Outside the general store, Manco checked his to-do list and ticked off the completed tasks. He rearranged the remaining tasks and added some details.

Week 1:

* Level up (min. lv 12). Remember A. Surge

* Up 「Mana bolt」 (min. Lv 20)

* Prep for "Helping hand" quest w/ Rust's crew.

* Get the gun (!!!)

* Up trade skills

* [x] Get new armor

* [x] Train in crossbow

* [x] Buy crossbow

He was well on track to finish the first week's tasks. He had planned to spend at least 3 days to scrape together enough Ducats to buy important pieces like torso armor and use the Leather Working mastery to make the rest. He had not expected to be gifted a full set. Nevertheless, he could not afford to be complacent.

The first few months was a very crucial stage. Every day or even hour should be efficiently spent. Yesterday, although he had made a lot of progress, he also got tangled with Brennda and did not utilize his time in the evening to train his masteries. That would not do in the long run.

Opening his crafting screen he scrolled to the Alchemy recipes.

〕===〘 Recipes 〙

〕==〘 Alchemy 〙

- Redberry juice: Basic Alchemy Set + Red berries (x3)+ Water(x1) + Vial(x1)

- Blueberry juice: Basic Alchemy Set + Blue Mushroom(x1) + Blue berries (x3)+ Water(x1) + Vial(x1)

- Mild poison: Basic Alchemy Set + Toadstool(x1) + Red Berries(x2) + Water(x1) + Vial(x1)

- Mild paralyzing potion: ...

He selected the recipes for Redberry juice and Blueberry juice, a minor health potion and a minor mana potion, respectively. Letting the crafting proceed automatically, he made his way toward the south gate.

At the edge of the woods, Manco began practicing with the crossbow. Increasing his Strength from 5 to 8, he immediately found the weapon a lot lighter.

Following the movements Araun taught him, he locked back the bowstring and inserted the bolt. A transparent blue line appeared in front of the crossbow and expanded forward. It was almost like a targeting laser, except it curved toward the ground after a few dozen meters. Mahn Li realized it was the aiming assist, which made shooting easier at the expense of mastery gain. He opened the game setting and turned off the option. The blue line disappeared.

He aimed at one tree stump and pulled the trigger. With a soft "click" the string was released and the bolt shot forward, glancing off the stump. Eyes not leaving the target, Manco reloaded and tried again, adjusting for the drop. After several shots, he managed to hit the stump dead center and had a "feel" for the aiming. Previously he had used the crossbow a few times, but never enjoyed it. He much preferred the up close and personal fighting style. This time he had no choice but to get used to it.

Satisfied with his progress, he headed deeper into the woods.

Perhaps thanks to yesterday's job of exterminating the predators, Misty Woods seemed a lot more lively today. Manco heard the chittering of small creatures from all directions.

Not wanting to waste any more time, he started hunting down the small animals. He used his senses and Tracking skills to locate the rabbits, chipmunks, and squirrels scurrying about.

It only took one good hit with the crossbow to kill each critter, and once he became familiar with the crossbow Manco began racking up kills and his mastery improved rapidly.

He also tried the few crossbow techniques he had.

Fast Reload's effects were subtle. His hands did not magically move faster when reloading. Instead, the bowstring felt lighter and can be pulled back more easily, and he can put the bolt in a little sloppily and it would still snap into place. In short, it made reloading faster and less of a chore, allowing him to pay more attention to his surrounding.

Focused Shot provided a 40% damage boost to one shot at the cost of 10 stamina. It also aided his aim by stabilizing his arms until the trigger was pulled.

Aimed Shot was more straightforward (literally). At a cost of 10 stamina, it improved the range of the next shot by 40%, meaning the bolt would fly straight for a little further before dropping off. This made it ideal for dealing the first blow, or if he is properly hidden, hitting an enemy without being detected.

His level was already close to 10 at the end of the previous hunt with Brennda. After a few kills, he leveled up.

〔Creature "Brown Squirrel" (lv 2) killed〕

〔40 xp gained〕

〔Level up! Current level: 10〕

〔Int +4; Wil +2〕

〔Free attributes points + 4 (Total 17)〕

〔Class skills available. Please pick one〕

He opened the skill screen. Two options were presented to him.

『Arcane Surge』

- Type: Toggle, Self-Strengthening. Cast time: instant

- Mana cost: 20 to activate + 200 to maintain

- Description: While Arcane Surge is active, every damage-type spell drains more mana and causes more damage.

- Level 1:

+ Spell damage +20%

+ Spell mana cost +50%

—o—

『Flame spells specialization』

- Type: Passive.

- Description: Increase fire damage and fire resistance.

- Level 1:

+ Fire damage +5%

+ Burning duration +5%

+ Fire resistance +5%

—o—

Fire spells were the flashiest and most visually impressive in the game. Some of the most devastating spells belong to this fiery element. This fact, coupled with human' fascination with fire, was probably the reason why fire-based spells would be a favorite among EoL's magic classes in the first two years.

The specialization started slow, with only 5% boosts, but the bonuses would increase rapidly with each level. Further down the line, players can pick more passive and active skills that synergized with fire spells for more formidable combinations.

Having experienced the endgame contents, Manco knew that all elements have their uses and that limiting his choices to one would eventually weaken his offensive powers. Specialization was all well and good, but overspecialization would doom him. Besides, Arcane Surge provided a generous damage boost right off the bat and would suit his eventual build very well.

Picking Arcane Surge as his class skill, he resumed the hunt. He didn't bother with harvesting as he no longer needed to make armor and the small amounts of money from selling skin and meat were not worth his time. He only occasionally stopped to pick up materials for Alchemy recipes.

After he made about 10 Redberry juices vials, he began making Mild Poison and Mild Paralyzing Potion. He would run into some big creatures at one point or another, and as he was alone today, it helped to be prepared.

The game had a soft cap for spells and masteries levels. Once it exceed this cap, the mastery or skill could still be improved, but it would take a lot more time. At different stages, there are different limits. At this stage, masteries were soft-capped at character level times 1.25, so his crossbow mastery (which was at 19.95) had already far exceeded the cap (12.5), and leveling speed was reduced by 99%.

Regardless, Manco was very close to unlocking another technique at level 20, so he kept training. After a few dozen more kills, he was greeted with a notification.

〔 Mastery improved: Crossbow 〕

〔 Level ►20 〕

〔 New techniques available. Visit a trainer to learn 〕

"Not bad!" Manco smiled. Crossbow techniques were unlocked once every five levels. Unlike class skills, they require a visit to a trainer to learn. The next techniques were likely some sort of debuff. He would learn them when he got back to town later.

After Crossbow mastery reached level 20 the improving rate practically became zero. To improve it further he would have to level up more.

Shrugging, Manco put away his crossbow and activated Arcane Surge. A small hum could be heard as he felt the hair on his arm raising like a small electric charge was running through his body. Then the sensation vanished, leaving only a small icon to let him know the skill was active. His mana bar also had a small section yellowed out, as part of his mana pool was reserved to maintain the spell.

Checking the Mana Bolt spell, he found that it was level 8.

『 Mana Bolt (lv8) 』

- Type: Active. Damage. Cast time: Instant

- Mana cost: 15 (10 + 50% Arcane Surge)

- Element: Neutral

- Damage: 8.4 (7 + 20% Arcane Surge)

- Cool down: 0.45s

Manco made some mental calculations. His current Mana capacity was 515. Maintaining the Arcane Surge needed 200, that leaves him with 315 MP to fight with. The boosted Mana Bolt cost 15 MP, which meant he could only fire a exactly 21 bolts before he ran out of mana.

"Wait, that's not right," Manco muttered, opening his character sheet.

At that moment, something glittering at his peripheral vision caught his attention.

A small creature was standing on a tree stump and fearlessly staring at him. It was glowing a soft white light.

He looked more closely and saw that the creature was slightly transparent and had the shape of a tiny deer.

A kodama.

"Hello, deer," he said, chuckling.

The creature nodded, jumped off the stump, and sauntered toward him.

Manco kneeled down, his hands spreading to show the creature he meant it no harm. Not that he could possibly harm a forest spirit.

The kodama got close and sniffed his hands. It lifted its head up and looked into his eyes. Then it turned and trotted away. After walking for several meters, it stopped, turned around and looked at him, as if urging him to follow.

Deactivating Arcane Surge, Manco stood up and begin following the tiny creature.

After several minutes, the woods thinned out into a clearing, and a small pond appeared.

On the other side, he saw a group of four or five busying themselves building something. A man was standing apart from the rest of the group, gesturing with his arms and, from the looks of it, barking orders.

From this distance, he could not make out the facial features of any one of them. However, he recognized the leader's attire and the confident way he carried himself.

It was Rust.

.