When the sun began to rise and cast away the darkness of that cold night, Alaster gave up trying to sleep. He even considered the possibly that he would have felt more rested if he had not even tried to sleep.
The boy carefully peeked over the berm of snow he had constructed the night before and searched for any threats. Finding none, Alaster stood up and stretched, shaking off the dusting of snow he had received. Alaster yawned as he grabbed the shield from the snow. It had served its purpose well, which was not at all the purpose it had been created.
Alaster smirked at the thought of how Iris would react if she knew he had used the gift she had snuck away from her uncle to give to him. Straining slightly to lift the shield, Alaster considered putting it back in his Ring, where weight was negated. But he decided he did not want to wrestle with his mana, as exhausted as he was. At least, not right now.
Instead, Alaster put it on the ground and sat on it, using it as a dry seat. Had Iris seen her gift used that way, she would have been pulling her hair out. However, had her Uncle seen it, he likely would have laughed. After all, it was a failed project of his, using common scrap as material. If Iris had not stolen it from his 'to be dismantled' pile, it would have been melted down and used in some other project.
Alaster rubbed his hands together to get the blood flowing as he considered his next step. He had no idea where he was, or what direction Onigas lay. Alaster did not know how far Colius had sent him, but he had heard stories of Expert Warp Mages being able to open portals hundreds of kilometers away.
He was never one to believe those sorts of stories, but he understood that in each story, there was a kernel of truth. As did the best lies, as he had learned from watching the Nobility of Onigas. Nor did he think Colius would be able to do that even on his best day.
Colius was a good Wizard, a user of magic who instead focused on the academic aspect of magic. While Mages, used their ability practically, whether it be battle or craft. Colius was a great Wizard in fact, but his abilities in magic had been stunted as a result, and that was not even taking into account his age, or the fact that he had been drinking.
But, even if he did know where he was and how to get back to Onigas, should he? They had found him in Onigas. Onigas, a small independent city that barely registered on maps of the region and was regularly forgotten by practically everyone. And still they found him.
Even if they could not actively track him, they had already found him in Onigas, and would have learned of his relations with the Siphas Family. They would be watching them, distantly, as it was still another nation's leading families, but watching. And who was to say that if they attacked him again at the Siphas Family, they would not bring a larger force. A force capable of harming or even killing the people Alaster cared about.
No, Alaster could not return to Onigas. He could not allow these people to hurt someone he cared about again. He could not return to any of them, at least not until he could protect not only himself, but them as well. Easier said than done. Alaster still did not even know who 'they' were. But he had a feeling that if he learned who 'they' were before he was strong enough, he would be killed.
'Come to think of it, I still haven't looked at the spells I got.'
Alaster would have slapped himself for forgetting something so crucial, if he had not been nearly killed, sent away, and nearly froze. Things tended to slip the mind in those circumstances.
Calling up his Status, Alaster studied each of them intently.
[Necrotic Bolt
Level 1: 0%
Fires a single bolt of condensed Necrotic energy
Mana Cost: 10]
Alaster did not know what Necrotic energy was or what it did, but he was excited to figure it out. Unfortunately, he would only be able to use the spell ten times before he ran out of mana. Which did explain why Mages struggled to level up at the early levels. They had to rest much longer and much more often than their Warrior or Archer Type peers.
Many, but certainly not all, spells could also level up themselves, through repeated use. However, Alaster had heard rumors about other ways to level up spells, but it was just that, a rumor. As a spell leveled up, the mana cost would usually decrease. And at certain levels, usually every five levels, it would be given a choice between different effects for the spell to learn.
Someone might level their spell to fire multiple projectiles with a single cast. Or be able to manipulate the path of it after it had been cast. Alaster had heard of countless variations of the same spell, including simply changing the color of the spell.
[Raise Undead
Level 1: 0%
Raise a small corpse to serve as your servant
Max Minion: 1
Mana Cost: 50]
'Costly.'
Alaster also took note of the max number and the defining part of the corpse, small. It made sense in a way. It would be pretty ridiculous to see a level one Death Mage be able to summon a dragon as their first Undead, or an army.
[Bone Crafting
Level 1: 0%
Ability to mold bone as if clay
Mana Cost: 10/min]
A crafting spell, clearly. But Alaster pondered what he could use it for. The young man had never heard of anything being made of bone. At least nothing that would help him. The only thing that really came to mind was glue or bone meal. But then he quickly remembered that glue was made with hooves or horns, which were a different material than bone.
Alaster also did not have any intention to start farming. Unable to see a single use for this spell, Alaster was tempted to ignore it, but if his Class decided it important enough to be one of his starter spells, it was apparently important. And it certainly was not like Alaster could afford to not use everything at his disposal.
Unfortunately, two of his spells required something to already be dead, and he did not even know the effects of his Necrotic Bolt. Luckily, he still had the sword he had bought. And the Hatchet, which still puzzled him. Why was it in the Ring to begin with?
Alaster would not be surprised to learn that immediately upon successfully creating the Ring of Holding, Colius had grabbed the first thing that came to hand and tested it. And he had been so excited to record the entire experience that he forgot to take it back out. Colius had originally had the Hatchet to test one of his theories.
Before the young man could continue to think, his stomach growled. However, it was winter and food would be scarce in the dense forest. Pretty much the only food would be the kind Alaster would have to hunt and kill. Luckily, that would serve multiple purposes. He would be able to test his spells, as well as be able to find something to eat. If he could find anything.
From the sounds he had heard during the night, creatures lived in the forest, which meant there was food for them to eat, as well as themselves.
Alaster stood up and stretched his body, much like he would before training with Lukas. It took him a few minutes, but when he was done, he felt much warmer. Kneeling down, Alaster put his hand on the shield and prepared himself to wrestle his mana once again. It had not been a pleasant experience, even if the feeling of his own mana was.
It took the young man nearly ten minutes to finally activate his Ring and put the shield inside its pocket dimension. Once he was done, Alaster stepped out of the shallow pit and began to kick the snow back in to fill it.
Even in his excitement of his Class, he had not forgotten that he had people hunting him. He did not know how far away they were, or even if they knew where he was. Either way, Alaster did not want to leave a single sign of his passing. Alaster tossed some leaves and pine needles on top of the filled in pit and called it good.
Not knowing where anything was in relation to his location, Alaster simply decided to head west, so the rising sun was at his back and would not blind him. Alaster traveled quickly, but quietly. Just as Isabella had said, the amulet was muffling any sound directly created by him. It was a minor effect, but Alaster was able to notice the difference if he focused.
It was nearly four hours later that Alaster came upon his first prey. A fat boar, digging through the snow to reach what little plant life remained. Seeing the large tusks, that looked very sharp, Alaster did not want to get anywhere close. Instead, he decided that he would use his spell, Necrotic Bolt.
Alaster crouched behind a tree and peeked out. The boar had not noticed him, Alaster had remembered the lessons from his father and kept his prey upwind of him. The young man carefully raised his hand and lined it up to his target.
Spell casters did not need to do an incantation to use a spell, if they had enough mastery over it. Alaster, did not.
Forced to use an incantation, "Necrotic Bolt."
Even spoken under his breath, the Boar immediately perked up and turned in his direction. But it was too late.
Alaster felt his mana leave his body and collect at his open palm, where it began to swirl. Alaster saw his own mana for the first time. The sickly green fog had seemed to take on a violent water texture. As it built up, it grew bigger and spun faster. And then, it shot out from his hand and towards its target. As it flew, it elongated, its point becoming more and more narrow. And then it hit the side of the boar.
It had formed in a second and hit its target over five meters away in less than even that.
The Boar squealed in pain, its entire body shaking. Its eyes locked on Alaster, but instead of attacking, it instead turned around and ran. At least, it tried to. The moment the Bolt hit, the flesh around the wound seemed to dissolve and expand. It was sickening, it squeals of pain only adding to the disturbing scene. But Alaster did not allow himself to turn away. This was a part of him now. Whether he liked it or not.
The spread of the Necrotic Energy stopped after a moment, but by then, it had dissolved a doublewide fist sized hole, both inside and outside the point of impact. Alaster quickly approached with his sword drawn, but he did not need to bother. The Boar had died quickly, if painfully.
Not wasting time, Alaster bent down and started to carve into the meat. He made a point to avoid any meat even close to the hole, but the boar was fat enough for there to be plenty of meat left. Normally, when butchering an animal on while on the hunt, you would leave the bones as they were just dead weight. But Alaster ensured that any bone that came loose was kept in a pile. He had uses for them.
Finished with the animal, Alaster once again fought with his mana to use his ring, putting all but a few pieces of meat inside. For the rest, he quickly cleared a spot of snow and started a fire. As a village born and raised child, Alaster knew how to start a fire, even if all he had were two sticks, such as now.
Alaster relished in the heat of the fire, small as it was. Sticking the meat, his soon to be breakfast, on a stick, Alaster set it over the flames to cook. As it cooked, Alaster allowed himself to wonder at the effectiveness of his Necrotic Bolt. It had practically eaten the flesh of the Boar. Only needing a single cast to kill it.
[Necrotic Bolt
Level 1: 10%
Fires a single bolt of condensed Necrotic energy
Mana Cost: 10]
'Huh, ten percent with a single use? I only needed to use it as much as I had mana for. But if I used the spell on a tree, would it increase? Or does it need an actual target?'
Alaster did not know, but nor was he in a hurry to try. He was starving, but even more than that, he was careful. He did not want to use all his mana and then be practically defenceless if a threat appeared.
[Class: Death Mage
Level: 1
EXP: 2%
Health: 120/120
Health Regeneration: 5/min
Mana: 127/130
Mana Regeneration: 1/min
Spells: Necrotic Bolt, Raise Undead, Bone Crafting
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 11
Constitution: 14
Wisdom: 19
Intelligence: 16]
The spell had taken ten mana, and while he had started a fire and begun cooking, most of it had already regenerated. Alaster also took note that his Class EXP had increase by two percent.
'Great! I only have to kill forty-nine more Boars just like this one!' Alaster thought sarcastically.
Satisfied with the sizzling meat, Alaster took a bite of the tough meat. It was a boring meal, especially after he had grown used to eating with a Noble Family, but he was too hungry to care.
However, as he opened his mouth to take another bite, Alaster heard a crunch of snow to the side.
Something was there.