Ma was standing outside his hut when he woke. Adam had planned to get back to his mana manipulation straight away on waking but sensing Ma waiting he rose and opened the door first.

"What has happened to me?" Asked Ma. The impact of the blessing already evident from her speech.

"Sorry," replied Adam. "I should have asked." He thought about how to explain to her but was interrupted.

"I like it." Said Ma. "Thinks are..." he could see her hunt for the right word "...clearer now. Being around you is a good thing for us." She smiled and turned; heading over to her burrow to sleep for the day.

Adam smiled. Ma was still not speaking English but he could understand the intent behind her words better; the meaning more distinct. It had been the right choice to bestow the blessing on her. Also the interaction was quick so he could get back to his magic soon. As he was thinking of the vermite he decided to check the others to get an update on the night's progress before beginning, not wanting anymore distractions waiting for him.

Notifications: vermite Rai defeated Fox - level 1. Rai gained 5 exp. You gain 1 exp. Rai defeated Badger - level 1. Rai gained 5 exp. You gain 1 exp. Ti and Rai completed Escort Quest. Ti and Rai gain 10 exp (each). You gain 4 exp. Ti, Rai and Soh completed collection quest. Ti and Rai gain 10 exp (each). You gain 6 exp. You gain 30 hazelnuts. Pa and Fa dismantled fence. You gain 2 exp. Pa and Fa completed enclosure. You gain 3 exp. Fa completed [door]. You gain 1 exp. Fa unlocked [chair]. Fa completed [chair]. You gain 2 exp.

Twenty exp in total. He found it odd that the vermite with professions didn't gain any exp even doing the same quest as the vermite with classes. Despite this he only got a fifth of the exp available. A quirk of the system Adam presumed. The fact that they could still gain him exp was nice.

Having to link with each to gain all the information he was reminded of their personalities and how the vermite in general were excitable and outgoing. He thought about his interactions with the vermite on the first couple of nights. If he had been braver he might have fought and killed them instead of hiding. Strange how his fear at the time had caused a better outcome. Level 1 creatures had consistently given 10 exp. So killing the entire pack would have netted him sixty. That would have been a whole level at the time and a major boost to his stats. Instead he stayed hidden until he developed Transfer. Not only did he have companions but the investment was paying off. Rather than sixty exp and moving on he was getting a steady income from the group. An income that would grow as they did. He checked his follower list.

Followers: Followers Level Attributes Class Profession Sharky 7 HP 290/290; Stamina 110/110; MP 0/0; SP 7/7 Scout n/a Ti 2 HP 35/35; stamina 23/44; MP 1/1; SP 3/3 Scout n/a Pa 1 HP 35/35; stamina 40/40; MP 0/0; SP 2/2 n/a Builder Ma 1 HP 30/30; stamina 40/40; MP 6/6; SP 2/2 Please allocate* Rai 3 HP 57/60; stamina 15/40; MP 0/0; SP 2/2 Staff Wielder n/a Fa 1 HP 30/30; stamina 42/42; MP 0/0; SP 2/2 n/a Carpenter Soh 1 HP 30/30; stamina 6/45; MP 0/0; SP 0/2 n/a Woodcutter *can only allocate secondary classes/professions

The list was getting long already. Plus he had another four GP today that could convert another two followers. He remembered the other vermite burrows in the area and added this to his chore list for later in the day. Having checked on the vermite he recalled the thirty exp for converting them all and collected that too. A quick check of the enclosed area confirmed that it was suitable for his plan with the piglet. Lastly he found the chair that Fa had made. It sat low to the ground, but was sturdy and comfortable with arms to support him.

Sitting by the central campfire Adam used Creation to make an apple that he ate while reviewing the practice he had done the night before. As per his plan he had kept going after midnight using his stamina to let him work for longer. He had indeed switched from manipulating the fire mana to the metal mana but not because of boredom. Once he had enough control and had developed the channels in his arm the fire mana had produced a hotter and hotter area in front of his hand. He hadn't gone so far to make a fireball but the 'heatball' as he called it was becoming dangerous in the confines of the hut. Rather than waste his remaining stamina and mana he switched to metal mana and started trying to manipulate this instead.

Metal mana had a completely different feeling to that of fire. It took Adam a while to realise that he could not only push but also pull the metal mana as he studied its properties within his core. Once he had worked this out he recognised the similarities to the way some metals responded to a magnet. Imagining he was working with iron filings he found the metal mana easier to manipulate than the fire. The next complication came as he tried to move the metal mana along the channels developed by the fire mana. It completely resisted this, forming independent channels that caused Adam such confusion that he switched to moving the metal mana down his other arm.This worked well; allowing him to visualise the differences in the mana better.

Now he had time, no distractions and an almost full pool of mana. He concentrated on the fire mana; pushing it together within his core and then down the channel towards his hand. As it reached his hand he allowed it to collect; pushing harder at the remaining mana working its way down the channel. The heat grew in his hand pushing the focus tighter and tighter so it didn't burn his skin. At the point the heat was too much to handle he directed the fire mana down towards the nearby campfire. Rather than the ball of fire he was expecting a cone formed as the mana left his area of control. For about a foot the mana kept to a thin lance of power before spreading wider the further it expanded. The scattered twigs left in the firepit by the vermite did little in reaction to the mana at such a distance leaving Adam disappointed with his first attempt.

He moved his chair closer to the firepit and tried again. The next attempt was smoother than the first. Adam kept his eyes open so he could observe the effects of the mana on the twigs. He extended his arm so they were close enough to be caught in the focused lance of power rather than the dispersed cone. The mana hit the nearest twig causing it to burst into flames. Any twigs nearby were subject to a similar fate with a ring of power dispersing out over the surrounding earth. He continued to practice until he ran low on mana the intensity of the skill using much more than the initial 0.5 mana developing the channels had. He calculated that his 'fire lance', as he was calling it, used about four mana. Interestingly the amount of fire mana that was expended each time seemed to have a finite amount until used. Once used it would then reappear in his general mana pool in the same quantity when needed. Now that he was looking for it he could see the last of his mana pool manifest as fire mana when required.

Practice completed Adam was pleased with the progress. He could now form and use the fire mana in less than thirty seconds with his eyes open so he could pick a target. The firepit was now empty of all but ash and charred earth. It was time to try his fire mana out in a real scenario.

His new mana regeneration meant Adam had 6 mana by the time he had reached the mine. Not bothering with stealth, knowing he needed the skill for his plans later in the day, he summoned two torches and headed straight in. He ignored the side passages and headed directly to where he knew the spider nest lay and planted one torch in a crack in the ground before preparing to throw the other torch into the webbing as before. Adam backed up slightly in the hope that this would give him more time to form his fire lance before the spiders emerged. Then he threw the torch.

Out of the six spiders only the Queen and one other made it out from the cave they used as a nest. Adam was prepared for the Queen and had fire lance ready as she rushed towards him. The extreme heat directed straight at her caused instant death. The last spider having not been the target of the spell lunged at Adam's leg biting into his trousers as he tried to knock it back down again. The attack prevented him from concentrating on forming his spell again and his staff was too long to use effectively at short range. Adam used his miner skill once more to summon a third torch as the spider bit harder into his leg. He batted away the spider, taking advantage to strike it while disorientated by the new light.

When he had surfaced from the mine and was sat lent against his favourite rock Adam took a sigh of relief. The skin on his leg had healed and only a rip in his trousers left to show for the brief fight with the spiders. Worth the one hundred exp he had calculated the fight would reward him. He checked his notifications.

Notifications: You defeated Cave Spider - level 2. You gain 5 exp You defeated Cave Spider - level 2. You gain 5 exp You defeated Cave Spider - level 2. You gain 5 exp You defeated Cave Spider - level 2. You gain 5 exp You defeated Queen Cave Spider - Level 3. You gained 30 exp. You defeated Cave Spider - level 2. You gain 5 exp

Wait, it wasn't one hundred exp, it was only fifty-five. Adam felt cheated for a moment and probed the system for an explanation. It turned out that the simple difference was his level. At level four he gained less exp for lower level victories. There was something odd about the Queen, she gave bonus experience compared to the others. The reduced reward made sense but was frustrating. He had planned to clear the mine on a daily basis to farm his way up to the next level. Not wanting to dwell on the situation Adam got up and headed towards the forest to attempt his next quest.

With stealth activated and a bunch of hazelnuts in his pack Adam had mapped out the trails surrounding the boars' clearing and found one that was only used by a single boar. He had also determined that the only way to get enough time to entice a piglet out of the clearing would be to get rid of that boar first. Having followed quietly as it completed a loop out and then back Adam was now waiting at the furthest point of its circuit for the boar to return. The snuffling and rustling was getting louder as the boar came into view around the tree Adam had used as cover.

He released his fire lance into the boar's flank. The spell burnt through the fur and skin leaving a blistering welt on the side of the beast and creating a disconcerting smell of bacon in the air. Adam immediately followed the spell by an attack with his staff. A resounding crack on the side of the boar's head resulted as it turned to try and find the cause of the sudden pain in its side. Adam danced back to give himself room as the boar raised its head in pain and bellowed up at the forest roof. There was little time for him to do more than use the staff to keep the distance between them as the boar put its head down and charged towards Adam. Its pain was evident from the way it listed to one side as it charged. Not wanting to prolong its misery Adam threw down his staff and pulled out his hatchet; burying it into the side of the boar's neck.

Adam panted and held back the urge to vomit as the boar collapsed and wheezed its last few breaths. It took a minute for him to compose himself; trying not to think of the dead boar as any worse than killing the spiders. He was relieved to find that no other boars had responded to the noise of the fight. There was still the smell of cooked meat in the air that made him wonder if the second part of his plan was even necessary anymore. If he could bring the boar back to camp; he would have plenty of meat. He checked the quest that had formed with his plan:

Quests Complete? Exp Get a piglet 0% 80

He tried to get it to adjust to be about obtaining meat but failed. The whole point of getting a piglet was to ultimately get a source of food and now he had the boar for meat. Given that the task was still there; and he had a plan; Adam headed back to the clearing to put it into action. He was going to escape the area on a route that brought him back to the boar so wasn't worried about leaving it for now.

The centre of the hazelnuts he had cracked open were the perfect bait for a piglet. Adam had been worried at first because his aim meant that two piglets had been fighting over the first few treats. As they got further from the clearing; one had lost interest and now there was a single piglet following the trail of hazelnuts. He had laid the trail leading towards the tree where he was standing in wait with the last of the nuts placed in his empty pack waiting on the floor. Adam was proud of this cunning plan and his knowledge of the animals from a nature documentary suggested that the piglet would be quite happy to root deep into his pack to forage out the last nuts.

Hastily putting his pack on his back Adam ran full speed along the trail with the piglet squealing loudly. He had not quite expected the reaction as he hoisted the pack off the ground hoping the piglet would accept its fate instead. Draining his stamina and with balance from his Staff Wielder class to help he managed to outpace the two boar that responded to the calls. By the time he reached the carcass of the boar he killed earlier the piglet had been lulled to sleep by the rhythmic sway of his running and was thankfully quiet.

It was a good thing that the piglet was now silent as it took Adam a while to truss the boar's feet and fashion a sort of stretcher from some branches so he could drag the creature out of the wood behind him. He didn't feel safe until he had crossed into the Forest, edge and steadily made his way back to camp.