Andrew awoke from his nap and collected the metal plates that were sprawled out around him. He had fallen asleep in the middle of the ring of trees and had apparently slept for a couple hours. It was getting dark now, and he would leave for the bear's cave soon. He wanted to wait until it settled down to sleep for the night before he drew it out of hiding.

He took stock of all his equipment. Empowered pants and long-sleeve shirt. Hammer in a belt loop, spear in his arms. Two bundles of metal plates wrapped in cloth and tied around his waist. He was about as ready as he could get. He walked to the river and took a few long drinks, and sat by the bank eating a meal of dried fruit and jerky. He wanted to be at full strength when he fought the bear. Just in case.

If this goes poorly it might even be my last meal. Not the worst I've had, but I think I'll try and hold out if only to learn how to actually cook.

He finished his meal and picked up the wooden firestarter and two torches which he tucked under his arm. All in all it was an awkward load but he wanted to be prepared. He set his way off into the darkening forest towards the crevice. Halfway through it became too dark to see and he held the firestarter around one of his torches, infusing it with mana until it began to burn.

He walked through the dark forest for an hour and a half, constantly looking around, but being unable to pick anything specific out of the darkness around him. He heard things moving through the brush around him but thankfully nothing bothered him on his journey.

When he was within sight of the crevice it was well and truly dark out. Andrew could see the outline of the cliff silhouetted against the bright stars above, and his torch reached just far enough to reveal the river flowing out of it. He crammed the torch into a cluster of loose rocks close enough to illuminate the entrance to the valley and crept up to look inside.

He was rewarded with the sight of a big brown bear curled up peacefully next to one wall of the little valley, white spines tinged with blue from the bright moon above. He stepped away and began setting both of his magic circles, first the binding circle, then the heating circle. He pushed mana into the binding circle and it began to pulse with a faint purple light.

Perfect all set. No wolf ambush or anything. Now the dangerous part.

He headed back to the crevice entrance, carefully side stepping along the narrow strip of riverbank between the circle and the flowing water. When he was within sight of the bear once again he glanced back and checked his exit path, then took a deep breath and shouted.

"Hey shit head! You wanna fight?"

He slammed his hammer into the cliff wall, cracking it against the stones, spear still held in his other hand. The bear uncurled from where it was sleeping and regarded him. It lifted itself to its feet, it's four pronged spiny maw opened up releasing a long snaking tongue, and it bellowed out matching his challenge. The sound broke him out of his detached observation of the horror before him and he turned to rush back around his circle. He could hear the bear's claws scraping over stone as it charged towards his back. He cleared the circle and turned to see it leap out from the cave and straight into his glowing circle.

He breathed a sigh of relief as it slowed down within the circle. It's speed was reduced to a crawl as the runes around began to glow brighter. It slowed, but did not stop. It was still moving, a centimeter at a time, much faster than the wolves had managed. This close he could smell the now familiar scents of blood and raw meat wafting out of it's gaping jaws.

Okay, not as effective against the bear as it is the wolves. Noted. Gotta work quick.

He threw his hammer back into its loop and reached for the firestarting circle. He pushed as much mana into it as he could, as quickly as he could.

MP: 200/300

His mana pool felt quite large now, and it regenerated faster. It was enough to make a difference when heating the forge, but he wasn't sure how much it would count in a race against time like this. He hoped it would be enough as the second set of runes began to glow. He saw the bear slow for just a moment within the circle before resuming it's crawl towards him. He kept pushing.

Twenty

Thirty

Forty

Sixty

The bear had begun pushing harder, trying to force itself towards him as if fighting through an invisible bubble of thick tar. He could see faint wisps of smoke begin to emit from the grass within the circle, and could make out a slight haze in the air.

He Kept pushing.

Eighty

Ninety

One hundred.

The grass was dried and brown now, crumbling under the concentration of fire mana. The bear was literally steaming. It was getting close to the edge of the circle now. He only had a minute more, maybe less. He placed one foot on the heat circle, continuing to push as much mana as quickly as he could through it as he began jabbing at the bear with his spear.

One ten,

One twenty

One thirty.

With each pulse of mana he stabbed into the bear. The spear pierced easily, and the blood that flowed out dried and cracked instantly on the bears fur. The wounds releasing clouds of dark smoke. It was still moving.

One forty.

One fifty

One sixty

One seventy.

The bear slowed. It was still standing, still straining, still pushing forward. Moving a centimeter at a time, in slow motion jerking twitches, surrounded by an ever growing cloud of black smoke.

One eighty.

One ninety

Two hundred

The bear burst into flames. One second it was there, grass smoking, wounds smoking, saliva steaming. The next it was a massive ball of fire. The heat reached him even outside the circle and he had to fight the urge to step back and off the circle. The bear wasn't more than a few inches away from him now, and as crazy as it sounded he didn't trust it to be dead quite yet.

He waited and watched a little longer as the fire continued to burn.

Two ten

Two twenty.

He pulled his foot off the circle and stood back. It's glow faded though the heat within the circle remained for a while longer, slowly diffusing out. The bear was still a ball of fire and the smell of cooking meat permeated everything.

I wonder if it'll still be edible afterwards.

It was a grim thought but he had ate nothing but salted jerky and dried fruit since he got here. The smell made his mouth water and stomach clench.

Still though. This is a pretty gnarly way to go. PETA would be all over my ass for this. Too bad I'm not strong enough to have killed it quicker.

The fireball that was once a bear died down and left behind a smoking corpse. The fur was entirely burnt away and the flesh below was a ruined charred mass. The spines were charred black and sticking out at odd angles.

Probably not edible then. Also, fucking gross.

He reached out and poked it a couple times with the butt of his spear, just to be sure.

Ah Right.

Show Log.

[+1 Intelligence for pushing the limits of your mana control]

[+1 Wisdom for sustaining constant mana control]

[+1 Wisdom for sustaining constant mana control]

[Dire Bear lvl 48 defeated. For defeating an opponent far above your level you gain additional experience]

[Scavenger leveled up]

[Scavenger leveled up]

[Scavenger leveled up]

[Scavenger leveled up]

[Scavenger leveled up]

[Scavenger leveled up]

[Scavenger leveled up]

[Scavenger leveled up]

[Scavenger leveled up]

[Your current skills and achievements allow you to choose from the following catalysts]

[Rune Shaper: The Shaper controls the wild magics of the arcane with extreme precision. Forming mana into careful bindings which make efficient and exact use of mana. Runic magic takes much longer to prepare than most, but is also capable of doing much more with less expenditure and far more control. You have shown impressive dedication to learning the craft and gain instinctive insights on rune designs. A Shaper learns runecraft more quickly and creates runs with more speed and skill, applying them to a variety of materials with ease]

[Arcane Enchanter: The Enchanter imbues items with mana giving their users permanent boosts in power and protection, without need for constant mana infusion. The Enchanter has basic knowledge of runes and their uses, but relies mostly on their mana and craftsmanship to alter items and improve them based on their affinities. You have developed a number of affinities and imbued many items with your arcane powers. You have basic skills in a variety of crafts and have already taken the basic steps towards becoming an enchanter without the assistance of a catalyst. Enchanters are quite rare and while their work is resource intensive it is always valuable.]

[Druidic Apprentice: You gain understanding of the nature mana around you. The basic elements heed your call and you gain a simple understanding of the natural life around you. You have immersed yourself in nature while practicing mana control, and imbued items with natural mana.]

[Runic Pioneer: You have begun to tread on a path unknown to even those of the age before. Runes were rare knowledge then, acquired by only the most dedicated of enchanters and closely guarded. You will be the first to tread the path of a pure rune mage. With time and dedication you will hold powers any nation would fear. Any home a fortress. Any weapon an unmatched tool of your will. With time to prepare the Runic Pioneer will have no threats. Your dedication to learning the runic arts, mana control, infusion, empowerment, and inscription allow you to access this class. Note: choosing this catalyst will consume the pioneer title]

Well, these are certainly some better catalyst options than I was given before. The Rune shaper seems to just make me a little better at what I've already been doing. Nothing incredibly exciting there.

The Arcane Enchanter is a little more interesting. It mentions crafting skills and seems to have closer ties to the mana smelting and item empowerment skills than anything. Might have some good synergy with my scavenger class which seems to rely on items. It also notes that it is resource intensive, which is concerning. Would advancement require more than just mana in the future? That could be restrictive if those resources are hard to come by.

The Druidic apprentice was the least expected of the options I was given. Either I've accumulated more nature affinity than I thought, or it was considered more of an accomplishment than I knew. Either way "the basic elements heed your call" sounds a lot like the kind of thing that would lead to fireballs and ice spikes. Traditional magic stuff. Instant power. Very tempting.

Runic pioneer is the real weird one though. It promises a lot, and gives rune magic some serious hype. "Closely guarded knowledge", "An unmatched tool of your will" "an unknown path even to those before". It sounds like a dead easy pick, especially if it just comes with considerable advancements in my abilities to make use of runes. But, that last part was a little concerning. Apparently the Pioneer title can be consumed?

[Your Pioneer Title will allow rapid development of skills and attributes. Spend it Wisely.]

Ah right, the primer did mention something about spending the title. If my current gains were considered rapid then I'm more than a little hesitant to throw away the title. I might be losing a major advantage early on. The catalyst seemed too good to be true, and I'm sure that with enough time to dedicate to learning the runes I could do most of what that class described anyways. Though maybe on a smaller scale. The catlysts did change quite a bit since I last checked them.

Maybe….

I've been saving the catalyst choice for a while already….

I really should just pick one and get it over with right?

It'll make me stronger…

If I become a druid I might be able to talk to animals. That would be pretty sweet.

But.

What if I held back for just a little longer. Built up more affinities. Got better at modifying runes. Maybe, learned a rune creation skill or something. Its supposed to be easier with the pioneer title after all.

Might be a whole lot stronger once I actually start leveling it.

The scavenger skills were a little underwhelming, and I picked that one right away. It was the best and most unique of my options then.

……………..

Okay. Just a few more skills, figure out the third rune circle in the book at least. Get my mana smelting and crafting skills up a little more. Just see what other options we'll have later. It'll be worth it. Patience. Patience, for the sake of pure greed.

I should've gained a new skill for scavenger as well huh.

Scavenger Skills

Available Skills:

[Material Sense: Expand your senses gaining information on the general quantity and quality of materials around you. Can be narrowed to increase range and precision.

Mana Sense: Expand your senses gaining information on the density and type of mana around you. Can be narrowed to increase range and precision.

Delve Item: Saturate an item with your mana, examining it in its entirety. You gain knowledge on the intended use of this item and may learn the methods of its construction or operation.

Sense Weakness: You gain insight into the construction of items and structures. You area able to sense the weak points of items within your sight and sufficient observation may highlight additional weaknesses.

Scavenger's Resilience (Passive): Rusty nails, caustic chemicals, expired foods, and fellow opportunists are just part of another day for the scavenger. You earn damage resistances more quickly and can last longer without food or water. Your skin becomes slightly tougher and the affect of vitality on your defenses is increased]

Shit. I planned to jump straight to mana sense. All this affinity talk makes me really want to get in on the action. The ability to sense types of mana seems like it could tell me a ton about how my rune circles work. That being said, Damage Resistance. That wolf chewed into me pretty easy, and if I can't trap an enemy on one of my circles I'm toast. Sense weakness seemed interesting, but situational. There are literally no buildings around right now, and I've been fighting wolves and bears and shit. I'm the only one around here toting armor. If I was fighting golems or something that would be a no brainer though.

Scavernger's Resilience it is. Those resistances will always be useful and I might still be able to figure out this mana sense thing on my own. It would count as a skill, so it should be easier to learn as long as I hold onto my pioneer title.

[Scavenger's Resilience Skill gained]

Status.

Name: Andrew Neilson

Race: Human

Catalyst: None

Class: Scavenger lvl 17

Profession: None

Titles: Pioneer

Status:

HP: 330/330

SP: 310/330

MP: 50/280

Attribute points: 80

Strength: 24

Dexterity: 42

Vitality: 36

Intelligence: 31

Wisdom: 41

Skills:

-Perception lvl 5

-Camouflage lvl 1

-Mana Control lvl 5

-Woodcarving lvl 4

-Rune Inscription lvl 3

-Adaptive Weapon Mastery lvl 2

-Empower Item lvl 6

-Rune Modification lvl 1

-Blood Infusion lvl 1

-Stone Carving lvl 2

-Mana Inscription lvl 3

-Mana Smelting lvl 2

-Blacksmithing lvl 2

-Scavenger's Resilience lvl 1

Damn that’s a lot of attribute points just banked up there. Nine points in Dex, Vit, and Wis is a big gain too. It would take me easily three or four days of carving to get that much Dex, and here it was delivered on a steaming platter of bear in a matter of minutes. Wild. Still, gonna keep to the plan. Bank those points until it looks like I'll never gain another through hard work again. Might be the death of me, but I've always been the type to hoard potions and scrolls in games. Sometimes it paid off. No one around to judge.

He walked past the bear to examine his new living space. It was as he remembered it. A tiny, rocky valley nestled into sheer cliffsides. The river poured from a crack high in the cliff face, pooling below before flowing down and out. As he wandered the little valley he noticed a corpse deposited near the front. It was mostly consumed but looked human-ish. It was smaller than average, about three or four feet tall, and what skin was left had a greenish tinge. It was wearing boots though, which had not been eaten.

I wonder if this is what the bear was hunting for levels? If it is, and if this is what I think it is, goblins are a lot more impressive than I thought. The little green men were able to provide decent experience for big ol bear boy here, they might be tough to deal with. Looks like this one was dragged here to be eaten though, so long as they think the bear lives here they might be too scared to approach the valley. I should try and find a way to make a gate for that entrance before they figure out they have a new neighbor.

He took a look around the small valley. It was filled with slabs of flat rocks piled on top of one another. The river was slightly earthy but the rest looked quite uneven and the area where the bear had slept was the only undisturbed section of flat earth other than the riverbank, which was mostly gravel.

Might be a bit tough going here for the first couple nights, till I can get something more comfortable worked out. Colder than my burrow too. Shit.

He collected his metal plates and began the walk back to his burrow.

I will make that place mine.

Starting tomorrow.

I'll still have to move all my stuff over there anyways. Has nothing to do with the cold and the lack of a nice warm burrow for protection. Nothing at all.

He had to light his second torch to get a good view of his surroundings on the walk back, but that just meant one less thing to carry to his new home. Moving without a truck is going to be massively problematic.

How am I going to get all my magic rocks over there? Shit. Oh shit this is going to be a whole thing isn't it?

I see strength increases in my future. I guess it was falling behind anyways. Shit.

He cursed his way back home and to his burrow. Settling down to sleep plagued by nightmares of pushing boulders.

That wagon in the road still has wheels though. Hah, really staying true to my class name I guess. Stealing the whole wagon down to the wheels and frame.