All Chapters of My Arcane System: Chapter 1
- Chapter 10
18 chapters
Chapter 1: The Bottom of Despair
Kaelen’s life had been a series of disappointments, one crushing blow after another. From the moment he opened his eyes in a world where magic determined everything, he had been cursed with insignificance.He was born into a poor, powerless family in the slums of Altheria, a city ruled by those blessed with magical talent. Every child in the city learned magic from the moment they could speak, but Kaelen… he couldn’t. His spells fizzled, his incantations failed, and every attempt left him humiliated. Even the city beggars mocked him.He remembered the day he tried to cast his first fireball. The entire square had gathered. The wind carried the scent of roasted bread and warm tea from the market stalls, and he had wanted, desperately, to impress the children and adults alike. He closed his eyes, focused every ounce of willpower… and all that came out was a tiny spark that sputtered, fizzled, and died midair.The laughter had been merciless. “Pathetic,” one child snickered. “Why even bo
Chapter 2: The Martyr’s Ledger
The transition from the world of the living to the world of the dead was supposed to be a quiet one. Kaelen had expected a fading light, a final silence, or perhaps a judgment from the gods he had never dared to pray to.Instead, he got a headache.It wasn't a dull ache, but a sharp, rhythmic pulsing that synchronized with a sound—a high-pitched, crystalline ping that echoed inside the cavern of his skull.[Warning: Physical Integrity at 4%.][Warning: Core Temperature dropping below sustainable levels.][Detection: Extreme psychological trauma detected. Converting... Converting...]Kaelen’s eyes snapped open. He wasn't in the afterlife. He was facedown in the muck of the riverbank, his lungs burning as if he had swallowed molten lead. He coughed, a violent, racking sound that forced frigid river water and bile out of his throat. Every muscle in his body felt like it had been shredded and stitched back together with rusted wire.“Stop… coughing…” he wheezed, his voice a broken rasp. H
Chapter 3: The Market of Malice
The gates of Altheria loomed like the jaws of a great stone beast. To the wealthy, they were a grand welcome; to Kaelen, they had always been a reminder of what he was allowed to see but never possess. As he stepped through the threshold, the familiar smells of the city hit him: expensive jasmine perfume from the upper districts clashing with the scent of roasted meat, horse dung, and the damp rot of the slums. Usually, these smells made his stomach churn with envy. Today, they felt like the smell of a battlefield. “Step lively, mortal! You’re walking like a man who has a choice. Remember: your current Agility is ‘Stumbling Toddler.’ If we don’t optimize your gait, we’re wasting potential energy!” Kaelen ignored the System’s chirping, though he could feel the faint, blue glow of the Ledger pulsing in the corner of his eye. He kept his head down, his wet hair matted with river silt, playing the part of the broken boy perfectly. He had to. Every step toward his mother's shack was a
Chapter 4: The Homecoming
The transformation didn't feel like a blessing; it felt like an invasion. Inside the narrow, filth-strewn alley behind the Western Market, Kaelen’s body arched off the cold stones. The [Pseudo-Mana Veins] weren't being woven into his flesh with the gentle grace of a healer’s touch. Instead, the System was using his Despair Points as a corrosive acid, burning new pathways through his nervous system where natural magic should have been. He felt as if someone were threading jagged glass through his arms, his chest, and finally, his brain. “Stay conscious, investor!” the System chirped, its voice vibrating with a new, metallic resonance. “If you pass out now, the veins might settle incorrectly, and you’ll end up with a mana leak in your spleen. Very messy. Very expensive to fix!” Kaelen bit down on his own tongue until the copper taste of blood filled his mouth. He focused on the image of Valen’s boot on his hand. He focused on his mother, gasping for breath in their freezing shack.
Chapter 5: The Market of Dread
The Industrial District of Altheria did not sleep; it merely wheezed. As Kaelen approached, the sky turned from the deep indigo of night to a bruised, sickly orange, lit from below by the eternal fires of the mana-furnaces. Great iron chimneys pierced the fog like the jagged teeth of a titan, belching soot that tasted of sulfur and spent magic. “Warning!” the System chimed, its blue light flickering rapidly. “Atmospheric despair levels are exceeding safe operating parameters for normal humans. Good thing you’re currently a walking trauma-sponge! We’re picking up massive interference from the factory floor. It’s like a buffet that never ends.” Kaelen didn't respond. He adjusted his hood, feeling the weight of the iron rod he’d taken from Jax tucked into his belt. Every step toward the Iron-Lung Factory made the [Pseudo-Mana Veins] along his spine hum with a predatory hunger. To anyone else, the factory was a death sentence. To Kaelen, it was a gold mine. The factory was a fortress
Chapter 6: The Alchemist’s Debt
Kaelen didn't run; he blurred. The streets of the West Ward were a labyrinth of shadow, and for the first time, those shadows felt like home. He ignored the aching protest of his pseudo-veins and the way his lungs burned from the factory soot. In his mind’s eye, a single icon pulsed with a steady, golden light. [Lesser Vitality Draught: 800 DP. Purchase?] Yes, Kaelen commanded. [Transaction Confirmed. Balance: 92 DP.] [Item delivered to ‘System Inventory.’ Please find a quiet place to materialize.] He reached the door of his shack, his hands trembling so violently he almost dropped the latch. Inside, the air was cold—dangerously cold. The small hearth had long since gone out, and the only sound was the shallow, liquid rattle of his mother’s breathing. “Ma?” he whispered, rushing to her bedside. Elena didn't respond. Her skin had taken on a translucent, bluish tint, and her hands were curled into claws against the thin, moth-eaten blanket. “Materialize,” Kaelen whispered. In a
Chapter 7: The Grave of Ambition
The entrance to the Old Ruins was not a door, but a wound. Beneath the foundations of the modern city lay the rotted corpse of the old world. Kaelen stood at the edge of a jagged fissure in the sewer walls, where the brickwork gave way to ancient, cyclopean stone. The air that rose from the depths tasted of ozone and decomposed dreams, but Kaelen didn’t flinch. In the back of his mind, a translucent timer pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat. [Time remaining until Vitality Draught expiration: 58 Hours, 12 Minutes.] The amber glow he had seen in his mother’s veins earlier that morning was already fading in his memory. He had exactly two days and change to find a way into the Academy, or the rattling in her chest would return. He couldn't afford a single wasted step. “Welcome to the basement of history!” the System chirped. “The Old Academy didn't just 'fall.' It imploded during a mana-conduit overload. Thousands of students were vaporized, leaving behind a localized rift. It’s a hi
Chapter 8: The Cost of Admission
The mansions of the Upper District did not merely sit upon the hill; they loomed, glowing with the soft radiance of "Ever-Light" enchantments. Here, the air was filtered through silk-woven screens to remove the soot of the factories below. Kaelen stood in the darkness of the treeline bordering the Valen estate, his breath hitching as he felt the sheer density of mana in the air. To a commoner, this place felt like heaven. To Kaelen’s [Pseudo-Mana Veins], it felt like a pressurized chamber. “Thirty-two hours,” Kaelen whispered, checking the red timer flickering in the corner of his vision. “Correct!” the System chirped. “Statistically speaking, the concentration of ego within that ballroom is 300% higher than the global average. If we don’t walk away with enough points to buy the Academy Secret and your mother’s next dose of stabilizer, I’m filing for bankruptcy. No pressure, investor!” Kaelen checked the [Mask of the Noble] beneath the skin of his throat. It felt like a cold coin
Chapter 9: The Eye of Altheria
The rain in the Upper District didn't feel like the muddy downpour of the slums; it felt like a judgment. Kaelen stood before the North Barracks of the Academy, the massive obsidian walls rising into the storm like the teeth of a sleeping god. In his peripheral vision, the timer was bleeding red. [Time remaining: 4 Hours, 12 Minutes.] “If we don’t clear this trial and get the ‘Entry Bonus’ points within the next four hours,” the System whispered, “the 800 DP stabilizer in your mother’s blood will dissolve. The relapse will be... aggressive. Statistically, her lungs will collapse in six minutes once the rattle starts.” Kaelen tightened his grip on the [Tome of the Forbidden Origin]. “Then we don’t fail.” Following Valen’s forced confession, Kaelen found the drainage grate behind the barracks. He pressed the third stone from the bottom. The iron bars, thick as a man’s leg and glowing with anti-thief runes, let out a low hum and slid upward. [Academy Secret Used: Path of the Scaven
Chapter 10: The Welcoming Ceremony
The Sanguine Spire did not offer the comfort of a home; it offered the cold prestige of a mausoleum. Kaelen sat on the edge of the stiff, velvet bed, his chest still heaving from the sprint across the Academy grounds. In his mind, he saw the confirmation flicker: [Delivery Successful. Elena Stabilized.] He had bought her five more days. One hundred and twenty hours of stolen breath. But the cost had been high—not just in points, but in the target now painted on his back. The "Divine" signature he’d forced the Eye to project was a beacon that every predator in this Spire could see. The knock at the door wasn't the polite rap of a guest. It was the rhythmic, heavy thumping of someone who owned the hallway. “Our first customers!” the System whispered. “And judging by the mana-signatures, they’ve brought friends. It’s a group-buy on humiliation! Let’s set the opening price.” Kaelen didn't stand. He remained seated, the Fundamentals of Arcane Supremacy open on his lap. He didn't turn