I once again fell head first on the ground.
You have lost 10 mana
And the usual message appeared again. Well I am getting used to it.....wait that's a bad thing right?
[Brat, scout your location before anything else]
I'm not a brat! I have a fine name called Eden here.
[Fine, I'll call you Eden in exchange that you listen to my advice seriously]
And why would I do that?
[For starters there's a bear about to kill you]
Feeling Danger I activated a mana shield at once.
Mana Shield took 281 damage
Man that was close. A three metre tall brown bear stood on its legs and slashed at me. I would've definitely lost a limb or two if not for my mana shield. Anyway I got up from the ground covered in leaves and moved a couple of metres away from it. It wasn't moving or attacking me. Why?
[It seems its confused on what happened. Take this chance to kill it quickly. We have to know where we are in the first place]
Right. I imagined the bear being blasted by five fireballs that came form my hands.
"Fireball times 5"
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM
As soon as I chanted the name, five fireballs each with the diameter of 2 metres consecutively hit the bear killing it. The corpse of the bear fell on the ground and made a thump sound. The majority of its body was burnt and the sound was pretty strong. It seems I overdid it.
[Well according to your status window, you are level 86 and you have the benefits that comes with being my host]
True anyway I looked around and found that I was in another forest. But this time I felt the presence of other people in the area. Well it wasn't like I could feel them but....
[Ah so that was the change in you]
Eh? What change?
[It seems your senses have been sharpened with my awakening]
What does that mean?
[Think of it as having a radar on you at all times. It seems this ability is restricted with the Burning Snake Seal you have on you. It'll probably work properly when you undo the seal]
So if I undo the seal now then..
[DON'T There are other humans in this area. They will find it very suspicious that their mana was drained. I heard the churches in this world hate non-humans besides the dwarves, elves and Orcs with a passion. You don't want to be hunted right?]
Fine. At least I know there's a large city just west of here even though its not functioning properly. But before I head there I should loot the bear. I walked to where the corpse was and took the couple pieces of copper and some bear meat before heading to the city gate. When I was a couple metres away form it, I realised that the city was very big. The walls were at least four metre tall and I could see a castle on the highest point of the place. I used my confused senses to find the nearest gate which was to the left of where I was currently located.
After a minute of walking I saw a large number of people gathered around and the slight of them being owned by rabbits....I think back to my own experience with the purple rabbit and shuttered at the thought of facing another one any time soon.
"Hey! You over there!"
I heard a very loud male voice from somewhere. I looked around to see what was going on. It probably doesn't involve me at all. I started once more walking to the gate where there were two guards checking everyone that comes through. But before I could even walk five metres to it a hand grabbed my shoulder and stopped me.
"Hey I was talking to you." said a man that was puffing out air form the short sprint. I turned to look at the man. He was a bit taller than me and had average looks. He had the newbie armor as well but carried a iron sword and a circular shield on him. He was short brown hair and looked as if he was rolling in dirt for a while.
"What do you need." I answered coldly.
The man was startled by my expression but still proceeded to annoy me.
"Would you like to join my party for a hunt?" the man asked with a bit of sweat coming out of him from nervousness I guess. The man pointed at a group that already contained five people. I see no reason to accept, he already had plenty people with him to not die so easily.
"No"
I started walking to the gates once more but the man stops me again. I swear if he does that one more time I'm going to cook him alive and feed him to goblins.
[Calm down Eden. This could be a good chance to gather some information on the city. Also you can properly measure your strength with this group of his]
I did agree on following llyfr's advice. This one so bad. While I was have a conversation with llyfr it seems the man was trying to have a conversation with me. I really have no idea what he was saying before so I quickly said, "Fine, as long as you don't bother me."
You have accepted the party invite
Wait a party invite? The man suddenly had a happy expression on his face. I wonder why. He lead me to the group that was four males and one female.
"The one to the left is an archer level 7 named Jack. The one next to him is called Mark, a level 6 warrior. Then there's Adam a level 7 warrior along with his brother Moses a level 7 mage and the gem of our group Natalie a level 5 cleric."
Man they were really low level. I have nothing to say but this group sucks. I looked back at the man who introduced his teammates.
"Ah, I didn't properly introduce myself, I am Han a level 10 swordsman. Don't be surprise at my skills in battle." Han started to laugh out loud and his teammates did as well. Well I should give them an introduction as well.
[Remember to keep your power as hidden as possible. Its probably not wise to tell them your true level nor a fake one since we don't know the standard]
"I'm Eden a mage."
For some reason the one named Moses got happy when I said my class even though I kinda lied. Well I might as well get along with them for a bit until I learn everything I need.
"So Eden did you just start?" asked Han
I need to make it seem like I'm a new player.
"Um...yeah, I might not be much help to you guys."
Han smiled again and said, "That's fine."
Han said something about taking a challenge and led the group deep in the forest. I really don't care since most things near the city are really weak compared to me right now.
[Don't let your guard down. I believe someone once before went to a place with weak monster to pick on them to face a dragon almost immediately. Morale of the story is to never underestimate anything. Always use the right amount of power]
Right. But I can't help it that I believe this group would be fine without me. There's six of them.
[Anyway try to get close to them]
True. I started to observe the group I just joined. The one named Jack had a bow half his height so I presume he's a rapid fire type archer. He was wearing a helmet along with some iron on it for better defence. He was roughly my height.
Mark was a two metre high man that carried a equally big great sword. He had short blue spiky hair like you see in some anime.
Adam had a similar build as Han. However he didn't have a shield and was shorter than me.
Similarly Moses looked like Adam but was wearing a worn out brown robe and had a wooden staff.
Natalie the so called gem of the group was....well average looking. She like Moses wore a robe but it was mostly white and had a glossy looking staff. Well that's it for their appearance, I can't say much for their personality but I hope it isn't similar to Han.
"Wolves!"
Ah it seems something is happening.
"Jack, Moses, Natalie, Eden fall back. We'll handle this." commanded Han.
"Tch."
Did someone tch just now? I couldn't see who made that sound. Anyway I ran back a bit with the other three and saw a wolf appear in front of us. What I thought Han shouted wolves not wolf. I kinda disappointed right now.
[Eden Observe them]
Right right. Hans stood in front of the wolf while the other two stood a bit to the side on his left and right. It seems this formation was to let the wolf attack Han and allow the other two to gang up of it. I stood at the very back of the formation with Moses and Natalie. Jack was a bit in front of us since he has more physical capabilities then magic users I suppose. Well it was a stable formation as long as the three in front don't die.
"Rapid Shot!"
The three in front quickly moved away form the wolf and Jack fired a set of arrows that barely grazed the wolf.
"Fireball"
Moses next to me fired a fireball towards the wolf. I need to see how powerful a regular fireball is since I kinda am 80 levels higher than them. The wolf quickly dodged the fireball and it made a burnt mark on the ground. I'm surprise that the ground didn't catch on fire with all the leaves around. The wolf then quickly ran towards Moses but was blocked by Han.
BANG
"Now!" shouted Han.
Adam and Mark quickly ran to the wolf that was next to Han and started to attack quickly. The wolf surrounded by three people couldn't escape but instead started attacking them.
"Healing hand"
Natalie next to me healed them whenever the wolf attacked. I see this is a safe plan as long as Natalie has mana to heal the three in front. Jack was also sniping the wolf through the small gaps between the three surround the wolf. Eventually after a minute of constant pounding the wolf finally died. I didn't even gain a percent of experience from it. Well I think the majority of the experience goes to the one who kills it and the rest gets split depending on the contributions to the battle...so that means I get next to nothing either way.
With a grin of victory Han and the other two returned carrying the loot.
"Jack find us another wolf to kill."
Jack immediately went somewhere obeying Han's order. After a few minutes Jack lured another wolf to the group. Man do I have to endure more of this.
[Just a bit more. Try talking to them]
Fine. This better not end up with them attacking me.
[Its not like they can harm you]
"Hey Eden you should try to help out this time." commented Natalie.
While worded like an insult of some sort, her voice was surprisingly sweet. Well I should try to help these guys out though I have to moderate my power to their level. The three in front once again acted as bait and allowed the rest of us to attack. This time I attacked as well.
"Lightning Bolt"
ZAP
I fired the weakest lightning bolt passed the three in front and hit the wolf that was stunned for a split second before jumping back a bit. The wolf was alive and all so that should be enough.
"Rapid Fire"
"Fireball"
Jack and Moses immediately attacked seeing that the wolf was away from the others. The wolf tried to dodge the attacks but was still damaged so it affected its evasion skills and took the attacks leaving it in a bloody state. The three in front took the chance to once more gang up on the lone wolf and kill it.