Fifteen rabbits was enough to let Lucas level up once again. He was now at Level 8.
The rabbits got increasingly harder and harder to find with each kill, but he ended up finishing the task in about an hour. He didn't miss a single shot.
This made him gain more bravery and confidence. He no longer hesitated when he came across a monster. The Rudis Forest was nothing to him.
Not only the wolves and the rabbits, Lucas ended up terrorizing other creatures as well. There were a total of ten different species that lived in this forest. Lucas charged through each terrain, turning the Rudis Forest inside out for his growth.
His inventory was slowly filling up with all sorts of items he couldn't wait to take to the monster butcher for. The thought of keeping those bloodied corpses inside his item box didn't sit well with him.
Lucas ended up spending one more day to hunt in Rudis Forest. He killed everything he saw and kept feeding his experience bar.
Hours upon hours of slaughtering.
He realized that he began to get used to fighting and grew to enjoy it as well.
His level went up once again, and he was now sitting nicely as a Level 9.
Although he hadn't received a Class yet, both Cecil and him agreed that his current strength would be enough to breeze through the first levels of Eve.
After all, it was well known that Eve was quite literally, just like a game. Its first few levels was akin to a 'tutorial' for the Players to get used to the System and how Eve worked.
It was time to get started.
Lucas was heavily curious on how different the challenges inside Eve could be.
So far, everything was going well for him.
They walked out of the forest and made their way back to Ulya. There were a total of three major cities that they had to go by in order to reach Eve if they came from Ulya.
Eve was the center of everything. There were many other cities and towns scattered throughout the world that Lucas wanted to pay a visit to one day, but his main goal now was Eve.
[Since you're aiming for the Tower, you might want to try learning magic anytime soon. There are creatures that can only be attacked with magic and is resistant to physical attacks. The same goes for the other way.] Cecil mentioned along the way.
So far, Lucas had fought with nothing but a cheap sword and a bow.
He bought a magic staff, but that ended up not being used at all since the two other weapons were more practical.
[Normally, you could just form a party with someone else that can cover those fields for you, but if it's you.. Well, I can't say for sure. Let's see how it turns out later.] She added.
Cecil debated. People who were adept in both magic and physical strength were not scarce, but there were only a select few that could master both fields to the highest level.
In her eyes, Lucas had the potential to become one of those people.
She imagined how proud she would be if this young man finally broke through all the limits and utilized the full extent of his power. Without her knowing, a smile blossomed on her face.
"Huh? Right now?"
[I'm just saying it as a precaution. The first few levels shouldn't contain anything fancy if it's out of a hundred. You can breeze through it with your current strength. I'm just saying it might not hurt to learn a couple magic spells here and there.]
'Magic spells..' Lucas seriously thought about it.
The idea did interest him. Magic was powerful and had many uses. It had a versatile attack pattern according to each element.
If it was possible, aside than magic, he also wanted to branch out to his past alchemist skills once again.
He enjoyed concocting potions, but he was always limited by a set standard. But now, he wanted to see if he could break through his previous chains. Collect premium ingredients, and make the best potion the world could ever see.
It would be a delightful revenge towards his unlucky past.
"How do you learn magic?"
[Oh, so you're interested? Simple! Two things. You need to be able to sense mana... which you already can do perfectly well. Second, you need to be blessed by the element you wish to learn.] Cecil put up two of her fingers and said.
"...Do I even have those blessings?"
[Dunno. You can just try it out right here. You know what each element represents, right? If you have the blessing, it will come to you as easy as breathing.]
[Just imagine the element while channeling the mana. Use your imagination and make it appear. Draw it out from within yourself and the environment. Form a connection.]
"Alright, I'll try." Lucas was out of the forest, so he sat down on the grassy area, trying to get as comfortable as he can.
He closed his eyes and followed Cecil's instructions.
The first element he thought of was Water. Calm and tranquil, but possessing profound strength within it.
He spread out his palm and directed his mana. Just like that, in a few seconds, a blob of water showed up. It danced around on his palms, molding into different shapes.
Lucas opened his eyes and saw the thing he manifested. He instantly became excited, and lost control of the magic. It burst up and drenched his upper body.
"Wait, I did it!" Lucas was satisfied.
He didn't care about the fact that he had been drenched. He jumped up and looked at his hand, which had gotten wet. Like a child, he played with the liquid.
The small water ball drained away only 5 points from his mana bar. Granted, it wasn't worth much, but it still made him happy.
He did it!