Gravity reasserted itself on Merline's body, causing his hair and clothes to fall back down.
His forward momentum continued at the same walking pace he'd had when approaching the Rift from the other side.
Even though Merline found himself in a forest once again, it was clearly different in a number of ways from the park that he'd just left.
Merline looked at his surroundings and dismissed the blue window that appeared in his vision before he took the time to read it. He continued to look around but couldn't see much movement. The only sounds that could be heard were a light drizzle of rain and the drip of water from higher branches.
His shoulders tensed as he scanned the wet underbrush and the dense foliage that surrounded him. Even though he hadn't felt like his life was in danger while in the last Rift, Merline knew that things could, and likely would, be very different this time around.
After a few tense seconds, Merline was fairly sure that he wasn't going to be attacked and didn't see any other humans standing around. He moved a short distance away from the portal and looked back at the window the System had prompted him with.
Personal Quest: Culling the Boars
Kill 10 Forest Boars.
Rift Quest: Corrupted Forest
Uproot the corruption before the Ancient Forest Biome becomes a Corrupted Forest.
Alright, fighting some boars. That's pretty standard for a fantasy game.
Taking another look around, Merline took his pack off and set it on the ground. He stripped off his winter coat, did his best to wrap it tight, and tuck it in the backpack while removing the hatchet he'd gotten that morning.
His thoughts drifted back to the sturdy-looking spear that John Riley had carried with him when they met. It made his small hatchet look inadequate.
It's not all about size, right?
He couldn't help but snicker to himself as he picked up the pack and slowly made his way through the forest. Merline did his best to continue on in a straight line, curious to see how far he'd have to walk before finding any signs of life.
The forest floor was wet as if it had recently been in a downpour. He was thankful that it was only misting while he was there. He'd bought a small poncho from the camping section that morning, but it looked more like a trash bag than a rain jacket.
I'm sure I'd be sweating to death out here if I had to wear that.
He clipped the waist belt from the new hiking pack and kept walking on, feeling the pull in his Core toward the portal. Even though the feeling was odd, it did comfort him to know that he could make his way back if he needed to.
It took Merline 15 minutes of walking through the underbrush before he was annoyed, and everything from his waist down was soaking wet.
Fuck. Wet socks are the worst.
He did his best to lift his feet over the large, wet leaves. He was focused more on avoiding tripping over sticks than on his surroundings when he suddenly heard a crashing sound from his left.
The snapping of sticks and snorting were terrifyingly loud, especially compared to the relative silence from a few seconds ago.
"Oh, shit!"
Merline yelped as he tried to run to the side and get out of the charging boar's line. A few heartbeats later, a small blurry brown wrecking ball barreled through the space that Merline had previously occupied.
Oh shit.
For some reason, those two words seemed to take over the entire plan that Merline had spent the last 15 minutes putting together. He'd had all kinds of theories on how to bait the boar into running into a tree, dodging it at the last second, and then striking with his hatchet.
He'd spent most of the morning's car ride going over the steps and theory behind the article he'd read the night before. He could potentially use mana to enhance a punch or a weapon strike by pushing mana into a limb.
All of his planning immediately went out the window as Merline ran out of the boar's way and did his best to find a thick tree to put between them. He looked over his shoulder and lifted his arms over the waist-high foliage, holding the ax in a way that he wouldn't hit himself with the blade.
He had to lift his knees abnormally high as he stepped over the dense undergrowth and sticks that threatened to trip him.
I probably look like fucking Captain Jack Sparrow.
REALLY!? That's where my brain is going? Focus, Merline.
Merline berated himself as he skidded behind a tree that was twice as thick as he was.
He forced himself to take deep breaths and focus on what was happening around him. He could hear the beast rummaging around and snorting a distance away.
Probably trying to smell where I went.
Thinking back to some of his games with Mark, he knew that a boar was one of the more common, low-level monsters that they had to fight. They charged and screeched a lot, but the only other tidbit of information Merline could remember was that the animals had a very thick hide.
Merline glanced down at his hatchet.
It feels a whole lot scarier when a real beast is charging me at full speed. If it hit my knees… I'd never walk again. That simple.
He was doing his best to maintain some amount of steady breathing, but his heart was hammering away in his chest, and the fear dragged the breaths from him in gasps.
The sounds of the beast were getting closer, and Merline knew he had to make a decision.
Commit or run.
Fuck it.
Taking one more deep breath, Merline stepped out from behind the tree and positioned himself between the tree and the boar. As he did, the sounds went quiet.
He stood there, the whole forest falling silent.
The forest seemed to explode around him again as the snorting and smashing of branches came back in full force.
It was hard for him to see where the boar was, but he could see the bushes and big leaves moving.
He felt like he was playing chicken with a semi-truck.
"Ahh!"
Merline dodged to the side and couldn't help but yell in fear and excitement.
The dull thunk that sounded out as the boar slammed into the tree made Merline wince. Turning, he shifted his weight and regripped the hatchet. He swung down with the short weapon as the boar lay on its side, momentarily stunned.
As soon as he struck it a second time, the beast began to thrash and squeal. The sound was at least two or three times louder than he expected it to be, the animal clearly in distress.
With no time to feel bad for the animal, Merline leaped back, fearful that the tusks might gore him. Almost too late, he realized that he was far too close to the boar.
If I want it to charge again, I've got to get distance.
He put the large tree between the two of them and found another suitable tree nearby.
Merline took off as fast as he could, glancing back over his shoulder. As he got closer, he saw the sea of leaves begin to part again as the boar screamed in rage while charging a second time.
He had barely made it to the tree when he needed to dive to the side to avoid his rear end from being impaled.
Merline sprawled into the dirt and quickly got back onto his feet, though he had lost his hatchet in the fall.
With panic filling him, Merline stepped forward and let his practice with [Mana Shaping] take over.
He pulled mana from his Core and guided it to his hand, letting it take the rough shape of his fist before punching forward. As he extended his arm to the full distance and made contact with the boar, he pushed out with the mana. This caused a small explosion of air and mana to emit from his knuckles as they made contact with the monster's side.
The boar let out one more squeal before laying on its side. Its chest and ribs were caved in from the blow.
Blue motes of light floated lazily into the air. This time, as they rushed into him, something different happened.
They hit his chest, and small golden motes of light began to fall around his head and down to his feet like giant snowflakes.
You have slain Forest Boar - Level 1
Congratulations Awakened. You have leveled up!
You have 3 Stat Points to distribute.
New Skill Learned: [Mana Infusion] (Novice - Level 1)
Do you accept? Yes/No?
It took several minutes for him to compose himself.
It was odd, Merline had heard about how much adrenaline and fear can affect a body. But he wasn't expecting the rush of emotions that followed. His hands shook as he gripped his knees, and while he searched for the hatchet in the underbrush, he couldn't tell if he wanted to laugh or cry.
After finding his hatchet, he took a few more minutes to reassess everything that had happened and how he'd done it. Overall, things had gone about how he'd planned; he just hadn't anticipated the fact that he'd be scared witless at first contact.
Now, I know what to expect.
Just… nine more times. Yeah, that's all…
Sitting on the damp ground with his back against the tree beside the now-dead monster, Merline pulled up his Status Window. He accepted the offered skill and pulled up its window as well. However, he was most interested to see how things had changed with his level up and to see how much mana he'd used in his terror-filled punch.
Status
Name: Merline Moore - Level 2
Class: None
HP: 50/50
MP: 18/60
Traits: (1/3)
{Primordial Will}
Physical Stats:
Strength: 4
Agility: 5
Constitution: 5
Vitality: 6
Magical Stats:
Intellect: 6
Willpower: 3
Mana: 6
Wisdom: 6
Free Points: 3
Active Skills:
[Mana Shaping] (Novice - Level 3)
[Mana Infusion] (Novice - Level 1)
Passive Skills:
(None)
[Mana Infusion] - Grants the ability to infuse mana into objects that are mana-receptive.
Merline winced as he saw he'd used almost half of his mana on the single punch attack.
Knowing it was likely pointless, Merline tried to guide his free points to enter intellect.
If using the System was considered intuitive and could be guided with thoughts and intent. Then Merline attempting to put points into Intellect or Constitution, could only be described as the mental equivalent to pushing against a brick wall.
There was no give at all, and he could tell instinctively that it wasn't going to work.
Fuck.
With a sigh, Merline directed his thoughts to enter a point into Willpower. He put one free point into the stat, then rubbed his eyes and looked at his Status Window.
Physical Stats:
Strength: 4
Agility: 5
Constitution: 5
Vitality: 6
Magical Stats:
Intellect: 6
Willpower: 6
Mana: 6
Wisdom: 6
Free Points: 2
He'd only put one point toward the stat, but it had increased by three. Merline put the remaining points into the skill and was pleased to see his Willpower stat at 12. In just one level, it had quadrupled, and it was already his highest stat.
This must be what the description meant by 'Stat Weights.' Hmm.
Merline paused for a minute.
Maybe this isn't so useless after all? What does an increased Willpower mean? Will it be worth it even if the trade-off is that my HP pool is at 50 points forever?
Merline scoffed, as he was certain that the trade-off would not be worth it.
Whatever, nine more boars to go.
Where he'd been feeling excited about receiving a new skill and the level, suddenly, he just didn't care very much. It felt hollow to know that he wouldn't be able to make any other choices with his Free Points, no matter how many levels he might gain.
Another hour passed as Merline walked, found, and fought his second boar.
This time he didn't receive a level-up with the kill, but he did hear something else after the kill.
Clapping.
"Good shit!"
Merline spun around to see a young man wearing very bloody clothes walking out of the woods toward him.
"Uh… thanks?"
"You made that look easy."
Merline took a small step away from the man, staying near the tree that he'd just finished the boar by.
"Hey, no reason to be all skittish. Just heard some fighting and thought I'd come check it out," he said while raising his hands.
Now that he was closer, Merline could tell the other person was much younger.
He can't be much older than 18. Why is he so covered in blood?
"Did you want something?" Merline asked.
The kid seemed a bit put off, "Nah, just wanted to say, hey. I haven't talked to many other Awakened."
Merline shrugged, "I'm really new. I barely know what's going on here."
Putting his hands in his pockets defensively, the kid answered. "Alright, well no need to be all weird."
Merline sighed, "Look, I'm sorry. I'm on edge. I work a desk job, and this is all very different to me. There have been posts on the Guild app about people attacking each other in the Rifts. Not to mention that you're covered in blood. I'm just on guard. No hard feelings."
For some reason, this seemed to make the younger man perk up. "Ah, yeah. I did read about that! Okay, well, look. Maybe you can hit me up after we're out of here?"
"Uhh… sure?" Merline said it, though the last word came to sound more like a question.
"Awesome! What's your AG ID?"
"My what?"
"You know, the username that you have in the Adventurer Guild App. The ID that is on your Guild Card?"
"Oh right, sorry. There are a lot of new terms to remember. It's NotXela."
"Okay..? Then, what is it?"
"What do you mean?"
"What you mean, what do I mean? If it's not Xela, then what is it? I don't even know what Xela means."
Merline smiled, remembering one of his grandfather's favorite skits. "Here, I'll spell it for you, ready?"
After he'd given the boy the spelling, he just shifted his weight and gave Merline a strange look. "Ok, a bit of a weird name, but I'll send you a DM when I get back to the portal. My name is Dylan, by the way."
Merline looked at him for a moment and then shrugged again. "Alright, man. Well I'm going to go keep looking for boars."
Merline began walking away, but he only made it a few steps before the red-headed boy called after him.
"Wait!"
He stopped.
"Aren't you going to check for a Mana Stone?"
"Check?"
The boy jogged over to where the boar was still lying and gave a breathless laugh.
"Well, yeah. You have to pull it out if you want it." He pointed to the monster's caved-in chest, "Where you punched it. If there's one there, it's usually in the chest cavity. I got two of 'em since I've been here."
Merline walked closer to where he was standing.
"Really?"
"Yeah, it was nasty, that's why my clothes are so bloody. This is even after I tried to wash off a bit in one of the creeks!" He laughed.
Ahh, I guess that solves that little mystery.
Merline set his pack down to grab his hatchet. He kept the boy in his peripheral vision as he started digging into the boar. It was messy, and after a minute, the boy called from a few feet away and said that it might not have had one.
"Unlucky," he added, seeing Merline's sour expression.
Is he fucking with me? Just wanted to watch me do all that work for nothing?
No, what would be the point?
"Oh, well. Better luck next time, I guess."
Eight more to go.
Merline and Dylan exchanged a few more words before continuing their separate ways.
After walking for several minutes, Merline couldn't help but feel frustrated about the messy harvesting attempt and not getting a stone for his effort.
Was he messing with me? No... he was covered in blood for a reason. Maybe I just really did get unlucky.
When he found and killed his next boar, Merline was more methodical about checking the chest cavity. This time, his search paid off.
He found a rough crystal about the size of his thumb hidden in the gore. The stone looked natural and uncut, like something you'd find in a cave. There were little chips in the side of the thin stone and it had a dim glow.
Merline could feel it resonate with his mana as he cleaned it off. It was clearly filled to the brim with energy.
Well, that's one for the Guild fee at least. If I can find more, I can really start saving them up.
Merline carefully stored the stone in a side pocket of his pack while making a mental note to thank Dylan if he saw him again. Even if the harvesting process was gruesome, knowing how to get the mana stones made it all worth it.