Seeing me leave the small temple, the usual morons on the center of the street tried to move towards me, but after I shot them a glance they immediately paused, and then returned, nonchalantly, to argue with one another. I couldn't really figure out why, I swear, I was perfectly CALM.

I rushed back to the hunters in the entrance of the village, where they made some troubled faces as well as they looked towards the direction of my appearance.

"Oh... did the goblins... perhaps..." The one who has given me the quest started speaking slowly while scratching his cheek but paused when I shoved the ten tiny crystals in my fist towards his face.

"Is this proof enough?" I snapped back towards him

"Hmm, yes! Most definitely yes! There shouldn't be any other creatures with such tiny crystals apart from goblins." He replied as he extended his arm to take the crystals.

I instinctively closed my fist, looking at his inquiringly.

"Err, you see, we kinda need those to reward you, you see. I promise we'll give you quite a bit higher compared to their value!"

"...Ok then. Here you go." I reluctantly released the crystals to his hands, nodding satisfied.

The poor hunter nodded back, thinking that I nodded to him as he fished two coins out of a small pouch at his waist and handed them to me. I, on the other hand, was just smiling and nodding at the absolutely magnificent blue window that had popped in front of my eyes.

Quest completed. Reward: 1000xp, 2 gold pieces, Slight favor with Grinea Village

There were 2 gold pieces in my hand. Gold! I was rich!

"Say, hunter..." I woke up from my reverie while I hastily snug the coins comfortably on my inventory.

"You can call me Mark, calling me hunter is a bit..."

"Oh, yeah, is there something like a wizard in the village?"

"Well, the village elder is a Witch, why?"

"I see, I see, and where is that elder?"

"Well, her house is at the edge of the village on the opposite side from here. Hey! Wait! Why..." I heard the hunter's voice disappearing somewhere towards the back as I was already sprinting towards the other end of the village.

A villager pointed me towards the exact house when I got near the exit of the village, which really was just a nondescript small cabin, its walls plastered in white, with its small wooden windows opened, and a small little garden on the porch in front of it. The only difference I could point out was that the windows actually had glass panels on them.

There was a chubby looking old lady gardener in the front, seemingly taking care of the plants, a dirtied shawl keeping her white hair in order. As I approached, she stood up and smiled towards me.

"Yes?" Her voice was kinda soft, and she had a kind, slightly reddish (maybe from exertion?) face. She really looked like a stereotypical medieval midwife.

"Ah, hey! Is the village elder inside?" I said while I semi-ignored her and walked towards the door.

"...No? She is not inside?" Is she asking me?!

"Well, then do you know where I can find her?" Why does nothing work as it should!

"...You're talking to her?" She said with a difficult voice as she stared at me like she was watching an amusing new toy.

"Oh. Oops. Sorry."

"Nevermind, I've heard worse. So, what can I do for you today Lost soul? Just to warn you, all of my potions are given to the general store, if you came to buy any of them, head down there instead."

Good. General store, possible new location to check acquired!

"Nono, it's nothing so trivial. I was told you were a... witch?"

"Yes. Out with it boy, I've got a garden to weed. Speak up!"

"I am having troubles with my mana. Is there any way to actually hasten its regeneration. It's bloody awful!"

She sighed as she walked towards her door, opening and entering the house. Just as she entered the house, she turned towards the dumbfounded me and shouted back. "Well? What are you waiting for boy? Come inside. You don't expect a full-blown conversation about magic out in a garden. Do you?"

I entered the simple looking house, half-expecting a weird witch house with cauldrons and grotesque stuff lying around, but instead, I only found a tidy little kitchen with a simple wooden table in the middle of it. The witch planted herself on one of the chairs while she motioned me to sit on another as she started talking.

"Well, there are five, depending on how you see it, ways to actually help with mana regeneration. For starters, there is your wisdom. But you probably know about that, and you find it inefficient by itself. But it really is the most important one, since almost every other method actually just builds upon this very basic regeneration which solely depends on your soul.

Then you have the only other way that doesn't really bother with wisdom. That's mana potions. I sell some basic ones just down the street at the general store. But those, in my opinion, should only be for emergencies since they are kinda expensive to keep chugging down.

And then there are the more permanent ones. For starters, losing that ugly armor you're wearing. Armor heavier than cloth impedes the natural absorption of mana. When you get comfortable enough using just cloth, then that should give you a boost on your regeneration. Keep in mind though, that even a single piece of heavier armor would stop this effect."

So, from what I can tell, cloth armor mastery at higher levels gives some form of mana regeneration. God damn those dress wearing hippies!

"Anything else? I'm not too comfortable losing my armor." Like hell I'm walking down the street without some proper protection. That, cloth-only, propaganda of casters in MMOs has to stop someday!

"Interrupt me one more time boy, and you're out." She barked back, and it really looked like she would follow through with it... Let's shut it for a moment, right?

"So. As I was saying, cloth armor not only builds upon the base regeneration granted by wisdom, but it's also ridiculously easy to further enchant with mana regeneration effects. That's four. Magical enchants.

And, of course, lastly, there are skills. For pure mana regeneration, there are two of them. One common, and one super rare. Find that one out yourself. As for the common one, it's simply meditation. A series of specific resting techniques that disregard everything else and focus on absorbing mana from outside."

I waited a good one minute to be certain that she had finished talking before asking back.

"So... can you teach me that meditation skill?"

A bright smile, as cold as any merchant's watching his prey, appeared on her face.

"Of course I can!" She laughed, as she extended her hand and opened her palm, "That would be just 10 tiny crystals dear customer!"

Crystals... like the ones I had JUST given to the hunters. The ones from the middle of the forest where the PKer was. The ones that I would have to go and chase down and find goblins to get... "You're kidding right?"

"Hmm? Why would I kid about something like that? It's normal for a trainer to get paid for his time and trouble and knowledge. If anything, I'm quite cheap because I've taken a liking to you, you seem like a lost lamb or something."

Hey! that's not liking, that's pity! But, since it suits me, it's fine. "How about I give you some nice silver coins instead of crystals eh?"

"What would I need the silver for?! In case you missed it, I am the village elder. I do have plenty of gold to go around. Crystals on the other hand... Crystals are useful. You need them for alchemy, you need them for enchant arts, you need them for a lot of things in general. Although, to be honest, the tiny ones are mostly valuable for those basic potions that the recent tide of Lost souls just obliterated from the general store's stash."

"And let me guess, the only source of them around here are the goblins?" I asked dejectedly.

She spent a few seconds studying me, measuring me, before she continued. "There may be a second source... for wildkins. Tell you what, show me how good you are with this natural camouflage of your species."

Didn't take me more than a second to make up my mind, screaming on the inside QUESTQUESTQUEST before I turned on my ability. And I was rewarded with a gaze of 70% ridicule and 30% pity.

"Wait! What good will it do for you to make your skin fit in when you're wearing such obvious clothes and armor that don't change accordingly! Don't tell me you still haven't figured out how to change your clothes as well!" She shouted towards me.

"Erm... no?" I said showing her my best impression of puppy eyes, hoping that she would actually, you know, tell me instead of just shouting towards me!

"Jeez... Look, it's really simple really. It's a skill that most Lost souls should master after a while, that is if they are any good. You have probably noticed so far that a part of your soul binds to your equipment right?"

No, I haven't noticed a thing.

"It's the main reason why when your soul reborn it still has the equipment you were wearing. But people still buy your stuff regardless. Haven't you found that weird?"

Still a nope, haven't sold anything.

"That is because such light soul tether doesn't bother the natives of this place. THEY can still use the equipment that a Lost soul just used. It's only other lost souls that can't." So, equipment is bound only for players but not for NPCs, check.

"But there is a way to even deeper bind such an equipment to yourself. To truly make it yours. To make it one with your soul. This makes it much easier to actually manifest the abilities that should only affect YOU, to also affect your stuff. So, an Ifrit that could ignite his body, could ignite such a bound sword of his as naturally as it was his own hand. And a wildkin could change the color of his armor as easily as he changes his face." Oh, finally... that seems actually useful.

"Of course, doing so does make the equipment basically worthless for anyone else." Of course... so no selling. Damn.

"But! I've also heard that with high enough mastery, one can actually unbind such stuff." Now you're talking! Using gears and then selling them back? That's the way for extra money! Err.. I mean recycling, yeah, for the good of the environment and whatnot.

Again, waiting a full minute to make sure she didn't have anything other to add, I carefully asked. "So, can you teach me that skill?"

And there goes her hand, extending once more. "Of course! 10 tiny crystals and I'll show you!"

...I was pretty certain that my gaze told her everything she needed to know.

She smirked for a second as she continued. "I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I could teach you If you promise me two things. And take care boy, betray me, and you'll see just how much an old Lost soul can hurt you."

Wait... what? "Wait... what?" I asked unable to do anything but voice my inner thoughts exactly as they poured into my brain.

"What what?"

"You said an old lost soul didn't you?"

"... yes? What of it?"

"You're a player?!"

"What? I don't play around boy, I've been here for more than sixty years, honing my trade, polishing my skills and abilities, protecting the people, discovering recipes, butchering infidels, you know, the works."

"You're telling me there were... Lost souls before this, errr, wave of newcomers? And for starters, now that you've brought it up, how did you know I was one? The rest of the villagers couldn't tell!"

"Of course there were other lost souls! What? You think you discovered the wheel or something? A thousand years ago, during the last Grand cataclysm, when the Gods brought the last era to its end, the resulting soulforce was too thin for intelligent Lost souls to manifest. It took decades for even simpler monsters like slimes to start appearing. But for the last couple hundred years, let's say five hundred or so, obviously soul energy would start to condense, sporadically, as Lost souls."

She paused for a deep breath as she continued. "The recent influx only points out that the soulforce is going slowly amok, marking this time as one of unrest, as one of an imminent cataclysm. That is, boy, the ONLY reason you'll find people like me so willing to help you. If a cataclysm is indeed coming, we'll need everyone to be strong to stand a chance."

I looked straight at her eyes, trying to look equally determined as her, as I was actually thinking that at some point, I really should read about the lore of the game.

"As for how I knew you were a Lost soul, let's say that if you manage to complete my request, I'll tell you. Now, onto more important things. I do have one task for you. It is a trivial one, one that I could do at any time. But time is a valuable resource, and I rather waste yours, rather than waste mine. I'll teach you the soulbind skill, because you'll need it, and you WILL at least try to succeed this task. Or pay me back 10 crystals by the end of the day. You don't want to do neither, trust me.

And as if she wanted to sweeten the deal even more (I mean, it was already both a skill get! AND a quest!) she continued. "And IF you manage to actually complete this task, then I'll also teach you Meditation. Deal?" She told me as she extended her hand for a handshake.

Fearing that the offer might leave the table, I hastily grabbed her hand. Immediately, I felt something inside me moving violently about. But before I had time to break the contact, a blue screen informed me that I've gained the skill.

"What? How did you do that?" I exclaimed. That was the proper method to teach stuff! Not stupid instructions you had to listen and practice over and over again!

She smiled like a fiendish imp as she replied. "Well, that's a secret. Go now. There are only a few hours before darkness falls. And you'll need to practice that skill a bit to be comfortable enough... Also the rest of your skills. You are a bit weak. Come find me after the sun has set for good, and I'll tell you what you need to do. Now go. The clock is ticking."

Prompted by the witch (ok, actually pushed out of the house by her), I noticed there was still one major thing to do. Which obviously was to spend my newfound wealth.

A quick stop to the leatherworker robbed me from a full gold piece just to get the recipe for the leather boots and the leather gloves. Followed that, I visited the blacksmith, where I sold my two crappy rusted daggers for a silver piece each, I was kinda pissed that he simply laughed and thought it was a joke when I tried to sell him my awesome handmade stone dagger though, and I spend another full gold piece to buy me a nice steel dagger. That one was actually sharp and could cut things even without an inscription on it!

Lastly, there was this general store that I simply had to visit, even with just a little bit over 2 silvers on my pocket.

That one was a real treasure trove. It was the size of three small houses stacked one next to another, and apart from the shopkeeper, there was even an employee! There were a ton of extremely useful stuff tightly packed on five big tables and a dozen or so shelves all around the building. For dungeoneering stuff like ropes and spikes, to general ammunition like arrows, to clothes, to potions, to really everything! Oh, more than half the shop was packed with useless stuff like hoes and farming equipment... what a waste of space...

Of course, most of the stuff was far beyond my reach. I mean, each potion, mana or health, was priced a full gold piece each, even the simplest clothes were up to five silvers, and etc.

I did manage to snag a few pieces of flint though, always useful, and just before leaving, in the useless corner, I spotted a hidden gem. A full bag of charcoal. Take that stingy innkeeper! For just a silver piece I now had materials for enough ammunition to last for days!

There was still close to half an hour before the stat penalty expired. Which basically made it impossible for me to soulbind anything, since that cost 30 mana per pop, and at the moment my maximum mana was just 25. I could potentially just make some Inscribed ammunitions since those actually cost just enough mana, 25, but the halved wisdom meant that I would have to wait upwards to eight minutes for each of them.

So, there really was only one thing I could do now. Try to see if I could still easily butcher the poor rabbits even with halved stats!