I wipe the sweat off my forehead, a meaningless action thanks to my scales and the fact that I haven’t actually sweated. In front of me is a steel spearhead consisting of roughly thirty centimeter long leaf-shaped blade, then a short tube to fit over a pole, ending with a small spike at each side, some ten centimeters below the blade itself. The whole thing is heavily imbued with mana, and even with no equipped abilities for it, I know the [System] recognizes it as ‘manasteel’. My recollection of the forging process is kinda blurry, but several abilities levelled up, and I got new ones:

Sub-Ability learned: [Imbuing: Energy Alloying]

Sub-Ability learned: [Mana Forging: Metal Shaping]

Meta Ability learned: [Enlightenment]

[Mana Forging: Metal Shaping] is pretty obvious. [Imbuing: Energy Alloying] is the ability to use energies to alloy metals, for example like I did for the manasteel. The name implies there are other energies beyond mana, which I really should get around to investigate. I know for a fact that something akin to qi/ki/chi (however you prefer to write it) exists.

The [Enlightenment] ability makes you occasionally be struck by inspiration and reach an enlightenment when under a [Crafting Trance] or similar effect, producing a result beyond your levels and knowledge. I’ve gotten pretty used to getting into a [Crafting Trance], and I wanted the spearhead to be, well, magical. Beyond that, I don’t remember much of what I did, which seems to be a side-effect. I think I can recreate manasteel now that I know of it, but I don’t think I could without the [Enlightenment].

In addition to the abilities, I got the [Aspect of Metal], which I imagine will come in handy. As for why I made a spearhead and not another blade? For one, spears have longer range, which means I don’t have to be as close to enemies. They are also thrusting weapons, which means I could use them underwater with relative ease, and they also work in the air. I can also throw it, which with [Force Magic] should be able to do a lot of damage. Finally, most monsters so far rely on throwing themselves at you, and pointing the speartip at them should dissuade that. Or kill them. I’ll take either.

I do need a shaft for the spear, and since the head came out well I wanna make a good one. Back to the forest, then. Actually, I think I should go much deeper, given how the Upheaval were more violent there. I turn to the site of my crafting, which is clearly, well, unnatural. Hmm, should I just leave it? Ehh, why not. I doubt many people will see it, anyway. I collect all my stuff, and as much of the broken mana crystal as I can, gathering it in a quickly conjured bottle, using one of the larger shards for a core. I should probably make and/or carry containers for this sorta stuff. Liquids and very small things like dust. Well, with this there’s nothing left behind (not counting the deformed rock), so I can head to the forest.

I stopped by my apartment to drop off the metals and crystal fragments, and took the chance to note down a couple ideas so that I don’t forget. Of course, I ended up expanding on the ideas, and now I have several new things to look out for in the forest. The ideas are, in short, a great way to advertise my new business, as well as cataloguing everything New World; plants, animal, ores, metals minerals, you name it. And of course, finding out their properties.

Until now I’ve usually gone to the eastern forest, but it is surrounded by continuous towns and such. Therefore, I’m flying to the northern forest, which covers a massive uninterrupted area. I take to the skies once again, giving a certain kind of thrill that I think, and hope, won’t fade away. I have found another app that not only measures speed, but logs your speed every five seconds, and give you the ability to see average speed per kilometer moved. It’s made for runners, but it will suit me well. And as such, I am racing to fly as fast as I can, for as long as I can.

I left the city behind a little while ago. I bet I could go even faster without the bag, so I will try to make a more compact, streamlined version. Still, this is plenty fast. I don’t dare check the phone right now, but I should be holding at least a hundred kilometers an hour. With my [Mana Perception] I have noticed that there are local differences in the mana density. Some places even have pockets of pretty dense mana, which is what I’m looking for.

It also seems like I was right in my guess that there will be more New World stuff further away from where people live. Just now, there was a giant tree in a pocket of mana. I wonder if it is the cause or an effect of the mana? Maybe they both were caused during the Upheaval. Also, some trees have pinkish leaves, in a way that does not look sickly. I bet those have some sort of magical properties.

Hmm, I should be far away to find what I want here. That hill over there looks like a good landmark to search around. There’s also something that sticks out on the top, looks a bit like a very primitive fort, actually. I enter a dive to get a better read on the mana in the area, and the fort, and a moment later something passes where I would be, had I continued straight.

It’s huge. Giant, dark gray wings. A body the size of a small car, with two short, clawed legs. A tail as long as the body, with its own little winglets. A serpentine head with a nasty looking set of teeth, snapping at air where I just was. Its vibrant orange eye focus on me for the moment it take to pass by me, and one of its wings hits one of mine.

I instinctively retract the hurting wing, which causes me to lose even more control, but I quickly realize my mistake, and kicking [Regeneration] into high gear, pull out of the dive, just as the [Wyvern] does the same.

For the moment, I am above it, and I have both speed and altitude. On my side I have my smaller size, intelligence, and the fact that I can use varied magic. Against me, is my inexperience with fighting, inability to use tools that require hands, and the fact that I have no idea what this giant flying lizard can do.

Well, I know the [Wyvern] can fly, and I get a strong feeling of Air from it. I should assume it can use air magic, since it is capable of flight with that size, and that said magic can be used to attack me. Also, if I’m not mistaken, the fort-looking structure is a nest of these things; there’s another, smaller one taking off from there.

That’s a whole lot of cons compared to the pros, so I’m getting the hell outta here. I turn away and start climbing to get as far away from them, as fast as possible. I realise that my magic defences are not up, so I cover myself in mana to absorb attacks, and guide my internal mana to the surface of my body, keeping about half in the core of my body.

I glance backwards. Shit. It’s faster than me! I can’t outrun it, and I doubt I can defeat it in fair aerial combat. I reckon it will have trouble following me if I go below the trees. I can’t fly using my wings there, but I can revert to my normal form and levitate, freeing up my haaA-

I narrowly dodge a blade of air by removing the air underneath me, causing a blast above. The wyvern is hot on my tail, only twenty or so meters away, which is too damn close if it can attack me from there. I take a sharp turn down and right to out-maneuver it.

As I guessed, its larger frame makes me nimbler, but now I have a second problem: The other wyvern. I opt to continue my turn to make a full circle, and start charging three {Mana Spikes}.

My little maneuver put me behind the larger wyvern, so I launch the spikes at it as soon as I have a clear view and the spikes have a bit of stored power. It impacts the larger one as it stops in the air with a mighty flap, turning towards me.

That thing has magic all right, but as much as I want to learn how it does that, I force my attention towards dissipating the incoming air blades, turning straight towards it. I am not confident fighting it in a dogfight, but if I can latch onto it, I might be able to deal damage while it can’t hurt me.

Two of the {Mana Spikes} impact its main body, doing little to nothing. The last one strikes the inner left wing, tearing a small hole through it, which makes the wyvern roar, a sound which seems to shake my very being. But I’ve been to places with louder and worse music than that!

Getting within five meters, it shoots its head towards me, ready to receive the little meal who decided to come to it. I slow my speed, using the second that earns me to revert to my usual form. With its jaws a fraction of a second away, my [Force Magic] push my body and its head to opposite sides, and it yet again bites into nothing.

Then I impact the front of the left wing, just where it connects to the body.

I hold on for dear life with my magically enhanced body, sticking onto it like a magnet thanks to [Force Magic]. This is not the position I wanted to be in, and as if to punctuate that, the monster tries to bite me. I summon one of the hexagonal shields inside its mouth, which it chomps down with.

The resulting flash momentarily blinds me, but the wyvern’s mouth contains most of the blast, which becomes obvious when it lets out a gurgling roar that launches both blood and a few teeth. Thankfully, it turns forwards after only covering my upper body with the gunky blood, which sizzles against my magic defences. I start diverting mana to the barrier covering me, but suddenly everything turns and spins.

I’ve been thrown off! I stop my spinning with a gust, and note that the wyvern is flying away. And then, I noticed the smaller one honing in on me. Gun! No, no time. Shields… Dangerous. Shit. Magic. My thoughts race to find a solution, which I find. I spread my arms, as if to embrace the wyvern, but divert all mana to my hands.

Time seems to slow down, and I hear my heartbeat. Once. Twice. I start moving my hands to my front, only just noting the pricking feeling on the back of my shoulder and head, and upper back. The wyvern flaps, its wings closing towards its body for that little extra bit of speed.

Heartbeat.

My hand clap together, and time appears to stand still as the halves of the spell combine, merging into the biggest single spell I’ve ever cast.

And then time speeds back up, as a lance of concentrated mana blasts into the skull of the wyvern, throwing me backwards and into a spin from the recoil.

Treetops.

The concept is all I have time to register, as I crash into things that break under the remains of my barrier combined with my momentum.

Stop. A roar. I regain control of my remaining mana. I need to stop! The very mana infused in my blood hears my call. [Force Magic].

My right hand hits something, spinning me around as the last remnants of the barrier fades away. But I am slowing down, just in time to stop before I smash into the ground. My feet hit the ground, and I take a couple stumbling steps to catch my balance.

“Made it!” I yell, throwing my battered hands into the air. Wait. I start turning around. What about the wyvern that was followi-