“Hey, Tom—you try Magic School Wars yet? Dropped last week,” asked a black-haired 18-year-old with a strong jawline and brown eyes, who was casually stocking shelves.
“Sup, Jay. Yeah, I pre-ordered it on DreamShop forever ago. Just haven’t touched it—wanted to wait for the modders to do their magic,” replied Tom, a dirty blonde with glasses and blue eyes, as he stacked shoeboxes.
Jay raised an eyebrow. “Do you even play anything vanilla anymore?”
“Why would I? AM Crop made it mod-friendly on purpose. Over 200 mods already. If I could code, I’d be making my own.”
Jay smirked. “Lemme guess—you’re holding out for the mods with NPCs built like anime waifus, now that it is DeepWear compatible?”
Tom grinned. “Someone probably made that on day one. I just browse Wokeshop or MiddleMods and pick what looks cool.”
Jay shook his head. “Still don’t get why you need mods for a colony sim. Ever try playing it straight?”
“Most of mine are QoL or new magic types. Makes it harder and more fun. NPC factions get access to the same stuff, so it's a challenge. Speaking of—can I borrow your DeepWear helm?”
“Can’t, man. I’m in the middle of GTA 10: Mars on the Run. I knew you’d regret not grabbing one during the sale. But I might know someone who has a spare.”
“Didn’t have the cash. Who’s got one?”
“My brother—he’s out of town. I can lend you his. Come by after work.”
“Ben? Haven’t seen him in forever.”
“New job. Some tech startup. Coding stuff.”
“Cool. We’re off in two—let’s knock this out quick.”
Three Hours Later – Jay’s House
“Wait here, I’ll grab it,” Jay said, jogging inside.
“Got it.”
Ten minutes later, he returned, holding a headset that looked nothing like the usual models Tom knew
“Why’s it look like that?”
Jay shrugged. “No idea. My brother’s in tech—maybe it’s a prototype? I tried it for five minutes. Didn’t feel special—just plugged in, and it worked. Should be fine for MSW.”
“Thanks, man. I’ll hit you up later tonight and tell you how it goes.”
No prob. Later.” Jay shut the door behind him.
Later – Tom’s Room
“Finally,” Tom muttered, headset in hand. “After two hours of digging through mod pages, I’ve built the best modlist ever.”
He was on a call with Jay via ReCord.
“Yeah? What’s in it?” Jay asked.
“QoL tweaks, new spells, weapons, factions, races—just a mix of everything. Around 150 mods, give or take. Honestly, I forgot what half of them even do.”
Jay laughed. “Isn’t that overkill? Can your rig even handle it?”
“Please. 150 is rookie numbers. My setup’s only two years old. Anyway—smell ya later, Jay.”
“Night, Tom. Enjoy the day off. Talk to you after work tomorrow.”
With the call ended, Tom stretched out on his bed and slid the odd-looking helmet into place.
“Game Deep.”
Darkness fills Tom’s mind.
Yun Country – Zhen City
A shadowy alley beside a bar called The Jade Flask...
“Beep. Welcome, 'User Tom,' to the Magic School System. Please use 'Status' to view.”
The voice echoed in his mind. Tom blinked, disoriented.
What the hell? Is this the tutorial?
As he looked around, flashes of another life hit him—memories that weren’t his.
Liang Shen. 20 years old. Owned a tiny shop in Zhen City. Barely scraping by. That morning, he met Yan Shuo and agreed to sell the shop to the Yan Clan for three gold coins—enough to live simply for years.
He ducked into the alley to "drain the dragon" and died of a heart attack.
Ten minutes later...
Tom sat on a wooden box and leaned against the alley wall, breathing slowly.
Well, looks like Liang and I checked out at the same time. That’s just great.”
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
He focused inward.
“Hey, Liang Shen? You still in here?”
Silence.
“Guess not. He probably moved on. Welp—not in Kansas anymore.”
The air felt oddly real. Crisp. Better than he remembered.
“And what was that system thing? Magic School System? Sounds like MSW... Is that my cheat?”
He cleared his throat. “Status.”
A holographic panel flickered to life.
Status Menu
? Name: Tom Riddle / “Liang Shen”
? Rank 0 Acolyte
? Mana Coins: 0
? HP: 20/20 (Regen: 5/day)
? Mana: 20/20 (Regen: 0.1/min)
Stats:
? STR: 1.0 → (1 pt = 70 lbs lifting power; affects defense)
? AGI: 1.0 → (~15 mph run speed; affects body control)
? VIT: 1.0 → (+20 HP)
? INT: 2.0 → (+10 Mana)
Spells: Mana Hand (Lv. 0)
? Mana Cost: 1/min (upkeep)
? Effect: Summons a floating mana hand
? Range: 2 ft (Power = STR)
? Cooldown: 1 min (per cast)
“Nice. Already got a spell—and it does something good.”
He activated Mana Hand, lifting a nearby wooden box up and down for a minute, then canceled it.
User Bag / Equipment
“Looks like I’ve got inventory. Let’s try it.”
He tried placing a wooden box inside.
“Beep. User Bag can only store money, system items, and magical gear.”
“Welp, no merchant career for me. Still, safe storage is good.”
A small cloth pouch appeared in his hands.
User Gift Bag: Open?
“Yes.”
“Beep. You received:
? Spell Book: Cut
? Basic Acolyte Robes
? Basic Wooden Wand
? (x2) Weak Mana Potions
? (x2) Weak Health Potions”
He opened the spell book.
“Beep. Spell learned: Cut. Quest Complete: Learn your second spell.”
Cut (Lv. 0)
? Mana Cost: 1.5
? Effect: Summons a mana blade
? Range: 2 ft (Power = STR)
? Cooldown: 1 min
“Nice. Combat spell.”
He tested it on the wood box—shnk!—clean cut in half.
Items:
Basic Acolyte Robes – +0.1 Mana Regen
“Basic robes of an Acolyte rank spellcaster.”
Basic Wooden Wand – +3 ft spell range; -0.1 Mana Cost “Spellcaster’s first wand.”
“I don't want to stand out, so let's wait on equipping the robes. Now for the Weak Potions?
Weak Potions – Heal or restore +5 (mana/hp) (Cooldown: 3 min)
“If there are weak potions, there’ve gotta be better ones. I’ll save these for emergencies.”
- Completed Quests:
? Learn Your Second Spell
? Earn 5 Mana Coins
“What are Mana Coins, anyway?” Tom asked aloud. “And hey—do you have a name?”
“Beep. No, 'User Tom.' You may refer to me as 'System.' Would you like to set a name?”
Tom chuckled. “How about ‘Beep,’ since you say it every time you talk? No need for the ‘User’ stuff. Just call me Tom.”
“Beep” Name set to ‘Beep.’ Beep. Thanks, Tom, for the name.”
Now—what are Mana Coins?”
“Beep. Yes, Tom. Mana Coins are used to purchase items from the Mana Store.”
- Current Quests:
“Beep, how will I get more quests?”
“Beep. The
? Sell Your Shop – Raise funds to begin your journey. Meet Yan Shuo at The Jade Flask to finalize the sale.
? Reward: Choose a Mana-Familiar + 5 Mana Coins
(Note: Familiars range from small insects to mid-sized animals like dogs.)
“This looks like an easy quest to knock out. Yan Shuo seemed decent enough in Liang Shen’s memories.”
“Beep, I’ve got a question about Mana-Familiars. Would a queen ant or queen bee be a possible reward? And could they, you know... lay eggs?”
“Beep. Yes to both, Tom. But you'd need to feed them a lot of mana—or mana-rich food—to support egg-laying. Why do you ask?”
“Just... thinking ahead. I’ve got a plan forming. I’ll explain more once I’ve worked out the details. Let me check out this last quest first.”
- Find a Place for a Magic Tower – Locate a suitable clearing approximately 150 miles into the forest outside Zhen City.
- Reward: Magic Tower Stone Base, Body Altering Potion, Unlocks Mana Store, +5 Mana Coins
(A one-story, 15x15x15 ft. tower—larger on the inside.)
Like the old saying goes: every spellcaster needs a proper magic tower.”
“Beep, what exactly does the Body Altering Potion do?”
“Beep. It can only be used once in a lifetime. Alter your body to your liking, excluding height and weight. Please note: all changes are permanent.”
“Alright... I’ve got a couple of days to dig up everything I can on Whispering Pine Hollow. Gotta be ready,” he muttered, eyes drifting to the next line of grayed-out text below.
Mana Store: Locked
“After seeing all of this, I can’t wait to see what the Mana Store has for me.”
Tom smirked. “Alright, Beep—let’s go make some magic.”
“Beep. Acknowledged. Let us make magic, Tom.”
( Author Note: To avoid having to add the information about the quest more than needed, I will put what chapter they were in as a note to keep the story free of clutter. Will look like “Name of Quest”-(Chap.1))