Published at 14th of April 2026 11:58 pm

Chapter 9. Fortune telling for dummies

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I sat down cross-legged next to the vein and started on the new ritual circle, using the previous summoning runes as a base.

The ritual of judgment, or fortune-telling for amateurs as some called it, was one of the easier rituals. If I needed any more in-depth analysis of myself, I would need a real fortune-teller. But there weren't any left that I knew of, and techniques like palmistry, pendulum reading, tarot cards, and, most of all, crystallomancy required time and practice.

I wrote the name of the proper God in the circle and set all the ingredients aside.

Then, after measuring my proportions with a tape measure, I began making a voodoo doll from straw and twine. I wasnt a master, but a project like that wasnt exactly difficult, so after a few minutes, I was done and looking at a doll no larger than my palm. It would be my audience as I completed the first part.

I poured some sand mixed with dust from a mana crystal into the middle of the circle. Then, putting my whole body weight into it, I made a handprint. Once I confirmed the edges were sharp, I chanted a spell from the book.

I was not a palmistry expert, so this should cover the basics in my place. And sure enough, like a line of Christmas lights draped over the imprint of my palm, pieces of the mana crystal dust started to light up, drawing three lines on it. I began to leaf through the book to find the interpretations.

The first line going around the bend of my thumb was the Health line. It was lit up around eighty percent of the way from the start to the end, meaning I was pretty healthy, at least according to the book. My father always said, Nothings better for holding down an unwilling sacrifice than jiu-jitsu, so I had to keep my body in shape.

The one thing bothering me was the passage in the book about the lines starting point. It should originate next to where the wrist and the thumb meet, but for me, it originated lower, drooping down below the bend of the wrist, almost drawing an S shape. The passage in the book mentioned something about the lines origin for humans, but as far as I knew, I was human.

I was not sure who or what my mother was, but I never showed any signs of a bloodline awakening, and God knows I looked.

God in the abyss, I could use a palmist right now, I groaned.

Making a mental note to ask a specialist later, I continued with my fortune-telling. Next was the line starting around the middle of the palm, close to where the health line ended, and went horizontally through almost the whole imprint. It was supposed to be the Head line, my makeshift mana indicator. It lit up all the way through the imprint. My magic was full, and no more could be added, not without ascending to the next circle. Id known that for a long time, so no surprise.

Finally, the Heart line, my stamina. It was above the Head line, starting across from the thumb and going around seventy percent through. According to my guide, my cardiorespiratory system is well-maintained.

Next to check the circles. They were supposed to show on the palm as well. I changed the spell a bit, and one circle on the bend, in the middle of my thumb, lit up, and another on the lower bend of my index finger, like glowing rings adorning my imprinted digits. Both circles were full, with no room for growth.

I froze for a second, looking at them. I did not think I would ever grow past the second circle. The way to grow in power was to attune mana to themselves and absorb it. It gathered in circles around the spark, the center of the soul. Once a circle was saturated, the magic would overflow, and the next one would be created with thicker, stronger energy. I had been on the verge of the third circle for a few years now, and the reason for my stagnation was simple. On the third, sixth, and ninth circles, mana changed the hosts body and strengthened it to withstand the much denser orbits, but in turn, the flesh would become reliant on magic to function. So, without any ambient magic, I would slowly go into a coma and die.

With a deep sigh, I stopped pondering my mana and moved to the next part. That would be the voodoo puppet. Plucking a hair from my head, I placed it inside the doll, then cut my finger and soaked the straw with some of my blood. I swept away the sand and set the puppet at the center of the circle.

Next, I took a string and hung a symmetrical mana crystal at the end, creating a makeshift pendulum.

I placed the doll in the middle, with its head in the dead center of the spell, and hung the pendulum over it with my hand as the makeshift stand. I could feel some energy exit the stone, and the construction started to swing quickly.

Finally, it stopped in the air like a pendulum clock getting stuck mid-swing. It was vibrating a bit, barely away from its resting position.

I took a protractor and measured the angle to be about 3 degrees.

What? I exclaimed.

That should measure my willpower.

The pendulum over the back of the head should be willpower, right? I absentmindedly asked myself, rereading the book.

3 was pathetic, 10 was the human average, and I was confident in my willpower. It was the mental muscle, the will used to move mana and manipulate the mind. The most important stat for any spellcaster.

Then, I noticed my mistake. The doll was facing up instead of lying on its stomach, so instead of the back of the head, I got the mouth, a measurement of Charisma: 3. Huh, that was abysmal, but not that unexpected. My negotiation skills started and ended with threats of violence. Magic was the solution to all the problems that mattered, after all.

I moved the puppet and checked it to make sure it was lying with its straw back facing me, as I did not need commentary on my lack of social skills. It started to swing again, finally stabilizing at around 22 degrees, according to the protractor. 22 for Willpower probably made me one of the best living casters, but considering the possible heights, that was nothing to write home about.

Next, I moved the pendulum to the middle of the head. Intelligence, the processing power, and the ability to learnthe base for any wizard. It was also high around 22.

Then, the top of the head. Wisdom. I checked the visibly smaller angle and got 14. Could be better, but it came with a lot of theory and practice, and few opportunities for experience.

I rolled the doll to the side and placed the instrument a bit over where the ear would be. Mental Defense. 24. Once someone interacted with the void, few things could affect their mind. I was also completely immune to any fear-based attacks, so the high number didn't surprise me.

And finally, I moved the puppet so that the circle's center coincided with its lower abdomen. The measurement of the Soul. The pendulum swung, finally oscillating around 18. It was hard to say. To measure more advanced attributes, one needed someone proficient in fortune-telling and a special pendulum. 18 was a lot for the strength of a soul, considering the dangerous training needed.

I had my base attributes. The last part involved checking my skills.

To get an accurate reading for a skill, I needed tarot cards, which I knew nothing about. However, I had the cheap skill checker with me. It was a metal ball covered in arcane runes, with a six-sided die inside it, featuring novice, beginner, apprentice, adept, expert, and finally master written on the sides. It was called a rune sphere. Some vendors sold it to the mortal world as a magic 8-ball, which made it awkward to use, making me feel like a charlatan scamming my straw replica.

I needed to voice the ability to check correctly, so I opened my family tome to the section on skill classifications and reviewed what I should have.

Multilingual, Authority Over Mana, Authority Over Mind, Eldritch Madness, Eldritch Tongue, Servant o the Abyss, Spell Casting, Ritual Casting, Curse Weaving, Full Astral Projection.

Multilingual was just knowledge of a couple of languages: Black speech, Arcane, Abyssal, Elvish, English, Arabic, and Latin. No need to waste time checking how well I speak any language.

Authority Over Mana was the ability to control ambient mana for lower-level spells, not to use one's own. It was an ancient skill no longer practiced since one needed ambient mana. The only way to learn it would be to crack mana crystals, lock the magic in a room, and try controlling it, which was a waste of resources no sane person would attempt aside from my family. It would probably come in handy in the times to come, so I definitely wanted to check it.

Authority over Mind, the ability to navigate the mind and use mental energy. Nothing unusual. I was confident in it, so there was no need for a check.

Eldritch Madness, that one was strange. My family called this The Blessing of the Abyss, but others called it Eldritch Madness, and it looked like someone had finally written it down as such. This was the inability to feel fear of any kind. Eldritch Tongue came with it, the ability to speak in the language of the void. No way the magic 8-brune spherewould be able to measure a skill like that.

Servant to the Abyss was the contract I had with the eldritch god. Again, way out of the league of the instrument.

Spell Casting, Ritual Casting, and Curse Weaving were three different applications of mana. I knew my level was as good as it is possible for a second circle mage, so no need for a check.

And finally, Full Astral Projection. The ability to push the soul out of the body. A must-know for any mage interested in souls. I would like to know whether it could measure that one.

I quickly considered measuring my knowledge. The secrets, mysteries, and enigmasthat is, if one believed in enigmas in the first place, but then decided against it. Any knowledge I was interested in measuring was well beyond the 8-ballthe sphere.

I asked about Authority Over Mana and rolled the ball. Apprentice. Sure, I'll take it for a skill I couldnt really practice.

Then Full Astral Projection. Apprentice again. Hmmm, that one should have been higher. I knew I had an issue with it. Whenever I repossessed my body, I would get a feeling like I was wearing myself wrong, which would bring down my coordination for at least a couple of hours afterward. I could use someone with tarot cards to tell me the flaw in my technique.

Before I cleaned up the whole operation, I checked the time. I still had around half an hour before I had to move. So I went back to the pendulum and quickly checked my body stats for good measure. They weren't as important for a caster, but still, good to know. I then removed the runic circle and wrote everything down on a piece of paper to keep track of it.

Race: human? - Ask when possible.

Magic circle: 2

Stats:

Strength: 16

Dexterity: 17

Endurance: 16

Intelligence: 22

Wisdom: 14

Willpower: 22

Mental Defense (non-fear): 24

Soul: 18

Skills: Multilingual, Authority Over Mana (apprentice), Authority Over Mind, Eldritch Madness, Eldritch Tongue, Servant to the Abyss, Spell Casting, Ritual Casting, Curse Weaving, Full Astral Projection (apprentice)

Secrets: Fire, Space, Death, Mind

Mysteries: Space, Death, Curse, Soul, Mind

Enigmas?: Eldritch

Looks good, I said happily to myself.

Getting up, I stretched my limbs, stiff from all the kneeling. Now was the time to move and catch my target, who was currently stalking some family.

A man named Henry was about to have a really bad time.

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