“No wonder the success rate with three or four arcanas was so abysmal for this class,” Thorin murmured as a sense of accomplishment coursed through his body and lightened his shoulders. If he didn’t have five arcanas, the slight imbalance could tip the scale, and the rite would’ve failed. But because his five Arcanas kept each other in check and maintained a fragile harmony, especially shouldering the heavier burden, he pulled through.

  The Arcanist class had been a difficult nut to crack, from the requirement of mastering five spells to the lower success rate. But the rewards it gave him were also five-fold. It was all worth it, he punched the air. He was finally an Arcanist, and it opened a lot of doors for him. Though he and his brothers still didn’t know how to do it, he was now capable of learning spells directly from his Arcanas. Not to mention he could also cast fusion spells from now on. How envious he was when Clay and Quin told him about this forte of the class system. He had looked forward to getting his own class that much more.

  “You succeeded, I presume,” Clay said, smiling.

  “He would be sulking and throwing a tantrum right about now if he failed,” Quin said.

  “I’ve never once thrown a tantrum in my life,” Thorin retorted.

  ‘Yeah, right.” Quin chuckled.

  “Alright, alright,” Clay said, interrupting the quibble. “We all have our classes now. We need to make plans accordingly.”

  “I’ll need the fusion spells,” Thorin said. “My spells on their own are too weak. And I also need a weapon.”

  “Same for me,” Quin said. “I still haven’t bought that spell.”

  “Let’s go take a look tomorrow then,” Clay said. “We should have some time before our patrolling shift.”

  “Where’s Byram?” Thorin asked.

  “He went to bed,” Clay said. “The construction work has been quite exhaustive. Even his bulls are down for the day.”

  “I wanted to have a party,” Thorin said then looked at Clay and Quin with a snap. “Ginger ale.”

  The two didn’t have the capacity to argue with his taste anymore. They could only sigh.

  ……

  Though the rewards list from the guild also had an assortment of spells they could buy, their contribution points were after all more precious than the ubiquitous mana shards. Thus, the three cousins headed to their familiar ‘Grandpa’s Spell Shop’ .

  “Morning, grandpa.” Thorin greeted the old man when they reached the shop. “Show us some fusion spells,” he said with sparkles in his eyes.

  The old man chuckled and put a plate with a stack of sandwiches in front of the three. “Eat this first,” he said.

  “Grandpa, how do you always have food ready for us?” Quin asked. “Do you know we are coming?”

  “Don’t ask too much, just eat what you’re given,” the old man said. “You guys completed your class rites?”

  “Yeah,” Thorin said, stuffing a sandwich in his mouth. “Where are the fusion spells? Same aisle?”

  “No, they won't be for you,” the old man said. “What’s available in the market are mostly the popular spells. Unless you have the popular arcanas from the top white stones, you won't have much luck finding fusion spells that suit you. There are so many arcanas. How many combinations do you think you can create? If shops start selling every combination, they won't have any space to shelf them.”

  Thorin deflated at the old man’s comments and even stopped chewing his sandwich. “How do I get the fusion spells then?” he asked with his mouth full.

  “Create them yourself,” the old man said. “Understand the basics of the spell models. Learn how to combine them. Fuse two spells then trim down the excess to make it efficient.” The old man looked at the three brothers who stared at him with curious eyes. “Ten mana shards for the ‘How to fuse spells.’ book.”

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

  “Grandpa, we especially came to your shop to buy spells,” Clay said. “You see, we didn’t even look at the list released by the guild.”

  “Nine mana shards,” the old man said.

  “Grandpa, these sandwiches are really good,” Quin said. “You’re really good at cooking.”

  “Eight shards,” the old man said.

  “Grandpa, we’re really poor,” Thorin implored.

  “Fine,” the old man grumbled. “Seven mana shards, that’s the lowest I can go.”

  “Please do six, grandpa,” Clay said and joined his hands before the old man.

  The old man sighed and shooed them. “Go, take a look inside, bring out what you want to buy. I’ll give you a discount on the overall.”

  The three cousins grinned and raced inside with a couple of sandwiches in their hands.

  “Wipe your hands before you touch the booklets, you brats!” the old man shouted at them.

  ……

  Thorin had come prepared with plans for his fusion spells. So, even if he had to take a different route now with creating them himself, he had an idea of what turns to take. He followed the train of thought and stacked a pile of possible spells he could fuse. For the Paper Arcana, he picked

  and a new spell the old man had added to his collection,

  . For the Temperature Arcana, there wasn’t much choice beside the . For the Death Arcana, there was nothing that interested him. For Space, it was the spell. And for the Potion Arcana, he found a ready-made fusion spell that sat on the shelf collecting dust—.

  Clay and Quin also found their fusion spells on the shelf, saving them the hassle to create one for now. Though they had to learn the method regardless with the future in mind. Clay got , and Quin took . The former was a spell that could shock the target’s mind through their shadow, while the latter was a sustenance spell that would increase the caster’s battle prowess as they received damage in a battle.

  “Did you get everything?” Clay asked Thorin.

  “Should be enough for now,” Thorin said.

  “Let’s go then,” Clay said. “We still have some time. We can take a look at the rewards list and see if there’s any artifacts we can buy.”

  After the old man gave them a good discount, the total cost came down to twenty mana shards. It was well within their budget. So, they paid for the spells and the ‘How to’ book with bright smiles and headed to the merit department of the guild in the market that kept records of their contribution points. They’d patrolled for ten days now. With one contribution point per day, the three cousins had a combined total of thirty points.

  However, when they reached the counter where they were to exchange rewards, the girl manning the desk delivered the bad news. She did so with a sweet smile that cut deep. If they wanted to combine their contribution points into one, they had to transfer it to one person. Because the guild provided them with such facility, it would gobble a huge bite of forty percent from the transfer as a convenience fee. So, if they tried to merge their points, they would lose almost half of it.

  “Black-hearted motherfuckers!” Quin cursed out loud and kicked the stairs when they exited the hall. “We worked hard for that, and they want to eat half of it.”

  “I don’t think we can afford any artifacts for now,” Clay said. “Should we save some more?”

  “Transferring is out of question now,” Thorin said. “We can only continue to save it.”

  “I remember seeing something we can still afford with our points,” Quin said. “I think they were called booster rings. They were five points each.”

  “Should we take a look?” Thorin asked and the two nodded before they went back inside. The girl still smiled at them, though a bit distant and derisive this time. Perhaps she heard what Quin yelled just now.

  “Can we take a look at the list of rewards again, ma’am?” Thorin asked.

  “Of course,” the girl said and handed them a hefty register that thudded on the counter when she let go.

  It contained items that they’d never even heard of, and some that they dreamed of buying. But the cost was beyond their capacity of purchase. In the end, they skimmed the leaves to get an inkling of what was available and landed on the page that detailed the booster rings. It was the simplest form of artifacts. The amplification type spell array inside did only one job, depending on what the ring leaned towards. There were some that increased mana regeneration, some that boosted acuity, while some that increased strength and defense.

  ?