The bright rays of a new day crept through the holes of our hut, once more beaming directly into my eyes. A groan escaped me as I slid out of bed and went through the motions of getting dressed. My body felt sore from all of yesterday’s exercise. Mah’ra had won our race and gloated nonstop the whole way back to the city. Then I was forced into joining her for lifting heavy rocks as an after-race workout. For an Orc, she goes above and beyond Orcish from the massive rocks she was lifting. I’d rate her Strength at an eight, easily. My masculinity had taken a big hit yesterday, but I can live without a bit of pride.

So long as I got to cast spells, I’d come out the winner.

As I devoured my dinner last night I had thought of different ways to level up my Intelligence and Wisdom stats. But the only way I could see them being raised regularly would be through leveling up. That in itself would prove to be challenging, as young pups such as myself were warned against leaving the city. Many predators lurked within the wilds, all of which would find a young Orc very easy prey.

As I walked through the dirt streets to claim my breakfast, I rubbed my chin in thought as I weighed my options.

Far to the east were the Kirkotek Mountains, named after the massive Red Dragon that lived there and served as our local deity. Not that anyone has ever seen the Dragon. For all I knew, it was merely a legend spoken of by our Clan’s Shamans. But mythical Dragons aside, the mountains housed dangers of their own. Kobolds, Basilisks, Harpies, Rock Trolls, and Salamanders made their homes there. Those I knew were real, as many homes were decorated with their skulls, feathers, and other assorted bits and bobs.

To the north beyond the Sagrokk River that flowed from the mountains to the shore far to the west was the Greenwhelp Forest. Here lurked the innumerable Goblins, feral wolves, bears, panthers, and poisonous creatures ranging from spiders to snakes. Shaman say that the forest is guarded by many different Fae, such as Dryads and Fairies, who observe intruders from afar. My father says those are just stories however, as he hasn’t seen a single Fae in all his time in the forest training younglings.

Everywhere else beyond the city are the vast plains of our people. Various predators roam the plains from wild dogs and large cats, to giant mammoth-like beasts with gigantic tusks. Small herds of warring Centaurs roam the plains, eager to do battle against one another and anyone else who gets in their way. Small packs of Kobolds dig their burrows into the earth, forming dens that range from a small pack to a large clan.

‘Well the mountains are a no-go for sure. For one they’re too far, and the creatures living there too powerful. That leaves the plains or the forest…’

“Kotek!” A loud voice shouted in my ear, shocking me from my thoughts. A devilish grin coming from a familiar child stood inches from my face. Mah’ra.

“Morning Mah’ra.” I spoke with a nod while rooting around in my ear with my pinky.

“Bout time you noticed! I was wondering why you weren’t running like the rest of us!” She rolled her eyes, “but you were busy thinking again.” I laughed,

“You should start thinking more often Mah’ra.”

“I only need to think about getting stronger!” She beat her chest with her fist proudly.

“Thats exactly what I was thinking about.”

“I’m just better at thinking than you. Its why I’m stronger.” She gloated. I couldn’t hold back the laughter within me.

“If only we could all be as intelligent as you Mah’ra.” She swelled with pride at my words.

After our morning breakfast the two of us split up for the day. The same as any other day, we’d be off to train on our own before competing later on. But instead of sitting in the hut and training the normal way, I was going out to kill some monsters. It was time for some good old fashioned grinding. Upon returning home mother said she would be hunting in the forest again today, so my choice was made for me.

‘Guess I’ll be hunting in the plains.’ I grinned as I wished her luck.

——————————————————

Mah’ra jogged through the city at a relaxed pace. Her mother had said that she was going out hunting again today, which would leave her training alone again. ‘But training alone is boring!’ she grunted as she passed by a group of elders. ‘Kotek is getting too weak, I’ll help him get stronger.’ She grinned at the thought of fighting him in the duel ring when they were older. She was sure she would win, but it’d be a good fight!

Upon reaching Kotek’s family’s hut, she skidded to a halt. ‘Where is he going?’ she wondered as she sighted Kotek jogging away from the city and towards the farms. ‘Does he train at a farm?’ her mind raced thinking of ways she could get stronger working on a farm, but all the methods she could think of weren’t very appealing. ‘Is he intentionally making himself weak? Why would he do that?’ With a grunt, she followed behind him, making sure to stay out of sight. Even if it meant skipping a day of training, she would get to the bottom of this.

————————————————

I didn’t find my first target until about an hour or so before noon. The grassy plains stood vast in all directions with the occasional group of trees sprouting from the earth. Just a few feet ahead, sliding through the grass was a bundle of mucus-y liquid formed around a small stone. A Slime. An honest to god Slime!

“Hopefully this little guy doesn’t have an uncanny ability to dodge my attacks and absurdly high defense.” I smiled as I thought about the best way to approach this foe. Fireball was my first choice, but the flames would easily catch the grass on fire from a lack of rain these past few weeks. Aqua Sphere was Aqua Sphere, it wouldn’t deal much damage to a slime in general, and Gust was the same. Stone Spike would be my only option, but if I kept killing things with it I would be leaving behind evidence that something was afoot.

“I need a new spell…” I mumbled to myself as I watched the Slime slither around. “I could try lightning…no. That’d cause a fire as well…hmmm.” And then it hit me. “Ice! I’ll make an ice spell!” I rubbed my hands together with glee as I began planning out the specifics of my new spell.

‘Right then. Show time!’ I held out my right hand and began to will my Mana to form. The familiar tingle of energy running down my arm and into my hand, sending goosebumps all over my body as my Mana drained. A moment later, a small icicle floated over my palm, slowly growing in size as I fed the spell more and more Mana. Upon using twenty five Mana, I ended the conjuration and admired the arrow-like icicle that I had created.

Standing at a decent length of four inches of pointed death, my new spell had materialized.

Spell learned: Ice Shard

Mana Cost: 15+

Conjures a sharp icicle from the user’s Mana. The more Mana invested into the spell increases the size of the icicle and the amount conjured. Considered an intermediate spell by many, as combining Water and Wind magic to form Ice is an advanced technique. Many Magi swear by the Ice Shards as a staple offensive spell.

“Oh baby, now we’re cookin’ with gas.” I grinned. A Mage’s greatest joy is learning new spells, and I had been given one heck of a toy. With more Mana, I could summon a bunch of these puppies and do some real damage. “Sorry Slime, but science demands answers.” With a closed eye, I took aim at the slow-moving target’s core and pointed my finger. “Booyah.”

In an instant, the Ice Shard shot straight towards the Slime’s core, blasting through the outer membrane and shattering against the core. As soon as the shard shattered, the Slime began to lose its consistency, and looked as if to melt around its core.

You have slain a Level 1 Slime!

Gained 5 Experience!

“Aw yeah!” I fist pumped into the air with a shout.

“Wooooooow!” A cold chill ran down my spine as I heard a familiar voice shout from behind me. Rushing from a patch of tall grass was Mah’ra.

———————————————

The near midday sun beat down upon Mah’ra as she skulked through the plains far behind Kotek. Contrary to what she had originally assumed, he had not stopped at a farm for his secret training. Much more surprising was that he had kept jogging towards the plains beyond the settlement. ‘Is he trying to die?’ Mah’ra wondered sadly as she followed. ‘Mother says we’re too young to go into the plains to hunt yet. So why is he out here?’

Mah’ra had to give Kotek credit where it was due, every now and again he would look back as if he were watching for followers. Luckily, her mother was a great huntress who had taught her how to hide herself when stalking prey. It had helped her many times already when avoiding older boys who wanted to pick a fight with her. Were she of equal strength, she’d have gladly put them in their place. Unfortunately, they were much bigger than her despite only being a few years older. She trained everyday, looking forward to putting their smug smiles into the dirt.

But that wouldn’t be for some time, for now she had to get stronger. Unfortunately, today looked as if it were going to be a wasted day. ‘Hrmph. Kotek better explain this.’ She grumbled as she raced to another patch of grass, keeping her eye on Kotek. ‘He doesn’t even have a weapon to fight animals with, ugh. He needs to think better.’

Minutes passed slowly as she stalked Kotek through the grass until he suddenly stopped. Curious, Mah’ra rushed off to the side to get a better look. His mumbling only faintly reached her ears as she saw what he had seen, a Slime. ‘Mmmm, what’s he going to do, punch it? He should know they burn your skin if you touch them. His mother should have taught him that at least. Stupid. Everyone knows to not fight Slimes. Too much trouble for no reward. You cant even eat them!’

In silence, she continued to observe Kotek as he rubbed his chin in a familiar gesture. ‘He’s trying to think it to death.’ Mah’ra chuckled lightly. Without wanting to waste anymore time, she began to rise from her hiding spot. But a unbelievable sight made her freeze in place. Her eyes locked upon Kotek’s out-stretched hand. Clear stone began to form and grown just above his palm.

‘What is that…’ Mah’ra gasped as she watched her friend began speaking strange words and pointed towards the Slime with a single finger. He spoke another unusual word and the clear-colored rock shot from his hand like an arrow from a bow. “Wha-” was all she could manage to say before the rock sunk into the Slime and shattered into multiple pieces after hitting the Slime’s core. A moment later, the Slime melted.

“Woooooooooooooow!” Mah’ra exclaimed as she raced towards her friend.

————————————————————

“What was that strange rock? How did you control it? Can you teach me? That was amazing!” Question after question after exclamations assaulted my ears as Mah’ra poked and prodded at the newly deceased Slime with a few stalks of grass weaved together like a stick. After a few moments of ponderous prodding, she used her finger to touch the Slime. “It feels weird.” I however, was still in the process of kicking myself in the ass mentally for not noticing her presence. I desperately needed to increase my Perception stat.

My mind raced with various methods on how to deal with this situation. I could tell the truth and say it was magic, but that could lead to unfortunate consequences. I could lie and pretend to be a Shaman, saying it was the Spirits aiding me, but one question to any of the Clan’s Shaman would cause that lie to crumble. Killing her to keep my secret was not an option, as I was not a psychopath. Though she did look like she’d be worth a bucket-load of exp. There was only one choice I could make.

“You’re thinking again.” Mah’ra grumbled as she poked me with her grass stick.

“Mah’ra, I’ll tell you what I did.” Excitement was writ clear within her eyes as she grinned wildly. “But I’ll need you to swear to never tell another about it.”

“I swear!” she giddily exclaimed.

“Under a Blood Oath.” I stated with an uncompromising tone. In an instant, the joy left Mah’ra’s face in understanding of how serious I was taking this. Without a word, she nodded. A Blood Oath was a sacred bond forged between Orcs, one that if broken, would force the offender to leave the Clan and be titled as an Oathbreaker.

In an instant, I conjured a small Ice Shard to use for the ritual. Mah’ra held out her open palm, her face serious as I used the shard to cut into it. Upon finishing, I did the same to myself and Reverted my spell. We pressed our palms together, causing small droplets of blood to fall to the dirt beneath us.

“Do you swear to tell none of this event?” I asked Mah’ra with grave seriousness.

“I swear.” She responded, equally serious.

As our blood mixed with one another’s, I told her the truth.

“I can use magic.” I stated firmly, which made her gasp and grin and laugh.

“Amazing!” she whooped, taking her hand away from mine. “Don’t worry Kotek, I’ll not tell a soul! On my honor!”

“Good.” I smiled. “Now how about we find another Slime to kill?”

“Yes! We hunt!” She exclaimed as the two of us set out into the plains, looking for another of the acidic blobs.

We didn’t have to search for long before we found our quarry. Off in the grass gurgled another small level one Slime. Mah’ra pointed at it excitedly as she told me to use the rock-thing again. I had even explained what ice was to her, but she still insisted on calling it ‘rock-thing’. With a sigh, I decided to humor her, I’d use the ‘rock-thing’.

The familiar tingling of Mana coursed through my arm as I pointed my hand towards the slow-moving blob of liquid. More and more Mana gathered until I felt I had enough. With thirty Mana, I unleashed my attack. “Stone Spike!” I called out, more for her sake than mine. In an instant, a sharp spear of earth and stone shot up from below the Slime, piercing it entirely and striking the core. Just as the other Slime had upon having it’s core hit, it melted.

You have slain a Level 1 Slime!

Gained 5 Experience!

You have leveled up!

Status points gained from leveling up: 3

Status points automatically assigned: 2

You have gained +1 Strength

You have gained +1 Vitality

You have 1 unassigned status point.

I stared blankly at the pop-up before me. First in disbelief, then in rage.

“Noooooooooooooooo!” I cried out, causing Mah’ra to jump back and look at me strangely. “Stupid system automatically assigning my stats for me! I needed those points dammit! Argh! This isn’t fair! I'm not a musclehead!”

In this moment, I truly hated the world.