When I got back to my shack, it was approaching dinnertime and I had no clue what to do next. Since I had awoken the day before, nearly every minute of my time had been spent trying to learn from either Griff or Marnie. Now, I was left on my own with no direction. It should have been overwhelming, but instead of panicking, I sat down in a sort of fey tranquility.

It was strange; losing my memories and, presumably, my possessions and family, left me with nothing to lose. But, without memories I had no idea what I had lost, so I was left with no sense of loss. Likewise, landing in uncharted lands with no way to return to civilization would doubtlessly have ruined my previous life, but now it put me on a somewhat level playing field. Everywhere was unfamiliar to me, but nearly everyone was unfamiliar with this area. Marnie had told me that the town was only two years old and most people had been there less than a year.

So, there I was with nothing to lose and an entire life and identity to gain. It was time to plan, and maybe set a goal or two.

The way I saw it, there were two general paths my life could take: stay in town and learn a trade or venture into the wilderness and live off the land. I suppose farming was also a possibility, but the few bits of land around town that had been cleared for farmland didn’t look too inviting, and farming really just wasn’t appealing to me.

Town or woods, that was the question. I would be safe in town, assuming I could find someone to teach me a trade or muddle my own way through one of the professions that was missing from the town. But then I would always be reliant on the other townspeople for food, and I wasn’t sure there would be enough to go around during the winters.

On the other hand, hunting and gathering in the forest would be dangerous. Griff and Marnie might have assured me that the area wasn’t particularly deadly, but both were much more experienced than me (and would have been even if I had my memories). Furthermore, neither said the area was actually safe. I would be able to secure my own source of food though. Sure, I would still need people to craft most things, but if I starved to death it would be my own fault. Plus, hunting would let me gather essence, which would in turn strengthen me.

Wait, why am I so eager to get stronger? Perhaps it is from my life before. But, if that were the case, wouldn’t I be a higher level and have higher stats? It doesn’t seem to be that hard to gain levels by hunting. Well, my prowess could have taken the form of Skills and Spells. Or maybe losing my memories traumatized me more than I thought and I’m trying to eliminate that feeling of vulnerability. Still, it looks like the woods is the clear choice.

That decided, I ate a modest dinner and started planning the following day. Hunting with just my spear did not seem practical, so that left trapping and foraging. So, I would need a knife, cord, and probably something to carry water with. Some sort of pack or bag wouldn’t go amiss either, but if I had cordage I could just tie things together and carry them that way. A trip to the town square and then to find Griff was in order. I left my spear behind, figuring I probably wasn’t going to be attacked in town.

My first destination was the apothecary. Potions had to be made from something, so I wanted to see if Cassie needed anything I could find while foraging. Thankfully, she was still in when I got there.

“Good afternoon, what can I do for you?” Cassie asked as I walked in.

“Well, it’s more what I can do for you. I’m hoping you need some ingredients that I can get from the forest for you.”

“Hmm,” she cocked her head. “Normally I just gather what I need myself. The town’s not large enough for me to spend all day brewing to keep up with the demand. That said, I wouldn’t mind spending more time experimenting with the new plants around here. What is it you’d be asking for in trade?”

“At this point, I’d take anything you can give me, although I would really like a good knife, a bag of some sort, and a way to carry water. I’d also like to learn some magic.”

She nodded. “Okay. Tell you what: you bring me a couple of pounds of gronel mushrooms and a pound of zirnur leaves in the next couple days. In return, I will give you these right now.” She produced a burlap sack and a wooden canteen with a slight crack by the mouthpiece. “When you deliver the ingredients, I will spend a couple hours trying to teach you the Mana Bolt spell. Is that acceptable?”

“Sounds good,” I said. “Uhh, where should I look for zirnur leaves?”

“On zirnur bushes. They grow in the shade around pine trees typically. Oh, and keep an eye out for Rare or better ingredients, I’m always willing to make a deal for them.”

“Will do. Thank you,” I said, taking the offered sack and canteen before leaving. Next, I headed to Griff’s house and knocked on the doorframe.

“Hey lad,” he said after opening the door. “What’re ya here for?”

“Hello. I was hoping you could give me another piece of heat-treated flint, or at least tell me where to find flint.”

“Can do, I s’pose. What’re ya trying to make? You didn’t break or lose your spear already, did you?”

“No, nothing like that. I want to make a knife.”

“Alright, I’ve got some flint you can have. I’ll even let ya borrow my tools if you’re making it here and now. For future reference, there’s loads of flint to be found down by the river.”

With that, I set about making a knife. It took a while, and the blade wound up slightly misshapen, but it was sharp, so I was satisfied. I eventually wanted a wooden handle, but the sun was getting low, so I just rounded the handle part as best I could and resolved to make a real grip another day.

The next morning, I woke up feeling surprisingly well rested but incredibly sore. With no reason to delay, I set off into the woods with my spear, canteen, and burlap sack with some cured venison for lunch. I headed north, mostly because my house was on the north side of town. Before long, I found a plant with fibers suitable for making cordage. However, after nearly an hour of fumbling about, I was left with only a couple feet of usable twine. Cutting my losses, I decided to move on. I used what I did have to tie a shoulder strap to carry my bag and canteen.

Luckily, I was able to find some vines at around midmorning. They weren’t flexible enough for, say, affixing a point on a spear, nor were they strong enough to restrain a large animal. Still, they would suffice for rabbit snares, so that’s what I did. By midday I had five traps set and had marked the trees around them so I could easily find my way back. I even found some gronel mushrooms, although not quite enough for Cassie. Satisfied, I headed to a small river I had noted earlier in the day and took a break for lunch.

While by the river, I decided to rinse off myself and my clothes. Two and a half days of physical activity in the wilderness were starting to add up. While I wasn’t as filthy as some of the people I had seen in town, I wasn’t comfortable letting myself reach their level of grubbiness. I would need to get some more clothes at some point too, which I added to my mental list. As I was washing, I noticed a number of decently large fish swimming upstream:

Emmos (level 1): 13/14 Health

So, lacking any pressing matters to attend to, I tried spearfishing while my clothes dried in the sun. After about 45 minutes of standing the shallows with my spear, and more than one slip and fall into the river—which seemed to be a common theme whenever I actually was using the spear—I actually managed to hit a fish! Unfortunately, I was so shocked by my feat that I forgot to meditate for the essence. Oh well, I still had the fish itself, which would make a fine dinner.

Given my success, I stuck around to try catching another fish or two to preserve or trade. However, about ten minutes later, I started hearing some noises coming from further upriver. Curious, I peered upriver, trying to locate the disturbance. Just then, a giant beast came ambling out of the woods a couple hundred yards away.

Spined Bear (Level 6)

It towered over the bushes, standing about ten feet tall at the shoulder. A row of large spikes ran down its spine, clearly its namesake. Its fur was mostly black with some streaks of brown, but there was a large bald spot on its hind quarters where an injury had healed over. We might have been the same level, but I doubted I would even survive a minute if it turned its attention towards me. I didn’t care what Marnie had said about them being unaggressive, I wasn’t staying anywhere near that thing.

I gathered up my things and crept back into the forest, not even putting my clothes back on. I dared not make any sudden moves, but I did my best to hurry. Thankfully, the bear kept its attention on the river, probably after the same fish I wanted. After I was thoroughly out of sight, I stopped to get dressed again. My shaking hands made it more difficult than I preferred, but I managed. Next, I took off at a sprint directly away from the bear. My panic did make it easy to use my Health to boost my running speed, so when I finally stopped I was at a bit under half Health. Nothing quite like fearing for your life to push your limits.

As I slowed down, I realized that during my frantic run, I lost track of where I was. Thankfully, I could see glimpses of the mountain through the trees, so I was at least able to orient myself. I figured I should walk southeast—that way I would either make it back to town, which by my reckoning was generally south, or the large river to the east. I would be able to follow the river to town if need be.

On the way back, I kept my eyes peeled for pine trees and checked around them for zirnur bushes. My diligence paid off: I found some bushes after about an hour. As I harvested enough leaves for Cassie, I left enough spread out so that the bushes would survive, in case I needed more later. I also found more gronels and some edible mushrooms and berries. This was enough to yield another brand new to me Skill (or perhaps not so new?):

Foraging has advanced to Level 1!

I eventually found the large river and followed it downriver, arriving back in town in the late afternoon. The entire way, I practiced using my Health for strength. By the time I got back, I was able to access it while calm and rested with only a couple seconds’ thought. My goal was to be able to instantly strengthen any part of my body, and I was happy with the progress I was already making. Of course, I had no idea how I compared to other people, but I didn’t see any sense worrying about that.

Anyway, I made it back to my house after what I considered to be a successful day. With time to spare that evening, I decided to dig a fire pit outside so I could have somewhere to cook without burning my house down. After a bit of work digging with my hands and sticks and some time gathering fuel, I had a fire going there. Lacking any culinary experience, I put my whole fish over the fire. It was thoroughly charred when I took it off, but proved to be tasty and had enough meat for a large meal.

I doused the fire, then grabbed the ingredients and headed to the apothecary. On the way, I ran into a group of guys headed into the tavern.

“Hey, look guys,” one of the ones at the back of the pack shouted. “It’s the new blood!” Fortunately, he didn’t seem hostile; it was more like he was pointing out a curious sight. To be fair, new people showing up might have been the most interesting happening in the small town.

They turned their attention toward me and I quickly Observed the lot of them. Most were either Level 4 or 5, but the one in front, Marcus Werner, was Level 10.

The others stayed silent, letting Marcus speak first. “New blood, huh,” he scoffed. “I heard you’d been booked. That makes you pretty useless, now don’t it? I better not see you taking food from us hard-working folks. It might be best if you went and got yourself lost in the woods.” He spat at my feet and turned to enter the tavern. The others followed him inside without saying a word. Most had nodded along, but a couple looked taken aback by his vitriol.

To be honest, the encounter and hostility didn’t really surprise me. Most of the people that I had met had been nice, or at least polite, but in a town of the refuse of the Empire, running into unsavory characters was inevitable. Really, meeting Marcus just served to reinforce the idea that hunting for my own food was the best way forward. So, I continued on to Cassie’s, pondering whether I should start bringing my spear with me everywhere, just in case I needed to defend myself.

“Hello, I brought those ingredients you asked for,” I said, holding up my bag.

“ ‘Ello there. Let me see,” she said, taking the bag and looking inside. “Excellent. I suppose you’ll be wanting your lesson now, then?” She said, smiling at me while putting the mushrooms on the counter.

“Yeah, that’d be great.”

“Right then, just give me a minute or two to finish up here and we’ll get to it.”

As I waited, I browsed the potions and other wares with Identify. Most were Common ranked potions to restore Health or treat physical ailments. There were also a few that restored Mana, but they were covered in dust. The only Uncommon potions that I noticed sped up regeneration of Health or Mana. There were also a couple small vials that Identify failed on, which I assumed were Rare.

After a short while, Cassie led me to an open area behind her shop. “Alright then. Am I correct to assume that you don’t know how to channel your Mana?”

I nodded.

“Then that’s the first thing you need to learn. The easiest way is to use an enchanted object that will draw on your Mana until you get the feeling for it, otherwise you have to spend days meditating to have any hope. Fortunately, I have this hotplate for you to use,” she said, holding it up. “Now, why don’t you take a seat and turn it on and off using this switch here on the side. Start with the dial turned all the way up, which draws the most Mana, and turn it down gradually as you get a better sense of it. Keep going until you can notice the activation on its lowest setting.”

I did as she instructed, and immediately felt the draw—perhaps because of prior experience? Anyway, the sensation was energizing and draining at the same time. I can best describe it as jumping into cold water, only without the cold or the wet. In retrospect, I could see the similarity to channeling Health, but had I tried applying my experience with Health to Mana, I would have failed.

There was a sort of ethereal tugging coming from the hotplate when I turned it on and was in contact with it, and it pulled the Mana from somewhere around my spinal cord, down my arm, and into the hotplate. The feeling disappeared when I stopped touching it and reappeared in whatever body part I touched the control panel with. Kneeing the panel made Cassie raise her brow at me, but she didn’t comment. I checked my Mana a few times while practicing, but it barely dropped at all, and my regeneration outpaced the draw of the hotplate on its lowest setting.

After about fifteen minutes of practice, I was confident I could detect the draw on the lowest setting. “Finished. Now what?” I asked.

“Already? That was fast. Try stopping the flow now. This time, start on the lowest setting and work your way up.”

Again, I followed her instructions, this time with fewer contortions to touch random body parts to the control panel. I did still practice with both hands though. Since Cassie didn’t specify, I tried both stopping the Mana from leaving my core at all and letting the hotplate draw it out of my core, but keeping the Mana from leaving my hand. Both methods came naturally, but letting Mana pool in my hands made them tingle a bit. After another ten minutes I was ready to move on, and told Cassie so.

“Picking it up fast, huh?” She said. “Normally you would channel extra Mana into the enchanted object, but I’m not sure that hotplate can handle being overcharged, so we’ll skip that. Instead, I think a little theory is in order.

“The Mana you generate in your core is pure or, more properly, unaspected. When you channel it through your body, it naturally gains the aspects of your Attunements. Stronger Attunements result in the Mana having a stronger aspect. You can also visualize an element while channeling to intentionally emphasize an aspect in the mana. This will always work better with higher Attunement in that element though. It is possible to de-aspect Mana that way too, but that takes a lot of practice for little benefit, so it is rarely used.

“Once the Mana leaves your body, you can still move it with your will as long as it is still ‘tethered’ to you. This tethering happens naturally as long as your Mana is flowing. When you break off the Mana flow, it breaks the tether. To create a spell, you need to move the Mana in a certain pattern, and then when you break the tether, you cast the spell. You can still affect the physical world magically without breaking the tether, but that is considered elemental manipulation and not a specific spell.

“Anyway, none of that really matters for a Mana bolt, seeing as it is arguably the most basic spell possible. All you have to do is channel some Mana out of your body, let it form a ball, and then push it forward while severing the tether. If you want to get fancy, you can compress the Mana to make it more powerful or spin it around to build up speed before releasing it, but none of that is necessary. I’ll demonstrate now, but there isn’t much to see.”

She held her hand out, pointing it toward the ground ten feet away. At her fingertips formed a small, mostly clear ball with flecks of orange and green. Whatever sense that allowed me to feel my own Mana also worked for her Mana, albeit not as well. Or perhaps she was using a lot less Mana to form her ball. Regardless, she soon released it at the ground. When it struck, despite my expectations, it didn’t explode, instead charring the ground slightly.

“Not the most impressive of spells, I’ll admit, but it is easy to learn and cast. It’s also very easy to modify, such as adding more mana for a larger blast. How about you give a go now?”

I copied her motions as best I could. On my first attempt, I managed to get my Mana to manifest on my fingertips, but I couldn’t help but stare at the flecks of color and strange distortions that appeared. The Mana fizzled out when I lost concentration. My next several attempts resulted in a large, slow moving ball of Mana that dissipated as it hit the ground, not causing any visible damage. Roughly twenty minutes of attempts and slow progress later, I could match the size and speed of Cassie’s demonstration bolt. My bolts left the ground more pocked than scorched, but I figured I had the hang of it. Apparently the System agreed:

Spell Learned: Mana Bolt Level 1!

After that message, I started practicing with my left hand with the intention of trying other parts of my body later.

“Good work,” Cassie’s voice made me jump. I may or may not have forgotten she was there; apparently I needed to work on my awareness. “You learn fast. I don’t think you need my help anymore. You know what? Since teaching you was a lot quicker than I expected, I’ll throw a bit more into our deal. Be right back.”

She disappeared into her shop. A minute later, she reappeared carrying a ceramic cooking pot, which she held out to me. “Here. Now you can boil water and make stew.”

“Thank you,” I said, taking the pot. “I’ll come by in a couple days to see if you need any more ingredients.”

“Sounds good. Good luck with your magic!”

With that, I returned home and kept practicing Mana Bolt until I ran out of Mana. I managed to get the hang of casting it from anywhere on my body and started work on compressing the bolt. Just before I ran out of Mana, I got another welcome message:

Mana Bolt advanced to Level 2!

I finished off the rest of my Mana and went to bed, pleased with my progress.