A Mage Prepared

by Thomas Whipple

  The cave opens up to about 4 feet tall and goes about a dozen feet back. Getting to the back of the cave I can sit up comfortably without hitting my head. I feel around on the ground to find a relatively flat area to lie down and rest. Having found a spot without too many things to jab me in my sleep, I lie down and quickly fall into a peaceful slumber.

  Chapter 2

  When I wake up it is still pretty dark. I am freezing though so there is no way I am getting back to sleep now. I sit up and feel my way back to the entrance of my little den to look outside. I can see the slight lightening of the sky indicating dawn is not far off. I crawl to the back of the cave again and do some stretching to warm up a little and clear the lingering fog of sleep from my mind. After stretching I do some push ups and sit-ups. Finally warm and clearheaded, I start my day. First thing I do is laugh because I want to keep using my Identify skill, and realize that I never even checked my own equipment. Looking at the things I am wearing I use the Identify skill.

  Simple Shirt: A simple short sleeved shirt made of a rough material. Gray color. Clothes. Item class: Common. Durability 10/10. Armor +1.

  Simple Pants: A pair of simple pants made of a rough material. Brown color. Clothes. Item class: Common. Durability 10/10. Armor +1.

  Simple Shoes: A pair of simple shoes made from leather. Brown color. Clothes. Item class: Common. Durability 10/10. Armor +1.

  I only have one more thing, and that is my makeshift staff.

  Rough Staff: A rough staff, literally just a stick the right size. Item class: Poor. Durability 15/15. Base Dmg 1-3.

  I still have not leveled up my Identify skill. Either all skills are very difficult to level or just the Identify skill is. I have been thinking about my encounter with the Young Hare yesterday and I decided that I need a way to prevent it from escaping. The other option is to end it before the hare can decide to run, and I have an idea to try. But first thing is to try out a few things with magic.

  Still sitting in the back of the cave, I close my eyes and try to empty everything from my mind. Mind calm, I turn my attention inward and try to find my mana, or something like that. I know I have some since it shows up in my status, but how do you find something in yourself that you never had before? Actually, it was pretty easy when I realized I just needed to feel for something I didn't remember having in myself. It felt like a warm ball of energy, located somewhere above my bellybutton and below my ribcage.

  After feeling it there I tried to move it. This was the hard part as it felt slippery to my mind. I kept trying to grab a hold of it but the harder I tried the more slippery it felt. After an indeterminate amount of time I was so frustrated that I couldn't even feel the mana anymore. Opening my eyes I can see light filtering in through the blind I constructed at the entrance. Crawling to the entrance I move the blind out of the way and exit before replacing the blind. Thirsty, I make my way down to the sandy bank of the river a little way upstream. After taking a drink from the clear water I sit there in the sand staring out over the water, thinking about what I am doing wrong.

  The sun is high up and I realize I was trying to use my mana for far longer than I thought. The sight of the water flowing gently in front of me, and the sound of the rapids farther down sooths my frustrations allowing me to center my mind again. Then I start to get an idea. I have been trying to force the mana within me to do what I want it to do, but maybe like the water in this river I need to direct it. Sitting on the damp sand I close my eyes again and find the mana within myself. This time I don't reach out to grab it, but focus in on my body. Imagining a dry riverbed winding through my body I then connect it to the energy that is my mana.

  A trickle at first, the mana starts to flow out to my arm. Solidifying the image of the riverbed in my mind causes the flow to increase. I can feel it pooling in my hand, and try imaging a flame above my palm with the riverbed opening into it. I can feel heat on my hand and I open my eyes, but there is nothing above my outstretched palm. I focus in on the mana in my hand and see that it won't leave my hand. No matter how I imagine it I can't get it to leave my body and the heat I was feeling has become painful. Worried that I would cause damage to myself if I pool anymore in my hand, I loop the image of the riverbed back through my body to where it came from and cut the flow.

  Mind tired and hand sore, I lay back and breathe out a sigh. From the health bar in the corner of my vision I can see that the attempt to magically create fire wasn't harmless. It is only a sliver missing, but it convinces me to be more cautious when dealing with magic. The icon in the corner of my vision with the three dots in a thought bubble is blinking, so I focus on it to bring up the waiting messages.

  You have earned the ability Mana Perception lvl 1.

  You have earned the ability Mana Manipulation lvl 1.

  Now we are getting somewhere. Excited I quickly open my status to check out the new additions.

  Ability: Mana Perception lvl 1

  Through intense focus within one's self, you have developed the ability to perceive mana. Increase the level of this ability to increase the distance and ease of detecting mana.

  Ability: Mana Manipulation lvl 1

  You have learned to manipulate the mana within yourself. Increase the level of this skill to improve the control of your mana.

  I can feel it now. Soon I will actually be able to use magic to fight. Good thing too because I still suck at melee combat. Unfortunately that is all I got at the moment, and I need to get started on something to eat. Solidifying the plan that has been forming in my mind since the time I met the Young Hare, I start walking down the riverbank in search of a rock to use as a shovel. A few minutes later I find a long flat rock with a point on one end. Starting into the forest with my new shovel I look for a place upriver a little way, and near the bank. I find what I am looking for in an area with a steep incline and some plants at the bottom that have bite marks. It is just after noon and I don't have too long to prepare before I will have to head back, so I work quickly.

  Digging a hole a few feet deep at the bottom of the steepest part of the incline, I pack the walls to make them vertical and stable. Searching the area around the plants with the bite marks I pick some of the greener parts of the plant and blue berries I found on some of them. Then I place them together next to the hole I dug. Hiding behind a tree and some thick bushes with tree branches to help create a hunter's blind, I wait. After digging the hole I had also brushed the leaves and other detritus out of the path between my blind and the bait I laid out to help prevent any sound as I approach.

  It seems like forever with nothing to distract me from my own thoughts, but finally, a couple hours before sun down I see something hop its way along the incline my trap is set up against. Waiting for it to get closer I can see when it notices the bait because it sits up sniffing the air and looking at the offering. A couple more hops and I am able to use the Identify skill.

  Young Hare, lvl 1.

  Great, just a little farther and it is now in range. Still I wait as it looks around a little before it starts to eat the bait I left out for it. Now that it is distracted I carefully set the branches I was holding to the side and creep up behind the hare. Since the hare is next to the hole I dug, I raise the staff up and to the right in order to line up my shot. Just as I start my down and leftward swing the hare notices something and raises its head from the meal, but it's already too late. My staff hits it with a muffled thump and the force of the blow roles it to the left. Just as I had planned, it fell right into my hole.

  Stepping forward and looking into my trap I can see that the hare is trying to climb out but the packed dirt walls are still too loose for it to get a good grip. After watching it try for a second or two, I see it start to crouch down. Having expected this I had enough time to raise the staff over my head and when the hare jumped up it was met with the downward strike. It must have been a critical hit or something because the strike landed just behind the head and I heard a soft crack. When it hit the ground the har
e didn't move again.

  "YES!"

  Ecstatic from a successful hunt, I grab the hare by its back legs and start back to the river and the site of my next challenge. Like the cavemen before, it is time to make fire. Along the way I start grabbing dead wood that I find so that I can get started when I get there. During the trek back to the river bank I also take a second to check my status for how much experience I got from the hare. From the one young hare at level one I got 5% to my next level. Unlike the games I played back in my old life there doesn't seem to be a numerical value associated directly to experience, just a percentage to the next level advancement. I only need 19 more young hares to go for level 2. Reaching the river I set the hare and the firewood on the sand far enough away from the water to prevent it from getting wet, but not too close to the tree line to risk a fire spreading.

  I search the beach for some larger river rocks and make a ring for the fire. Before I start a fire I need to prepare the hare, and for that I need something to cut with. Taking one of the large round river rocks found along the water line I head back to some of the larger boulders where the river gets rough and the cave I am staying at is. The larger rocks look like slate and I approach one that is taller than me. Using the river rock like a hammer I hit the boulder where there is an outcropping. After a few blows some of it chips off. I search through the fallen pieces and find one that is flat, about 8 inches long, and with one side that has a sharp edge and a point.

  Grabbing some of the thicker leaves from the tree line nearby I use them to wrap the end that isn't as sharp on the chipped stone knife. With the hare in hand I head down to the river and use the stone knife to cut open the belly and remove the insides. It takes a while, but eventually the stone knife gets the job done. Next I saw through the neck removing the head. Breaking the neck when I killed it actually made this part easier and it came right off without any more fuss. Throwing the offal out into the river where it shouldn't attract any unwanted guests, I then skin the rest of the hare. It isn't pretty, but it's good enough to cook now. After two days with nothing other than a few of the berries I used for bait, I am starving.

  Going back to the fire pit that I made I set the hare down on the fur and break some branches off a nearby tree to create a spit that won't burn to easily. Now that the preparations are made I need to make fire like the afore mentioned cavemen. Using the stone knife again I shave the bark off one part of a log and then keep scraping the area to make fine shavings from some of the wood. Grabbing a stick about an inch thick I strip the bark and then whittle the end of it down a little, but not to a point. Placing the end of the stick on the log with the wood shavings I begin rubbing my hands together with the stick in between.

  I make sure to apply pressure on the point of contact between the log and the stick by moving my hands down the stick as I spin it. I don't know how long I did this for but it was a long time before I could see a little wisp of smoke. Continuing to spin the stick I start to blow on it as well. Another few minutes and I can see a red ember forming and taking to the shaved wood. Dropping the stick I get down and gently blow on the embers and feeding more wood shavings to it until I get a flame. I feed the fire larger and larger sticks until I've got a decent camp fire going. I set the spitted hare on the forked sticks I prepared earlier and start turning it.

  It is dusk now and as I am turning it I practice feeling my mana and trying to move mana to different parts of my body before guiding it back to my core. I don't let the Mana linger in any one spot, or pool there in my body so I don't take any damage. I keep turning the spit and practicing my mana manipulation, with a quick break to grab more firewood until after it is fully dark. When I take a break from grinding my abilities I see the message icon flashing again.

  You have earned the ability Woodcraft lvl 1.

  Mana Perception has reached lvl 2.

  The increase to mana perception is nice, but it was interesting that I got woodcraft.

  Ability: Woodcraft lvl 1

  Through demonstrating survival ability in a forest you have earned Woodcraft. Your survival related actions within the forest are more effective. Increase the level of this ability to improve the effect.

  I wonder if I can get similar abilities in different environments. At that moment my stomach makes a loud noise, and I'm reminded once again that I haven't eaten in two days. I take the meat off the fire now that it is done and place it on the rocks nearby. After getting a drink from the river and giving the meat time to cool down I dig in. The meat was a little gamey but pretty good, especially to someone that has only had water and a few berries the last couple days. Once I've had my fill of the hare, I rinse off in the river. With no silverware and only the stone knife, eating was a messy barehanded affair.

  Next I need to clean up what is left of the hare so I grab some leaves and tightly wrap what meat I can to keep for later. I walk the remains of the hare up the river a safe distance from my cave, being careful in the light of the small moon, and dump it for the scavengers in the woods. Back at the fire I hang the skin to dry and bank the fire before carefully making my way back to the cave.

  Climbing the rocks in front of my temporary home I notice it getting a little lighter outside, making it easier to see by. I didn't encounter this the previous night as I was exhausted from the walk and stress of yesterday and didn't stay up late. In the dark sky above, another moon is making its way over the horizon. This one is about twice the size of the other one I noticed earlier. I freeze for a minute just looking at it. It is beautiful, but completely alien. I was so busy before, trying to get my bearings and then tending to survival, that it hadn't really set in yet. Looking at the alien sight now though, I decide that a fresh start might be a good thing.

  "For better or worse, Herst is my home now. I better make the most of it."

  Chapter 3

  I wake up to the light of dawn seeping through the blind in front of the cave entrance. First thing I do is a little stretching before crawling out of the cave. Closing up the entrance to the cave, I then head down to the beach area where I had the fire last night. When I killed the hare it only took two hits, but that was because I got lucky on the second hit when I broke the neck. Otherwise I think it would have taken a few more hits to finally kill it. So I have an idea to make hunting more efficient. I uncover the coals from last night's fire and stoke it back to life by adding fresh wood and blowing on it for a minute.

  Taking out my stone knife from my pants pocket, I use it to sharpen one end of my staff. I also strip the bark from it so that it doesn't scrape my hands when using it. Next I harden the point of the new spear by sticking it in the fire to partially burn and snuffing it out in the sand before it gets brittle. Satisfied with my work, I use Identify.

  Basic Spear: A basic spear, created using common materials with a fire hardened point for added durability. Item class: Common. Durability 20/20. Base Dmg 3-5.

  Having an early start, I decided to create a couple of places to make hunting easier. Back at the spot I dug the hole at; I find the rock I was using as a shovel. With that, I dig the hole deep enough that the young hare won't be able to jump out. I also pack the walls of the pit better since I may be somewhere else when the hare is trapped. Before I head out along the incline to make more pit traps I lay some branches across the top and bait it with more plants and berries like last time.

  I end up making three traps along the incline, before I take position on the high ground. After I eat some meat I had in my pocket from last night, I patrol the top of the incline checking the traps. In this way I get into a rhythm. For two days I get up in the morning, take a bath in the river, and then head out to my traps. Killing any of the hares that get caught, and practicing with my mana in between. By noon on the second day I gained a level in Mana Manipulation, Woodcraft and another in Mana Perception.

  Around noon on the second day I kill my 19th Young Hare with the spear. I still haven't received a Spear Mastery ability. I am a little surprised that
I didn't. After it was so easy to get Staff Mastery I expected to get it on the first hare I killed with it. Unfortunately, that is not the case. What I did gain though...

  LEVEL UP! You have increased your level by 1. You are now level 2. As a Void Human you get 6 points to apply to your Stats. You currently have 6 undistributed SP. You can distribute these from your status page. Continue to increase your level to follow the path of true power. Fight for the RIGHT to survive!

  Since I can't use magic yet I decide to spend my first level's stat points where it will help most at the moment and bring STR and AGI to an even 10. I put the last one into VIT because it is never a bad thing to have a little more HP.

  So I am finally level 2, and it literally feels good. After putting those points into my physical stats I actually do feel stronger, faster, and healthier. Makes me wonder what the effect is when I add to INT and WIS. I will definitely be figuring that out later. Feeling like I accomplished something today, I set off toward the river.

  I barely get started when I hear a loud roar in the distance. It is coming from the direction opposite of the river. There is some kind of yipping as well as a lot of other noises, and a thumping every so often, like something hitting a tree. I head in that direction, because it is still early and I want to know what kind of threat is nearby where I have made my temporary base camp. I move quickly until I am getting close, when I slow down to stay quiet. It is at this moment that the sounds stop.

  A few minutes later I come to a clearing riddled with spots of turned earth and furry bodies lying all over. Looking around carefully I can see branches from the nearby trees and impact points that remind me of the fallen tree from my first day. Approaching some of the bodies I can see that they are dead wolves. There are about 7 of them that I can see, all dead, with claw marks and puncture wounds that look like really large bites. I also notice that some of them have broken teeth and claws, as if they attacked a hard object. Finished inspecting the area, I decide to come back after I follow the trail of whatever did this.