Absolute Death Game

He held up two fingers, clamping a talisman paper between them, "Thunder Talisman!" he shouted as he flung the talisman forcefully towards the wall ahead.

The talisman paper spun around in the air a couple of times before slowly falling to the ground.

It seemed to have no effect.

He picked up the talisman paper, hesitated for a moment, and stuck it to his forehead: "Ethereal Armor!" — no effect whatsoever.

But he never expected it to be that easy anyway; he wasn't discouraged. Taking the talisman paper back into his hands, he stared at it intently.

"Summon Rune Soldier!" No effect.

"Burst Talisman!" No effect.

"Spirit Armor Skills!" Still no effect.

After all that fuss, not only did he fail to cast any spells, there wasn't even a flicker of light.

(Why is this happening?) Xiao Buli thought somewhat helplessly to himself, yet he didn't give up. Having been a veteran in the gaming world for many years, he wasn't someone to be easily beaten by a little setback. Sometimes, to level up, he could spend over a dozen hours repeatedly grinding and completing quests.

Now that he was trying to learn real magic, his motivation was even stronger, his command over what he could do, even greater.
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But Xiao Buli knew that this sort of thing wasn't something that could be accomplished just by sheer brute force. After experimenting over and over again for more than an hour, he finally stopped, trying to calm his emotions and ponder where he could have gone wrong.

(Do I need to refer to the casting motions from the game?) He recalled the process of casting spells in the game; it seemed that the motions for each spell weren't that different. It probably wasn't a matter of the motions then.

As he pondered, he toyed with a talisman paper. Suddenly, he felt some heat in his hand. Looking down, he was startled to see that the runes on the talisman were glowing red-hot.

Xiao Buli was taken aback, almost instinctively jerking his hand, and the talisman flew out.

Bang! The talisman unexpectedly hit a decorative painting on the wall, shattering the wooden frame into pieces, the paper bursting into flames and sending sparks flying everywhere.

The explosion was like a firecracker going off in the room, buzzing in Xiao Buli's ears. Hurriedly, he grabbed a cup of water from the table to extinguish the fire. Rubbing his buzzing ears, he looked at the mess around the room but couldn't help feeling a surge of ecstasy. It worked! Did it actually work!?

But after the excitement, he fell into confusion. But what did I do just now? To say I did nothing wasn't entirely correct; he had indeed been recalling the spellcasting motions from the game, and it seemed that what had flashed through his mind was indeed the Burst Talisman spell.

Xiao Buli suddenly came to his senses, right, I did nothing.

That night, he hadn't tried to focus his spirit deliberately, nor had he been thinking of casting, he just vaguely wanted the wound on his hand to heal while half-asleep, and then it did. It seemed that the more he tried to focus and force the spellcasting, the less likely he was to succeed.

He had been misled by the films he'd watched and the games he'd played.

Realizing this, he had an inkling of what he should do.

(In simple terms, I shouldn't consciously treat the spell as something miraculous; I should consider it a natural ability I already possess and apply it as naturally as I would speak or write. That should do the trick, right?)

He took a fruit knife and made a small cut on his hand.

Then he clenched his fist and turned on the TV.

He tried not to focus on the pain in his hand, instead watching the incomprehensible program on TV, gradually relaxing his tense nerves. His attention was distracted, the pain still lingering.

"Resurrection Skills," he thought, still mostly attentive to the television, a cool sensation suddenly covering the pain in his hand. He quickly raised his injured hand, and under the enveloping glow of white light, the wound began to rapidly close and heal.

This was the feeling!

He grew even more delighted; it seemed he had found the knack.

He picked up a piece of Talisman Paper and aimed it at a thermos. "Burst!" He didn't chant any spell but simply imagined shattering the bottle. The talisman didn't move; perhaps he was trying too hard.

(But no matter what, it's hard to use a spell I've never used before as if it were a natural ability. I surely can't watch TV every time before casting, right? Perhaps it would be easier if I entered a YY, 'daydreaming', state.)

For Xiao Buli, a realist, daydreaming was rare, but not unheard of. Sometimes, when he watched a classic novel or movie, he would let himself daydream a little.

He turned on his computer and found "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" to watch. Watching Nicholas Cage and his apprentice cast spells, Xiao Buli gradually got the hang of it.

Ion Sphere! He imagined a Lightning Sphere shooting out from his hand. The next moment, the talisman in his hand flickered with pale blue lightning and shot out violently, exploding with a bang on its target and creating a burst of blue sparks—it was a Thunder Talisman.

So cool! Xiao Buli thought to himself.

(It seems as long as I daydream about abilities similar to my own spells, I can easily cast them.)

He continued to test this method of casting spells. Generally, he couldn't succeed every time; it seemed a slight overconcentration or doubt about his ability to cast spells could lead to failure. But as the number of experiments increased, so did his success rate, and he gradually got the hang of the mental state a spellcaster should have.

Later on, he became more casual, quoting various lines from novels and movies he had seen, with scenes from those films constantly flashing in his mind. Paradoxically, this approach significantly improved his spellcasting success rate.

"In the name of Xiao Buli, come forth, Rune Warrior!" He casually tossed a talisman into the air, chanting a spell he made up on the spot. The pattern on the talisman flashed golden light, circled twice in the air, and then dropped to the ground like a brick, exploding into a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, there stood a Talisman Soldier clad in yellow runic paper armor before Xiao Buli.

He touched it; it felt quite solid, reminiscent of a model assembled from plywood.

With a thought from Xiao Buli, the Talisman Soldier moved, feeling a bit like suddenly having a third hand—an extension of his body without any delay. It was awkward at first, but he quickly got used to it.

The sense of superiority and exhilaration that came from wielding supernatural forces was electrifying and captivating. Soon, Xiao Buli had used up all thirty-plus pieces of his Talisman Paper.

Is this the power of spells? Indeed, it's a fascinating feeling. He thought and suddenly, everything went dark before his eyes, he felt a piercing pain shoot through his brain, and he collapsed to the ground.

His head throbbed with pain, and overwhelming fatigue accompanied it. What was going on? Had he overdrawn his mana?

He struggled to get up but felt the world spinning out of control. He panted heavily, his mind racing for solutions.

(That's right, use meditation; the game's meditation can recover mana, so it should work in reality too, right?) He sat down cross-legged, just like in the game, and closed his eyes.

Relax, relax, breathe deeply—yes, just like this.

He tried not to let the pain distract him, letting the fatigue take over his body's control. As his relaxation deepened, Xiao Buli entered a mystical state, half asleep yet half awake, aware of his surroundings but incapable of movement. If he had to describe it, it was a feeling between sleep and awareness, only deeper and clearer.

Time seemed to lose its meaning. He felt like he had meditated for a long time, yet as though it were only moments. When Xiao Buli finally felt no more headache and opened his eyes again, he was surprised to find that it was almost dark outside.

Wow, a four-hour meditation session, much longer than in games, but the effect was very noticeable—all the painful and tired sensations had disappeared.

But the excitement surged back up. At last, he could use spells. Even though they were far from perfect and required extra effort, it was still worth it.

However, as his excitement waned, he became more rational again. Xiao Buli was a pragmatist. As magical as such power was, it didn't match the practical use of a handgun in combat. At least a handgun had a longer range and greater power.

A Burst Talisman had at most the force of a large firecracker, able to injure or maim at best; a Thunder Talisman might shock someone into unconsciousness, but it wouldn't be easy to kill. And the power of an Ice Talisman was even weaker.

And none of the talismans could match the speed of a bullet; a quick enough reaction might even dodge them.

This little trick was nothing compared to the power hidden behind the company; relying on such abilities to break free from the company's control was nothing but a pipe dream.

To truly have the strength to protect oneself, one must learn more powerful spells, and those spells and skills would only be available after advancing to a higher profession—I need to carefully consider which Advanced Profession to choose and come up with an effective plan.

Xiao Buli thought to himself.