Combat Summary:

Wolf x5: 50 Experience Gained

Alpha Wolf x2: 60 Experience Gained

Wolf Pelts x3 [Common]

Alpha Wolf Fang [Uncommon]

Level Up!

You have Reached Level 3. Two Unallocated Stat Points remain.

New spell slot available.

Captain Henderson, Sophia, and Steve-O were getting bandaged up by Brown after our recent fight. It was our last one of the day, and two Alphas were there. We were lucky to be honest.

“I would really like it -huff- if we were able to fight something other than wolves!” Sophia was the worst out of the group. As the Tank, she was always getting hit.

“Be careful what you wish for, Princess, otherwise it just might come true.” Steve-O only had a couple scratches. Even as our roguish scout, he still got hit a couple times.

I rolled my eyes at them and started to resummon my wisp. It was my third time summoning it and a Level Up does not give me new mana, only raises the maximum. I put both points into Intelligence. Crow suggested this route since I can cast bigger and bigger spells. Summoning creatures cost mana, and the bigger and later spells will only cost more.

I enjoyed seeing my high mana pool that is 3 times larger than when I was level 1. If only my mana regeneration was better as well. Hopefully it evens out once I get a class. Wisp was now Novice | 4. It has not made too much progress but I feel like it’s almost there to Novice | 5.

Looking over for a new spell, Ice Bolt was a choice I couldn’t give up, but if mana regeneration was a big deal that Ritual was looking good right now. I shook my head. I need a spell to fight with right now, not a buff. We are moving too much right now. I selected Ice bolt and a flood of information on how the spell works entered my mind.

Ice Bolt | Novice 1

A bolt of Ice that leaves a cold sting on your opponents

Damage: 5-10 + Int

Range: 10 Meters

Cost: 30 Mana

Casting Time: 1 Second

“I got a new spell everyone, combat should become a bit easier.” I stood up and saw everyone else was finished with their level ups except for Brown who had a shit eating grin.

“You are not the only one Mathew, I got a spell as well, I had a few choices but seeing how I am the healer, this was the best choice.” He performed some hand movements and said a phrase I could not understand, and a soft golden ball flew from him toward Sophia. I could see some of her wounds heal a little bit.

“It’s called ‘Heal Ally’. I chose it since it was a range spell. There was one that healed better, but involved physical contact.” Brown seemed proud of his new spell. I suppose I was no longer the only spell caster in our party.

The others seemed impressed with his new spell as well and we soon were heading back to base. “Captain Henderson, I had a question. Why haven't we been attacked by other nations yet?” Sophia asked and I realized it was a damn good question. What were they all doing?

She let out a deep sigh and I could see her thinking of the best way to answer that. Obviously the question has been floating around with high ranking people.

“Honestly, because of The System. You didn’t hear this from me, but all our Nukes and large explosive weapons are useless. Word is, when the President tried to launch them he passed out and was unable to even remember the passcodes after that. I assume The System does not approve of such weapons and made them inert. Not only for us, but for other countries. Since guns are useless for most people, everyone is rushing to train new soldiers like all of us.”

I nodded, but then it hit me. “Wait, we are all being trained for the Government to fight wars with?” Such an idea worried me, would I be forced to fight other people?

Henderson winced and worded her response carefully, “Technically no. You are all pulling your weight and helping around the Base along with figuring out what our new world is capable of. However others are being trained. You are not the only ones who have magic. Look at Jerry for example. When our base commander heard he could launch literal fire from his hands, he set out orders to demand every soldier to learn magic as quickly as possible for combat if able.” She looked to the others seeing if anyone else had something to say.

It made sense, it also meant other countries were doing the same thing as well, what is going to stop an all out war with magic and high leveled people from happening? Could a Level 10 person wipe out an army of Level 5 individuals? This was not good, it just meant I needed to get stronger faster. Leo and the others said we can all leave if things go south and travel on our own.

But what did that mean in a few months? A few years? I imagine those with a love for the fantasy world like Crow and Thomas are already ahead of me, if not by sheer levels, than it would be in knowledge of builds. I have one benifit going for me, and that is my path to becoming a summoner.

Captain Henderson continued her explanation, “I really doubt anybody will attack another country anytime soon, especially America. Since we are rolled back into close combat and not even our Fighter Jets can attack, we are safe for now. Again, there is a reason why we are pushing so fast. There is a reward right now for the first person to get a class here. It’s technically only for those in the military, but if a civilian like you Mat or Steve gets it, you could get it as well.”

Steve-O perked up a bit, “Reward?”

“Yup, you can claim a bunch of resources. Gold, Silver, weapons, or people. It’s essentially an IOU for how leveling up into a class works. What you did, your stats, profession, everything. They want to document it all and find a class that can easily fight against enemy forces.”

I thought back to the promise Leo and I made to not share stuff with anyone. We tell Crow things, but only because he is so useful and now part of our inner circle like Madison. If I get a class, I would just keep it a secret until someone else did, and probably lie about what I could.

Sophia was about to ask a question before we heard the rustle of leaves and another wolf attacked us. We all formed up and slaughtered them swiftly. It is amazing how much we have improved as a group. We all headed back to the base and in two days we were to head back out.

---

I fell into my bed with a sigh of relief. After a shower and a warm meal I felt great. All that hiking around and fighting has put me in shape. I imagined what I would look like in a month, if this is how I felt in just over a week. What Captain Henderson said worried me, still. The rest of the world hasn’t stopped. Sure, people are dying way more and the military is in charge here in the States. On the flip side, most things are the same. The internet still works, flooded with information, forums, and videos.

We were all banned from using the internet here on base, firstly because most servers at this point are dead. Headboard, Chatter, and several other social platforms are impossible to access anymore. The other reason was that we are all under strict orders to have no contact with the outside world. With what Captain Henderson said, I imagine it is to prevent knowledge reaching America's enemies.

I wonder if things will become somewhat normal? Instead of school, we have courses on combat and magic. Those dungeons would be harvested for materials, information, and whatever else Man can obtain. I realized that while so much has happened in this short time, I will be alive in this world for at least 50 more years, if not more.

What will the world be like then? Not even counting the political or ethical side, just the normality of what is what. We have magic, stats, and most of our old world ways are gone. I shook my head and stood up.

“That’s not here nor today. Right now my goal is to obtain a class. Once that happens, I will progress from there.” Tomorrow is another training day with Sergeant Thomas, he wants to video my Ice Bolt spell and compare it to Jerry’s Fire Bolt. A good night's rest is always welcomed in my personal life. Morning came and I headed toward the range. I saw a few more people there more than likely new magic users. Most level 3 people seem to obtain spells or abilities it seems.

Turns out abilities were not spells, but another term for Techniques. A great example is the Sniper in charge of Leo. He has an ability called Aim. It has a large cooldown, but it increases his aim by such an amount that snipers of the old world would become obsolete.

“Mathew, you are up next. I want you to use your Summon Wisp and Ice Bolt. To compare and create a new baseline. Same thing as last time if you could please.” Thomas started the recording and I stood in position.

“Summon Wips!” My mana floated into the air forming into it’s blue ball form. I directed it to attack the target hitting it easily. I immedetly dismissed it and started casted Ice Bolt.

“Ice Bolt!” The difference between the two spells wasn’t that much. Instead of the mana leaving slowly, the mana hardened in my hand and shot out where I aimed. Unlike Jerry, I didn’t have to hurl mine manually. However, it seeemd I did less damage. A trade off, but one I can live with. Ice bolt won't be my main combat spell, purely a backup since the range is better than my Wisp currently Perhaps I can use it to catch a creature off guard?

I turned toward the camera, “Summon Wisp is currently Novice 4, while Ice Bolt is Novice 1.” I then left the area as Thomas ended the recording.

“Very good, any important details as your Wisp has ranked up? Any new abilities or limitations that have arised?” Thomas questioned me, making notes on my record.

I shook my head no and stood back in the crowd with everyone else. Most people had a ranged bolt or ray attack. Ranging from rocks to another fire user like Jerry. Nobody had a summon like myself, and it stroked my ego just a little bit.

“Alrighty everyone, thank you for the recordings. Follow your training regimine. Healers please follow me to the sparing arenas for your recordings.” Thomas led a couple of people to where Crow and Madison were most likely at.

I took position and started to train my Ice Bolt till I ran out of mana. Summon Wisp doesn't seem able to improve via training targets anymore. Either I have learned how to use it well enough to where still targets were not worth it anymore, or the System doesn't approve of me standing there letting the Wisp do all the work.

It took less than six Ice Bolts for my mana to run dry and now I had nothing else to do for the day. I was no longer required to do Knives training, so I decided to go wonder and watch everyone else train. I eventually found myself near the arena where hand to hand combat took place. Madison was currently fighting a larger woman probably double her weight actually. Both were throwing punches and kicks at each other.

The larger woman tried to swipe Madison's legs from under her. Madison has been training, because she jumped over the legs and started to punch over and over again at her opponent. It didn’t take much longer before the spar was over and they left the mat.

Madison saw me and waved me over to some sit with her. “Hey Mat, came to see how a real person fights?”

I raised my eyebrow at her, “And what exactly are you insinuating?” I had a feeling she was jabbing at me.

“That magic, while awesome, isn’t a real fight. What do you do when the enemy gets in your face? You are shit out of luck and probably dead.” She dried off with a towel and took a sip of water.

“It’s why we travel in groups. The party mechanic from games has been applied to real life now. We have a tank and other front liners to keep me safe while I pelt them with magic.” She however had a really good point. I would need to keep that in mind for the future. Hopefully I can summon a creature to defend me better than the wisp, or learn a spell that could help protect me.

“Sure, but you are a smart guy Mathew. I am sure you already thought of some of this, I am just slightly pulling your leg. By the way, did you hear two new groups are being formed like yours? Crow, Leo and I are all in a group together. There will be at least two others, but no clue who they could be.”

That was interesting news, but did not surprise me. “Yea, hey this evening after dinner let’s all meet up. I want to share some information with you all.”

"Sure thing Maty boy." She gave me a friendly smile before hopping back onto the fighting mat, continuing her training.

I rolled my eyes at my new apparent nickname from her and headed to find the others.

That evening all four of us were in Leo and Crow's room. I informed them what Captain Henderson told me yesterday. Crow was the one who was the least surprised. “Makes sense, my Dad mentioned something like that happening soon. He already informed me once I got my class to ditch this base and join his convoy. They have been making alot of money as body guards and escorts since the world is so much more dangerous.”

“What do you mean? Other than the obvious?” Madison was curious about that fact.

“Well for one, criminal acts have skyrocketed. Theft, murder, and other horrible things. Since we are on a base, most people here are trusted to not do that kind of stuff. Even though a few occasions have, but far fewer than the outside world. Power is a real fact now, not just social standing. The strong lead and rule, but I give it less than a year before some form of society is formed.”

Madison sat quietly thinking of the new reality we were all living in. Leo was the one who broke the silence.

“So what does that mean for us? Do we stay here and fight in their wars? Stick it out on our own and risk death?” Leo really was conflicted, he did nothing to hide the emotion on his face.

I put out what I thought. “We should stay. At least for now. We train, we learn, and we hopefully gain allies.” It was our best bet, and worst case, we have a fall back.

“I don’t know Mathew, we could easily join my Dad’s business. Act as bodyguards for those who have political or social standing. They have resources other than cash.” Crow seemed set on that plan.

“And become shady business people? No thanks” Madison was set on staying here. She had her own reasons apparently.

“Most people refuse to convert to the new way of life guys, we have an opportunity to help bring back some sort of normalcy.” Crow pushed his agenda again, but I could hear in his voice it was just words, he also wanted to stay here a bit longer, if at least to help Leo get his revenge.

He was right, too many people want to go back to the old ways of life, but how similar will it be? I looked over to Leo and could see he wasn’t too interested in the conversation. He didn’t have an old world to return to like me. All his family is dead now.

Madison broke me out of my thoughts, “Mathew when do you go back out and do more wolf hunting?”

“Day after tomorrow. I need to regenerate all my mana, and I believe we are going to scout the portal again to check on it.”

She nodded, “We don’t start till the end of the week, so don’t kill everything okay?”

---

Brown broke the silence in our group as we walked toward our destination. “Can’t believe it’s been two weeks since this whole shit started.”

“Yea, but look how much better the world is!” Steve-O replied in his usual manner of sarcasm.

“Eh, I miss the old world, but being able to use magic now is great.” Brown has gotten his healing spell to Novice 2 since he acquired it.

Henderson looked back at them, “I agree with Steve-O for once, the new world is better. Soon those with real power will be in charge.”

Her conversation from the other day still sat in my mind. Those with power will lead. “Well I miss the old world. Sure we had taxes and shitty TV shows, but at least I didn’t need to worry about Sergeant Thomas hovering over me as I cast magic.” I chuckled. That guy sure was a nerd.

“I agree with Mathew, I miss not having to worry about becoming wolf food for you guys.” Sophia huffed and complained about her role as the tank.

“Come on Sophy! Put a smile up there, your new skill is great for this!” Steve-O was doing his best to cheer her up. Sophia’s new skill was the same Crow has, ‘Block’.

Running to us, Damien reported in. He rejoined us since we were going close to the portal. “Hey if you guys keep being this loud, I won’t need to scout for enemies, they will just come and find us. Stevey it’s your turn to scout.

“Ugh, just when a conversation started, be back in 30!” He slunk off with his stealth skill.

Soon we were near the mountain base and stayed grouped up. We all quietly stealthed around to take a look at the portal.

Infernal Dungeon Portal - G Rank

Recommended Level: 5

Recommended Party Size: 5

“Yup everything looks the same.” Steve-O turned around and started to lead us back before I saw something in the forest line putting a hand on his shoulder stopping him from getting seen.

It was a large red fur creature. Standing on 4 legs and a single wicked looking horn coming from it’s head. I tried to focus on it, reading with shock and fear.

Infernal Wolf, Level 1

We all quickly got away to a safe distance. Most of us were frozen with fear, Henderson was pacing muttering to herself. This was new, and really dangerous. If there was one, was there more?

Henderson stood in front of us all. “We have to kill it. It’s only level 1, but let us all be careful. Remember your roles.”

“Wait, you want us to fight that Hellhound?” Sophia had a good point, it looked a lot like that, plus a horn.

“Yes, it’s alone, worst case we just run away if needed. Either we do it with one now, or several later. That’s an order, lets go.” Henderson took her role as secondary tank and led us forward.

The wolf saw us and let out a howl, and charged. Sophia was able to block it’s horn, but just barely.

My wisp started hurling attacks as we all piled on it.

Wisp dealt 16 cold damage to Infernal Wolf

Steve-O dealt 14 Slashing damage to Infernal Wolf

Steve-O dealt 13 Slashing damage to Infernal Wolf

Damien dealt 9 Piercing damage to Infernal Wolf

Captain Henderson dealt 15 Bludgeoning damage to Infernal Wolf.

The wolf, taking several attacks, ran away from us obvious that it was losing. Henderson barked the order, “Follow it!” we were all running after it, Damien catching up quickly but not enough to cut it off.

It led us to a cave and ran inside, we all stopped outside of it catching our breath. “Shit, that’s not good. Mathew today is your lucky day, we get to use that wisp as a nightlight. Everyone 5 minutes and we go in.”

“Okay, that is insane Captain Henderson, I know you are in charge here, but you want us to go into a cave to fight God knows how many wolves?” Damien was not on board with this plan at all.

“We have fought several before, and it was Level 1. We are all level 3 tripling it, not to mention there are 6 of us, and a small pack in there. Take it slow and remember your roles.” Henderson took out some flashlights and glowsticks from her bag as did everyone else but me. “Mathew, if that wisp goes out, you are to resummon it instantly. I want to think I blinked, understood?”

I nodded and took out my own knife, I didn’t want to get caught without it in my hands.

“Brown, how many more times can you cast your healing spell?”

“At this moment, I can cast it 4 more times, and a fifth within the hour based on my mana regeneration.”

Captain Henderson nodded as we formed up and headed into the cave.