary. So the only thing you can offer me is an actual herb. Glimmer roots are the most basic herbs. Anything more precious is often guarded by a beast. The herb I am talking about typically only has a normal beast guarding it, but it is still too dangerous for you.” Trevor started explaining the job.
Leo’s eyes lit up when he heard that. However, he quickly realized that he wouldn’t be able to find anything special like that because he was too weak. He would die instantly if he entered the forest. He needed to somehow get stronger quickly.
A thought flashed through his mind. His eyes lit up again.
“Thanks for telling me about this. I will come back with one of those herbs for sure. I will see you in a week.” He said before leaving. He ran back to the shack with all his strength.
The thought that had shot across his mind was that he could learn some magic. Obviously, he couldn’t cast any strong magic with the minuscule amount of magic that he had. However. he could try to gather enough magic to maybe cast a body-strengthening spell on himself. If he could do that, he would be as strong as a grown man. With his flexible and nimble body, he was more of a threat too.
The reason this thought even came to his mind was that when he was thinking about ways to survive the forest to get the herbs, he automatically started remembering about the body-strengthening spell. It was like the tome knew that he needed it and sent it to him.
However, for this to work he would have to devote all his time to gathering magic and practicing the body-strengthening spell. He would have to have no distractions and also devote enough time to go to get the herb.
“Don’t disturb me at all. I am meditating now, but I have a plan to earn the money.” He told Daphne before sitting down. He immediately started meditating.
The next two days passed by very quickly. He had been meditating the entire time. He only took breaks when he was eating. Even when he was ‘sleeping’, he kept gathering magic. The small cloud in his mind had now become larger. It was the size of a house.
The magic lit up a decent chunk of the grass in his mind, and it had effects on him. He could think a little more clearly and he felt like he received a brain boost. He realized that the portion of the grass that lit up would add to the strength of his mind. So if he gathered enough magic, he could become smarter. If he made a star, the effects would definitely be more pronounced.
He knew that he had enough magic. Now he had to start learning how to cast the actual spell. He would have to concentrate on gathering the magic in his body and strengthening it temporarily.
He focused and tried to move the magic in his mind but nothing happened. He tried it again. After a few tries, when he tried it again, he felt a change. His latest try had created a change in his magic. He could feel the magic in his mind trying to break out of his mind, but because his mind wasn’t focusing enough, it wasn’t coming out.
The reason this spell was what was picked was that learning it was incredibly simple and required no qualifications. Every other spell required the user to be at least a 1 Star Mage. This spell only required the mage to possess magic. This spell was the easiest spell that had any combat value to learn. This was because this spell didn’t require as much of a deeper understanding of magic, unlike other spells.
Leo willed the magic in his mind to come out. He gently spread it throughout his body. It almost covered his entire body before dispersing completely. He had lost focus for only a second and the magic completely dispersed.
He tried again, and again. Every time, a small error in concentration dispersed all the magic away. The spell was supposed to be the easiest to learn, but he was having some difficulty with it. After barely resting for three days, he was forcing himself to control the magic. With his state of mind, it was miraculous that he was even awake. As he was trying again, a sudden jolt ran through his body. His eyes closed automatically, and he blacked out.