The Greatest Sinner

Evan paid for the rent, the girl thanked him and went away. Before she left, she had given Evan a small, blue locket that was the key to the house. Since the house was adapted for magicians, it was equipped with a magical barrier. Without the locket, it was impossible to get inside.

Evan examined it and moved toward the entrance.

Click.

Applying the locket, he opened the front door and got through the barrier without any problems. On his way to the building Evan reflected on the money he had just spent.

<Marcel gave me 500 gold coins for nothing. With that money, anyone could live for several years without denying himself anything. I wonder if Marcel is the only one that's that rich, or if every magician in this world has that kind of money>

Evan was once again convinced that money was an important factor in a magician's life. How can you become great if you don't even have money for a roof over your head?

There was a simple, but beautiful garden around the house, Evan had rented. The building itself wasn't particularly remarkable: a wooden frame and a red tile roof. Simple and cozy, just the right thing.

Click.

Evan stepped inside and took a quick look around - a kitchen, a bathroom, and a bedroom, nothing else needed. However, Evan wouldn't have rented this house if it was that simple. Obviously, three small rooms just weren't enough for experimentation or training.

He`d chose this house for one reason- the contract stated that there was an underground laboratory there. Evan didn`t expect anything supernatural, but since this house was meant for magicians, he shouldn't be disappointed. After all, this would be his first such experience in this world, so he didn't need much.

Step. Step. Step.

Without staying long on the first floor, Evan headed down the long wooden stairs. Every time he stepped on a step, there was a creaking sound, that spoke volumes about the age of the house.

Click.

The young man unlocked the heavy, iron door and saw the coveted lab.

"Hmm, not bad, not bad at all." Evan muttered slowly.

The lab was a vast room most of which was designed to test the spells. The far side of the lab was full of deep cuts, blast and fire marks, and other miscellaneous damage.

Evan wasn`t the first person to be here. And it was obvious, because many magicians traveled to learn more about the world around. Houses like this were a great temporary solution for them.

The walls of the lab were made of very strong and stable stone. The smaller and most important part of the lab didn't contain many things. There was a large, wooden table against the wall, a cabinet with a few shelves and that was about it.

It might seem too little for a productive work, but Evan didn't think so."I wonder if it's the landlord who takes such good care of the customers or if the past resident was so generous." Evan said contentedly, looking at the shelves.

There was a great number of necessary items there: parchment scrolls, tassels, a stone board, pieces of graphite, and a few Azure Stones.

Almost every one of these items, would be needed him very soon. Evan had originally planned to go to the city and buy everything he needed. Now he wouldn't have to go anywhere.

Evan learned about the purpose of these items from a shabby diary he took from the library.

The parchment scrolls were used to draw Magic Circles on them. You could also draw Magical Circles on the floor with graphite or chalk, but it was complicated and not as convenient. Parchment Scrolls cost money, but they saved the magician`s time and energy.

You could draw Magic Circles with many things, but it was not as simple as it might seem at first glance. The Azure Stones were the most valuable and necessary thing in this room.

Mana is necessary for the Magic Circle to work, but not everything can hold and conduct mana. Paint, graphite or chalk can't do that, that`s why Azure Stones are needed.

The Azure Stones were a rather soft and crumbly mineral. Evan didn't know how much such a thing was worth, but he knew it wasn't little. After all, anything in this world about magic cost too much for most ordinary people.

There weren't many on the shelf, only three of them, but that was enough for Evan for a long time. He could buy more if it necessary. Thanks to Marcel's kindness, he had enough money to afford it.

Evan took some scrolls, a brush, paint, a stone board, and the Azure Stones. He placed these on the wooden table and got down to business. He opened an old book and began to do everything according to the instructions.

Scribble. Scribble. Scribble.

Evan grinded up a small piece of Azure Stone, turning it into a blue powder. Then he took a mortar from the table and stirred the blue paint into the blue powder.

It was necessary for a Magic Circle painted with this kind of paint would function. Of course, if you painted a Magic Circle using only Azure Stones, it would hold much more mana, but it was too expensive.

Moreover, even if Evan had an unlimited number of Azure Stones, he wouldn't do that. Parchment scrolls with Magical Circles drawn with the Azure Stones alone were not exactly suitable for experimentation.

They could certainly be used, but that would be a waste of resources. They were very expensive, because if you put mana into them, you could cast a spell. The advantage of this method was that the magician would spend very little mana, but the price was very high.

So stirring Azure Stone powder with paint was an excellent and very common solution. The mana would fill the scroll and stay there, and that was more than enough for research.

Evan took a black, wooden brush and dipped it into the paint and began to draw the first Magic Circle of his life.