Cracks of sunlight appeared over the wall of mountains as I lay in the grassy hills before them. Running in the pitch black of night was a exercise in agony from all the times I had tripped over small rocks. I’d have been covered in scrapes, bruises, and cuts were it not for knowing how to take a fall gracefully. As it was, I was only covered in bruises and some scrapes. As the mountains began to rise in the night, blocking the starlight to the east, I had slowed my pace until I had found a comfortable spot at the top of a nice hill. Windrush had earned its keep last night, though I couldn’t keep it active constantly. I had to keep enough Mana at the ready should any predators show themselves.

Thankfully, I didn’t encounter any…at least, I don’t think I did. It was possible that I was sprinting too fast for them and they gave up in search of easier prey. With a sigh, I arose from my brief respite and gazed up at the towering mountains before me. Smatterings of trees and vast stretches of grass and other greenery formed upon the base portions of the mountains, while the peaks rose to the sky in all their steep glory. And I had no choice but to go through them to whatever lay on the other side.

There was no more home for me to return to. Chief Hokrag had seen to that.

“One day I will return.” I growled as I looked back in the direction of the city. Only vast plains and hills to be seen for miles and miles. “Hokrag will pay.” I vowed in my heart as I marched towards the mountains. For now, all I could do is run. But one day…oh one day. I chuckled darkly as I conjured a small Fireball before Reverting it. It felt good to flex what strength I did have, little though it was.

“One step at a time.” I told myself as I hurtled an Ice Shard towards a Slime that I had seen from the corner of my vision.

You have slain a level 2 Slime!

Gained 5 experience!

I grinned wickedly as I checked my status, I was now only ten experience from level four. Two more of those and I would be one step closer to vengeance. With my purpose held firm in my heart, I searched for more targets. My trek through the mountains could wait a few more minutes. Gaining power was paramount to my survival now and I would need every ounce of it imaginable.

“No one will ever threaten me again.” I vowed as I launched another Ice Shard at a new Slime. One spell, one kill, another small bit of experience, and one step closer to power. Another spell, another kill, and a new level gained.

You have slain a level 2 Slime!

Gained 5 experience!

You have leveled up!

Status points gained from leveling up: 3

Status points automatically assigned: 2

You have gained +1 Perception

You have gained +1 Luck

You have 1 unassigned status point.

I smiled as I dumped my free point into Intelligence, bringing me to an even ten with eighty Mana at my disposal. It was time to stop putting off the inevitable. Though I’d love to stay and grind, it would only be a matter of time before the Orcs wizened up and discovered where I had gone. They may be dumb, but even brutes can figure out a puzzle given enough time, like monkeys writing Shakespeare. I just hoped that it would take them a long while before they realized the truth.

After a few minutes into my journey, my stomach began to rumble. “Right, breakfast.” I sighed and looked around. Wildlife was pretty scarce, though I’d bet money that that was because I was tromping around like a brute. Animals tend to scurry away when other creatures come wandering their way. I’d never been hunting before, but how hard could it be?

“I’m an idiot.” I grumbled to myself as I sat within a rough clearing upon one of the many hills I had to cross to reach the mountains proper. Fire crackled and popped from the rather poor campfire I had constructed from fallen leaves, grass, and twigs torn from a nearby tree. Silently, I regarded the small bits of meat skewered over a sharpened stick that I held in one hand. I had never before appreciated the smoked meats that were once provided for me free of charge that I do now.

Roughly two hours of skulking about through the wild, careful to avoid making as much noise as possible had passed without me making a single catch. I had certainly seen my fare share of small creatures in my quest for food…the problem was they saw and smelled me first. Small rabbits and squirrels would scamper away the instant they caught wind of me. I had racked my brain trying to think of how I could help stop this from happening, when it hit me. I was a dumbass. Animals obviously had superior senses of smell compared to humans. Not too sure about Orcs, but I couldn’t smell anything other than my own body odor. Which had made me slap myself in frustration.

After removing my ragged hide pants, I had begun to use Aqua Sphere to cleanse myself of my sweaty smell. In a stroke of brilliance, I then promptly began to scrub myself down with dirt. My train of thought was, if animals were surrounded by dirt and they smelled it constantly, if I smelled like dirt they wouldn’t think that anything was wrong until it was too late. After another hour of tiring skulking, I had earned my first kill on the hunt. A small brown rabbit. It was a clean kill, a weak Ice Shard no larger than my finger shot right into it’s side, granting me what would have been decent amount of meat.

Far more than what was currently cooking over my fire. I sighed at the memory of my first attempt at skinning an animal. With no utensils to speak of, I had to improvise with my Mana. At first I had tried using an Ice Shard like a knife, and that cut pretty well, but it would shatter under any amount of stress. Reluctantly, I then conjured up a small knife made of stone. Not the most sanitary of tools, but my raging stomach didn’t care if there was a little dirt in my meal. What should have been a clean, simple affair had turned into a proverbial bloodbath at the hands of my not-so-sharp knife. In the end, nothing remained of that poor animal that even closely resembled what it once was. At least I had gained a point in dexterity for my fumbling efforts.

“Right then. Bottoms up.” I grunted, not wanting to dwell on the past any longer. The scent of freshly cooked meat was like music to my nose as I pulled the skewer from the fire. My roaring stomach cried out in despair at my small delay as I enjoyed my first attempt at cooking in years. Crispy flesh met salivating mouth as I tore into my meager meal. I was so hungry, I didn’t even care that the meat scorched the inside of my mouth. I had successfully caught, skinned, and cooked my first wild animal! I felt more of a man than I ever did before. Bear Grylls, eat your heart out.

I laughed with a mouthful of meat as I conjured another Aqua Sphere to help wash down my meal and cool my burning mouth. “At least I won’t have to go as far as he did in some of his shows.” It was good to be a Mage, even if I wasn’t officially one yet. With a flick of the hand, I tossed an Aqua Sphere onto my small fire to put it out. It was time to continue my journey into the mountains, though I’d keep an eye out for more animals to turn into food for later.

———————

Eagle-like white eyes watched the young Orc from a concealed vantage point as he cautiously moved through the winding hills. Sun-kissed skin glistened in the sun from the sweat of the morning’s flight. Black feathered wings shifted about restlessly at the sides of a humanoid body where arms would normally be located. Thin legs ended in strong talons that gripped the branch upon which the harpy was perched. An unnaturally angular face followed her target’s movement with great interest. Every instinct of hers demanded that she strike now, to attack while the young one’s back was turned.

But she did not. Instead, she merely watched with great interest.

Not many of the Green-skinned chose to roam this close to the mountains. Those that did, always came in a pack. Never before had one so young come alone, and never alone. ‘For good reason.’ The harpy thought as she fluttered her wings uneasily. She would have to relocate to a new vantage point soon, and she would have to do so quickly and silently. Gaining her target’s attention too quickly would be bad, doubly so that he could use magic.

‘He will be a fine prize among the roost.’ She thought with a wicked grin as she licked her lips hungrily. ‘Not yet, Koo’irli. But soon. Very soon.’ With great effort to restrain her instincts, she pushed off from the tree-branch and zipped towards a rocky outcropping atop a steeper hill not far from his position.

She hissed upon reaching her new hiding place. “Foolish boy.” She cawed in despair, her target was currently walking towards a Kobold den. Conflict raged within her. If she revealed herself too early, he would most likely attack her without a second thought, as his kind were known to do. But if she waited too long, those flightless lizards would kill him.

She would have to time this just right. If she wound up saving his life, he would likely be more friendly towards her. And friendly men were far more appreciated than the usual angry brutes that were brought to the roost. With her muscles tensed, she watched and waited.

————————

My muscles tensed as I stood a few yards from the burrow that had been dug into the hillside. The entrance was too small for a fully grown Orc to walk straight through, but still large enough for them were they to bend forward. For me, I’d have no trouble at all with my small stature. Lucky me, I didn’t have to guess what the purpose of this small cavern was, as the system had notified me that I had encountered a 'Minor Kobold Den'.

“I’m glad for the information, but it kind of kills the excitement of discovery.” I sighed as I stared into the darkness beyond the entrance. Half the fun of spelunking is not knowing what you’ll encounter until you actually do encounter it. And now that I knew what I was going to encounter, it was a quick command to bring up the Kobold section of my system.

Kobold

A cold-blooded type of monster often found in warm climates and burrowed deep within mountains. They are a hardy race of lizard-like beings that are both cunning and aggressive. Rarely does a Kobold leave it’s den, and when it does, it never does so alone. Though many consider them to be a nuisance with no real strength, many an adventurer has been lead to their death in overconfidence.

Multiple Magi have agreed that they Kobold race has an innate resistance to Fire-type magical damage due to their lineage to their Dragon ancestors. However, unlike Dragons who are resistant to all types of magic, Kobolds have a distinct weakness to Cold-type magic. Their hard scales are another advantage they have, as many a rookie Adventurer tend to strike them in battle. When this happens, the Kobold will retaliate with vicious counters, eager to take advantage of the Adventurer’s recoiling attack. Should one engage them in close quarters, one must always strike for the weak scales upon the beast’s belly.

Stronger variants of Kobolds have been known to wear poorly-crafted leather armor to make up for this weakness. In addition some may even gain the ability to use magic, turning an annoying foe into one even experienced Adventurers are forced to take seriously.

Due to the hardiness of their scales, Adventurers tend to harvest said scales off slain Kobolds and bring them to an accomplished Blacksmith to craft armor compareable to solid iron. With an added resistance to Fire magic, of course.

“Thank goodness they're the good kind of Kobolds." I sighed in relief, at least this world had one thing going right for it. "Right, no Fireballs, use Ice Shard, and stab em in the chest. Got it.” With a grin, I walked towards the entrance to the den. It was time to farm some experience.

"Hopefully that screeching bird is gone by the time I get out." I grumbled as the screeching intensified in the distance.

———————

“No! Foolish!” Koo’irli screeched from her position as she flapped her wings in outrage. That foolish Green-skin was walking into the den! Did the boy have a death wish? Was he addled in the head? “Raaaagh!” She screeched her frustration once more as the boy summoned a small flame at his side before entering. She should have taken him much earlier! It would have been a struggle, but she could have overpowered him easily.

“Koo’irli is the fool.” She cursed herself. “Koo’irli should have known better than to wait. Koo’irli now lost potential mate of great value.” A sad coo escaped her as she began to bite her lower lip in worry. Deep inside her heart, she knew her target was a goner. The chance of a lifetime gone in an instant. “Koo’irli feel sick.”

Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t retrieve the boy now. She was a creature of the sky and had no place in small caves such as those made by the accursed lizards.

“Koo’irli a disgrace to her roost.” She banged her head against a rock in frustration as she cawed and chirped angrily. “Koo’irli have no choice. Koo’irli have to wait now.” She sighed and re-perched herself upon the rocky outcropping from where she had watched the young boy. Even if the boy had no chance, she would wait until night came before returning to the roost. Even a slight chance that he survived would be worth waiting that long.

“Idiot boy.” She cawed once more as she watched the cave with poorly-concealed anger.