“H-holy shit… Really?”

Eyes wide in shock, Kaltyr felt the most intense case of excited jittering she’d ever experienced. Her fingertips and toes went numb as her entire body began to shake. The girl immediately clung to the tree’s trunk for her dear life, worried that she’d suddenly blackout from extreme jubilation and fall to the ground, ending up just another meal for her enemies.

Immediately, disregarding the fact that she seemed to be losing control of her own body due to excitement, Kaltyr extended her hand forward again and caused another bolt of mana to shoot into the air. Her jaw slackened and her mouth fell open as she controlled a much larger amount of mana—an entire five percent—to flow through her hand.

Almost like shooting itty-bitty fireworks from her hand, Kaltyr felt a tiny force push back against her as a larger mana bolt exited her palm, clearly packing much more of a punch than the first ones, before disappearing after traveling a meter. Performing the spell even briefly caused an aura to radiate from her arm.

Awe and amazement still flooded Kaltyr’s system, and she wanted nothing more than to shoot off as many mana bolts as she could before “reloading” to do it all again, but reality did not pause for her entertainment. Her situation was still an unpleasant one and she needed to figure out how to get out of it.

“C-can I kill t-them with this?!”

A sparkle shone in the girl’s eye as she looked down at the family of deer looking up at her.

“I-I mean,” she slowed her words to give herself time to calm down. “it wasn’t very fast, but if I put enough mana into a single bolt, will it be able to seriously injure them?”

Slowly, Kaltyr’s arm bent downwards until it faced the wide-eyed creatures below her. They didn’t react to her change in target, so she assumed that they either didn’t have experience with spells or just weren’t very smart. Then, so as to not alarm them with her aura, she avoided letting the mana explosively flow from her soul into her arm, instead letting it trickle. However, upon all her mana entering her hand…

“Uhh, will it even reach them?”

The girl furrowed her eyebrows as she recalled the exact distance her past bolts flew.

“Hmm… Well, they might have only traveled about a meter because I put so little mana into them, but what if that's a hard limit? What then?”

Kaltyr retracted her arm and turned her attention away from the deer, choosing to fully ignore them for now. After all, if they could harm her from where they were, they would have done so by now.

“Time for another little experiment, then. For how far these bolts travel and how much damage they can cause.”

She smacked her lips and gulped her saliva, mentally preparing herself for the demonstration of power. The whole thing was just too damned exciting for the girl—she was learning the ins and outs of magic, after all!

“Here goes nothing…”

Kaltyr adjusted her aim so that she’d strike a cluster of leaves attached to a branch above her, then released a sliver of mana, allowing it to fly. She braced herself for the explosion that was to occur, squinting her eyes and covering her face, unwilling to suffer damage from wood splinters…

“Huh?”

When nothing happened.

“Are you kidding me?!”

Again, the girl shot a sliver of mana out from her palm in what was definitely a Crude Mana Bolt spell, then watched as it struck a leaf, and…nudged it back a little.

“Oh my God. I'm a fucking trash mage.”

Kaltyr clutched her head with both hands as her body ferociously trembled with anxiety—the realization that her dreams of becoming the Wizard Queen would never come to fruition…

“Lol, nah. The mana bolt was probably underpowered. If I just…”

Completely relaxed, the girl dumped the rest of her mana—approximately eighty percent of her total amount—into her hand and shot it at a branch…

And pushed it back as though she had punched it with her fist. The branch didn’t even stay bent, instead bouncing back into place right after the impact.

“Oh my God I’m actually really a fucking trash mage!”

As though she had died from the shock, Kaltyr’s head fell back until she was staring at the red sky through thousands of branches and hundreds of thousands of leaves. Speckled rays of light shone upon her through said leaves, lighting up the world…but all she could see was desolation. Kaltyr had no talent in magic, and her dreams of becoming the Wizard Quee—

“Oh, yeah. I have 0 stat points in External Mana Manipulation.”

The girl closed her gaping maw and returned her expression to one of peace. She allowed herself that bit of fun through acting because the truth of the matter was not nearly as fun—although Kaltyr seemed not to have any deficiencies in regards to magic, she also didn’t seem to be anything special. Even an attack containing most of her mana did nothing more than what she could accomplish physically…albeit a meter farther.

“And with how this leveling system seems to work: start with 0 stat points in both stat categories and gain 5 stat points to distribute per level, it really doesn’t seem likely that I’ll be able to get that much stronger than my enemies quickly enough to survive this predicament of mine. After all, if each stat point makes me significantly stronger, then it was too easy increasing my Life Level to 1. Just imagine: if 5 stat points in one category gave me the ability to slaughter seven beasts without breaking a sweat, with two of them being a Life Level higher than me, while I’m injured…gaining that amount of power just wouldn’t make sense.”

The girl reclined against the tree, fully letting her body relax and closing her eyes as she accepted the fact that she was not getting off that tree and away from her seven attackers without paying a price.

“I really need someone to talk to.”

Almost immediately, Kaltyr opened her eyes again and raised an eyebrow, unsure of where that thought came from… But it was true. As soon as she pondered on that stray thought a little, the lass became aware of the fact that she’d been verbalizing her thoughts since she awoke within Manic three days ago, using her own voice as a substitute for social interactions.

“I guess I could also try to tame a beast. Having a pet would probably reduce my loneliness…”

The girl covered her eyes with a hand and groaned.

“Aaaaagghgghghggg… I’m wasting time. Nothing will change until I distribute these stat points and strategize on how to come out of a fight against seven magical deer alive!”

Kaltyr chastised herself for her hesitation and indecision before pulling up her stat points screen.

“I really only have one option, here.”

……

Being sneaky in this situation would do me no good. The branches that’re low enough to the ground to make this work are too thin. Forget sneaking off them, because even adjusting my posture makes them tremble. Instead, I think my best bet is to…

After distributing her stat points, Kaltyr entered Stealth Mode, causing the deer to become more vigilant and raise their guards. They’d been keeping a relaxed watch of her so that they could strike her down when an opportunity arose, but once she disappeared from their senses, they could no longer act so leisurely. Kaltyr knew this and wondered why the deer didn’t also enter Stealth Mode—as that would prevent her from sneak attacking any of them from the tree—but soon after realized that if she couldn’t see them, neither could they! If any of them stealthed, they wouldn’t be capable of coordination. She counted that as an advantage to being alone when facing a group.

Just a little to the left, c’mon!

Blood slowly pooled in Kaltyr’s head as she hung from the second lowest branch on the tree upside-down by her legs, attempting to position herself above a deer for a sneak attack. Normally, the large dip the branch made would probably be enough for a relatively intelligent animal to determine Kaltyr’s position, but that was where her brilliant plan came into play!

Whilst hanging upside-down, Kaltyr bounced her body up and down, shifting her weight often enough to cause a disturbance among the nearby branches. That way, although it was still pretty obvious that the branch Kaltyr hung from swung the most, animals might still be confused by the tree’s shaking.

And it’s working!

With a prideful smirk, the girl watched as the deer became skittish, seemingly unwilling to stay in the same spot for too long as they repositioned themselves every few tens of seconds. They definitely weren’t smart enough to tell that she was directly above one of them…

Then it moved, making its way back diagonally.

Damn it! So close.

But Kaltyr didn’t have to wait long for another to take the previous deer’s place, nervously trotting into position directly below her.

Ah, this one’s a buck. Its antlers will make this more difficult, but…it’s not one of the Life Level 2 deer, so I think I’ll be fine. Plus, if I get it out of the way first, my chances of survival increase!

The girl glanced at where both of the level 2 deer watched the tree from—one of them a doe, the other a buck. She’d already killed a Life Level 2 beast, but it had been a squirrel and through a sneak attack. The squirrel had been frightened into fleeing by an unseen predator, but Kaltyr would bet that the squirrel would have been able to take her in a straight-up fight. It had, after all, downed an equally leveled bird, which had so many maneuverability advantages against it by virtue of being capable of flight.

And against these megafauna, the only advantage I possess is that of stealth, because I probably weight half of any one of these beasts!

Kaltyr mentally went over her simple plan once more, then took in a slow, deep breath.

Here I go.

Her arms fully outstretched beneath her and ready to grab what they needed to, the girl lifted her legs—letting go of the branch—causing her to drop. She approximated that only two meters lied between herself and her target, but even that amount of distance was dangerous if she landed incorrectly. Thus, as soon as gravity took her, Kaltyr released her stealth and flooded her body with mana.

“HA HA!”

Her hands having reached the deer first, she grabbed its antlers, then maneuvered so that the rest of her body wasn’t impaled—landing on the buck’s back. When her brain caught up with the sudden stop, Kaltyr realized that she’d overestimated her enemy’s fortitude, seeing as how the beast’s legs buckled under her weight.

Well, it didn’t have time to prepare for my landing, so it’s not completely unexpected. No matter, though. All according to keikaku!

The lass didn’t merely watch as the other six deer were shocked into fear by her appearance—some even taking several large steps back like they were prepared to flee—instead taking full advantage of the extra time allotted to her. Kaltyr hopped off the still-surprised deer and crouched beside it.

This type of deer should only weight around two-hundred pounds, so…

With a barbaric grunt, the little lady lifted the now-squirming beast off the ground by its neck and one of its front legs, then retreated, quickly backstepping. Finally, the rest of the deer responded to her attack and began to approach with a loud cacophony of angry bleats and snorts, however…

“BACK OFF!” With the deepest, loudest, and angriest voice Kaltyr could muster, she shouted at the incoming beasts. “I HAVE A HOSTAGE!” Her Body Mana Reinforcement even seemed to play a part in the volume.

Truthfully, Kaltyr had no way of knowing whether any beasts—magical or not—were capable of understanding her spoken language, but she banked her hopes on the fact that deer were intelligent enough to understand when one of their kin was in danger. Her entire plan revolved around using a hostage as a meat shield to prevent the rest of the deer from charging directly at her.

Pretty damn fast!

But what seemed to be the leading buck charged regardless, swiftly making it within a couple meters of Kaltyr while the rest of its unit stayed back. Desperately, the girl shifted her weight and swung the hostage buck around, causing a vein to pop up on her forehead from the effort, and putting the deer squarely between herself and the level 2 beast. The only aspect of her current enemies that Kaltyr really feared were their antlers, which were very capable of skewering her. Deer didn’t have claws, they’d need to get too close to bite her, and rushing her wasn’t nearly as effective when Body Mana Reinforcement leveled the playing field. Only the bucks’ antlers—which outranged Kaltyr and already proved to be pretty sharp—provided enough of a threat to the girl’s life to make her worry.

All of that being the case, if this guy really lands his charge, his antlers will be stuck in his own comrade, and I’ll be free to kill him!

But contrary to what she expected the charging buck had no such plans, and to Kaltyr’s disappointment, stopped right before hitting its ally.

Uuuuhhhhh, maybe I didn’t think this through. Should I have grabbed two hostages?

The Life Level 2 buck did its best to keep Kaltyr’s attention by feinting strikes to her sides while the rest of its kin made their move, beginning to encircle the girl. Kaltyr continued retreating at a jog’s pace. However, every time she turned to confirm where her next few steps should be, the buck in front of her made a dash to her side, forcing the girl to turn her hostage so that it hung between them.

Gah! I REALLY should have grabbed two!

Kaltyr’s mental woes met no ears as the second Life Level 2 deer—a doe—positioned itself behind her and kicked. The lass had little time to react with how the level 2 deer and the buck she held up as a shield combined their efforts to distract her. The shield buck frantically kicked out with its hind legs during its struggle, displacing its center of mass and making it more difficult to hold. At the same time, the level 2 buck continuously pranced to either side of Kaltyr, forcing her to intercept by swinging the shield. Like that, the Life Level 2 doe’s kick landed on the girl’s back.

GOTCHA NOW!

Sending her forward, closer to the Life Level 2 buck.

Had Kaltyr been an ordinary human, incapable of using the Body Mana Reinforcement skill, the single kick to her back would have caused her enough harm that maintaining her defense after the strike would be too great a task. That attack would have led to her demise at the hooves of a family of deer. However, because all of that was not the case, the girl’s reinforcement skill quite easily bore the brunt of the impact, and a hole opened in her enemies’ offensive.

As the girl fell forward she crushed the throat of her meat shield, overpowering its own scattered Body Mana Reinforcement, and threw it onto the antlers of the level 2 buck before recovering from her fall with a roll. Then, while the doe behind her prepared to strike a second time, Kaltyr lunged at it, holding its body in place and preventing it from kicking as the two began a competition of strength.

However, being well aware that her opponent’s higher level made it stronger, the girl sidestepped as soon as the doe put more of its weight into the struggle, causing it to fall to the forest floor. The deer barely managed to catch itself, but its recovery was too slow and Kaltyr had her knife out before it had all four of its legs planted firmly on the ground. One swing later and the doe’s throat spewed blood.

Reveling in the triumph gained from ending a creature stronger than she, the girl failed to notice the enemy rushing at her and took a body slam from behind. Kaltyr landed atop the doe she’d just mortally wounded that struggled to grasp the fact that its throat was slashed open. The two became entangled as the level 2 doe squirmed and kicked out at random, but the attacker who placed Kaltyr in that situation did not take the opportunity to strike again. As the girl extricated herself from the deer, from whose eyes life could be seen fading, she turned around to see that a second doe had headbutted her.

Ah, it couldn’t attack me a second time without risking hurting its own kind. That hesitation might just become their end.

Kaltyr prepared herself to lunge at and incapacitate the level 1 doe, but its allies neared too quickly, forcing her to abandoned that idea. Instead, she quickly turned back around to face the level 2 doe, whose legs she grabbed. The other deer still seemed too soft to attack while she was so close to one of their own, giving the girl the time necessary to hoist the fallen Life Level 2 deer onto her shoulders. She’d obtained a second shield.

While the struggles of the level 2 buck who had a deer tossed onto its antlers sounded from behind, Kaltyr held the new meat shield as close to herself as possible while she charged forward, directly into the deer who hesitated to enter the fray just moments before. Seeing the doe leader atop the girl’s shoulders, the remaining hooved creatures backed away, clearly unsure of how to combat the human.

An unwise decision.

A devilish smile could be seen plastered atop Kaltyr’s face as she realized that she’d just come out of a fight against seven beasts who’d cornered her without so much of a scratch. A kick to the back and some hits to the ribs? Yes, but no scratches.

Oh, wait. My left leg was stabbed into and sliced by that leader buck’s antlers. Then…

A wicked smile could be seen plastered atop Kaltyr’s face as she realized that she’d come out of a fight against a unit of seven beasts who’d cornered her in a tree without sustaining any major injuries.

I think I’m close, now.

After rushing past the family of deer, Kaltyr headed not for her territory, but instead the river. She hadn’t yet made up her mind regarding whether she should finish the slaughtering of all the deer that same day or prepare to jump them in the future, but she figured that the river was a fine choice for a place to make the decision because she’d have the option of swimming across. Additionally, she hadn’t forgotten about the pockets full of dirty seeds and roots. There was also the need to wash her bloody boots.

I guess I also have to clean my injurie—

A warning rang in Kaltyr’s mind, and the sense that something was approaching from behind jarred her. The girl swiftly planted her foot into the ground and redirected her momentum, sending her to the left. A tan-colored shape entered the corner of her vision while pain suddenly seared her waist and a force sent her shooting forward. Kaltyr tried to catch herself, but the weight of the now dead deer on her shoulders, combined with her disorientation from having her ribs stabbed, resulted in her stumbling onto her face.

L-looks like I’m finishing the slaughter today.