Idle Mage: Humanity's Strongest Backer-Novel

'Today marks the 5th Anniversary of me being thrown out here...' Ashton mused to himself.

He sat on his desk at the Grand Archives, his senses bled out of the walls, allowing him to peer outside. He watched the desolate and utterly corrupted lands surrounding him as well as the ongoing fiasco that is happening between the Celestials and Hypogeans.

Ashton felt proud to say that he survived despite the odds being against him. Granted that he had the capital to ensure his safety, to begin with, it sure hasn't been easy to endure the loneliness and bleakness of everything out here.

Glancing at the floating System Prompt in front of him, Ashton felt a bit of excitement coursing through his veins...

***

[Quest: Survive!]

: Host has been forced into an uncompromising predicament but hope is not gone. Survive the horrors and dangers of the Outside World for as long as you can.

Survive for 1 month - Rewards: Bloodline Purification Pill x5 (Complete)

Survive for 3 months - Rewards: Mobile Safehouse x1 (Complete)

Survive for 6 months - Rewards: Exosuit x1 (Complete)

Survive for 1 year - Rewards: Randomized 'Trait' x1 (Complete)

Survive for 3 years - Rewards: Specialization Soul Card (L) x1 (Complete)

Survive for 5 years - Rewards: Curse Banishment Pill x1 (Complete)

***

On the 3rd anniversary, he received...

[Specialization Soul Card (L)]

Use to gain the most suitable 'Legendary-grade Specialization' for you.

Requirements: Sorcerer Rank

With this and the Divine Gunslinger Soul Card, Ashton was set for when he reaches the Sorcerer Rank in the future. Though, what excited him the most was not this...

It's the reward that he received as soon as he woke up this morning...

[Curse Banishment Pill]

A miraculous pill that can remove a Curse from the consumer.

Hint: Adjust your mental state and muster up your willpower before consuming this pill to ensure its success.

With the Curse Banishment Pill, Ashton can finally get rid of this damned curse that has been making his life difficult.

One could only imagine how excited he is right now. He almost couldn't wait to begin the curse removal but he controlled himself. He's way too excited right now. The hint says that he has to chill first so that's what he's been doing.

Aside from completing this quest, Ashton also completed the mission.

***

[Mission: Investigate]

: It's a long way home from here. Where even is 'here'? Well, why don't find out? Plus, aren't you curious as to what the Outside World looked like? The more you discover, the more rewards you'll get.

Discover where you are - Time Limit: None. Rewards: New System Function unlocked. (Complete)

Find a way back home - Time Limit: None. Rewards: Randomized 'Trait' x1

Discover and Study Hostiles - Amount: 200/200. Rewards: New System Function unlocked. (Complete)

Path to Enlightenment - Time Limit: None. Rewards: System Overhaul. (Complete)

***

Completing the 'Discover and Study Hostiles' rewarded him with the [Party] System Function which allows him to add people to his Party and give them the most basic functions of the System like an Inventory with Limited Spaces, allowing the use of the 'Identify' function and so on...

Ashton hasn't tested it much since he hasn't used it yet. He tried it with Aria but it wasn't working, maybe it's because she's a Spirit or something but since he couldn't add her in, he couldn't explore all of its functions right now. The system's explanation for what it can do was vague too.

Besides, now that he completed the mission as a whole, the final reward which is the 'System Overhaul' is currently in effect. And under the overhaul, the Party Function might change even more.

Ashton could still see the timer ticking down in the corner of his vision...

[System Overhaul In Progress: 29 Days, 13 Hours, and 45 Minutes left...]

Right, it's going to take at least a month before this finishes.

Most of the System's Functions are offline as of now. The Grinding Slots, Mission Board, Sign-in, and even the Simulation Zone won't work unless the System's done with the overhaul. As for the Party Function well, it's practically useless for now so he didn't pay much attention to it.

Though, he could still call out to his Profile Page...

***

[Profile]

Host: Ashton West

Race: Human

Aptitude:

Mageroot: Mysterious Rainbow

Magical Artifact: Cursed Book of Infinity (Legendary)

Providence: Fey Emperor's Blessings (Grade ???)

Specialization:

Main: White Mage, Sub: Gunslinger

Rank: Lv.5 Warlock (2nd Refinement)

Virtues: Mana, Purity, Life, Death, Water

Cultivation Technique: Treasure Glazed Nine-Refinements Sutra

[Spells:(+)]

[Inventory:(+)]

[Grinding Spots: Offline]

[Sign-in Opportunities: Offline]

[Mission Board: Offline]

[Simulation Zone: Offline]

***

Ashton isn't essentially crippled without the System.

If he wanted to, he could still take a stroll outside and ruffle the feathers of the Angels and play with Demons, just to annoy them. He'd still be undetected and he'd still go on a killing spree since his combat abilities weren't controlled by the system.

The System did help in making him strong but he worked hard to own what he received. It wasn't the System who created the White-Cloaked Reaper, it was Ashton.

With his Mortal Reminder — the transforming firearms, his quasi-Epic Artifact that is the Bone Scythe, the list of Spells he learned and raised to at least Lv.50 with constant grinding, as well as his sheer experience in dealing with the invaders through trial by fire and countless of simulations, Ashton is a true powerhouse who can fearlessly walk and survey the dangers of the Forgotten Ancestral Lands.

Being the Child of Mana pretty much ensures that he'll never run out of his Mana Supply. Having the Purity Trait and Virtue plus the 'Aether Purity Heart' ensures that he will never fear any kind of corruption the invaders could think of.

With the Virtue of Life, not only was his longevity extended, but he could also recover from injuries faster and could even bless the corrupted lands with Life once more to restore them to their former glory.

He could also impose the causality of Death on his targets through the Virtue of Death. Granted that it's not always certain and could be countered by several methods, the fact that he could use this to heavily injure all who crossed him was worth it.

And most recently, the Virtue of Water...

Frankly, except for the Virtue of Mana, the rest of the Virtues Ashton condensed came naturally to him. All he needed to do was to wait for the signs and he would naturally gain insights about them. The more he refined it, the deeper his connection to them became.

The Virtue of Water is something he did not expect to gain enlightenment from. It was unprompted, like the others before it. And what if does is to boost the power and effectiveness of all Water Based Spells he had, making them easier to cast and so on, except...he did not have any Water Based Spells so it's useless.

Well, not entirely useless...at the end of the day, should he ever run out of water, he can use this Virtue to drain moisture from the atmosphere and increase the amount of water he could gather so that he can satiate his thirst. At least there's that...

Ashton truly has no idea why it's like this. He bets that it has something to do with this Mysterious Rainbow or whatever.

After all, Virtue was something that is earned through Heavenly Communion. If a Mage doesn't have a pre-established connection with something, i.e. water, then it shouldn't be possible for them to gain the virtue corresponding to that.

Yet here he was...

Mana, Purity, Life, and Death...Ashton can understand why those would appear. But Water? Now that's weird...

But, oh well...it's there and he can't remove it. It'll become a problem since refining it would be much harder since he hadn't invested in it. This might delay his cultivation too.

Ashton shook his head to get rid of the unnecessary thoughts.

"It's about time I leave this place." He mused to himself, "But before that though...I made some promises which should be honored."

Feeling calm and determined, Ashton held the bottle which contained the Curse Banishment Pill in his hand and left his desk.

He went downstairs, entering the Training Room and sealing himself inside.

Ashton adjusted his mental state and soon, he swallowed the pill.

The effect was immediate. His expression twisted as he could feel the strong resistance coming from the very depths of his soul.

He could sense a particularly nasty and evil aura writhing and screaming as the pill's efficacy took effect. Yet, Ashton's will was strong and steady. His determination resonated and beckoned the mysterious power to billow from within him.

A brilliant rainbow-colored radiance erupted from his soul, seeping out to his physical body. When the rainbow touched the curse, it was singed and fled. It was chased out from Ashton's soon and soon...out of his body as well.

The moment it was flushed out of his system, it let out one miserable shriek before dissipating into nothingness.

As if an unknown burden was released, Ashton sighed and felt light. A book flew out from his body and the chains and lock that bound it shattered and disappeared, allowing it to be released from its long imprisonment.

[Curse Removal: success! Magical Artifact: Book of Infinity, unsealed.]