I run through the streets, past groups of people in the square, and at the shops. The library is kind of far away from the guild since the guild is near the entrance but the library is close to the center of town, and almost all of the other members are already there so I gotta hurry.

Around a minute passes before I slow to a walk. Okay fine, it was 10 seconds. I really need more END.

Turns out it wasn't as far as I thought it would be. After just a few seconds of walking, I see Jarvis and Skye outside the guild.

They wave and I stroll over. Behind them are a kid with a short sword and a girl with a regular wooden sword. The kid has short brown hair along with a piece of actual armor while the girl has a metal sheath and longer hair. They're chatting about something, but they're too far away for me to understand.

"Great, Daru's here. Now we just gotta wait for Ten." Jarvis says, tapping his foot.

Two pairs of brown eyes shoot towards me.

"Is this the guy that you said would be joining us? What class is he?" the girl asks.

---I'm a mage.

"Really? You look more like a crafter," the kid says.

---How come?

"Cuz your bag's full of shit like Bell's," the girl replies, pointing to my backpack.

Sad but true. I really need a bigger bag. That or less shit.

"And there's Ten," she says, looking behind me. I turn around to see a masked man holding a wooden sword, covered in some kind of weird cloth. The man waves before clutching his head, with Jarvis bashing his fist into it.

"What the hell are you wearing? Where'd you even get that crap?" he asks, gesturing to Ten's clothes.

Ten bends down and whispers something into Jarvis's ear.

"You crazy- ugh whatever. Let's just start with introductions. Everyone here knows who me and Skye are so just introduce yourselves. Bell, you start."

"Um, okay, so my name is Bell, and I'm a crafter. I made that cloak that Ten is wearing as well as the armor I have and my sister's sheath," the kid says.

"I'm a warrior and my name is Jade, and if you haven't figured it out yet this idiot right next to me is my brother. New guy, you're next," the girl says, her hand on Bell's shoulder.

---Okay then. I'm Daru, a mage, but I know some fighter and crafter skills.

Their expressions don't change when I say that I'm a mage, which is nice.

"And I'm Ten, a buffer. I think all of you know me except for... Daru, right?" I nod at this.

"Alright, so since we got 6 people, everyone join the party first, then accept this quest," Jarvis says.

He taps in the air a few times and blue screens pop up in front of everyone.

Jarvis has invited you to a party. Accept? Y/N

I hit Y and the quest shows up next.

Goblin Slaying(Party)

Hunt down 30 Goblins.

Reward: 30 CZ You are buffed! +50% INT, +50% WIS

---They spawn in the forest, right?

"Yeah, they're the little green guys," Skye replies.

Jarvis leads the way to the forest. It's right next to the plains, with a beaten-down path leading in. He turns around and stops at the entrance.

"Okay, so Jade and I will be at the front. Daru and Bell, you two protect Ten and Skye, okay?" He doesn't wait for a reply before continuing forward.

As we walk, small battles can be seen around us. A group of three fight off a few wolf-like monsters, while another stands guard as a player hacks away at a tree. Further in, inhuman growls and cries can be heard, along with sounds of wood smacking flesh and claws scratching metal.

"Stay low to the ground. There's a small pack of them up ahead," says Jade, crouching. The rest of us get low and watch as a group of monsters walk through a clearing. They're green and don't have any visible weapons, wearing only ragged loincloths. They're not that big either, each being around the size of a 10-year-old.

"Skye, you draw aggro," whispers Jarvis. She nods and nocks an arrow to her bow, bringing the string back and firing.

The arrow lodges itself in a goblin's leg and it screams in pain, collapsing. The remaining goblins look over in our direction.

"Get ready!" Jade yells. "Gi Gig Gi" The other goblins cry out and charge at us. Two of them stay in the back and throw stones while the remaining five have their claws outstretched.

We get into formation just as an arrow pierces through one of the goblin's heads. Jade takes her sword and swings, smacking away another one, while Jarvis rushes and stabs through a third's neck. Bell and I help take down any going for the rear and also block any flying stones.

The fight ends in a matter of seconds. Jade and Jarvis have sustained minimal wounds, but they chug down a potion from their packs. Skye retrieves her arrows, while I train my skills by using Examine whenever I can.

After dismantling the corpses, we're left with 8 mana stones. We each take one, with the last two going to Bell.

Jarvis goes up ahead to scout. He then holds up 2 fingers, and Jade and Bell move in as well. Suddenly, the bushes rustle and something comes out of them.

---What the- oh it's just a squirrel.

"Crap, this is bad. Regroup!" Jarvis yells.

---It's just a squirrel man- oh crap are those snakes?!

A group of snakes slither out of the bushes and head for the rear. Meanwhile, the front fends off a pack of goblins.

"Go for their heads!" Jarvis screams. "Their heads are their weakness!"

I try to step on one of them but it dodges, climbing up my leg. I hack it off with my staff, stabbing it through the eyes until it turns into a bloody pulp.

Gained 23 EXP!

I hear a scream from behind and turn to see Skye trying to pry off a snake with an arrow. It's wrapped itself around her arm and has multiple gashes all over its body. I help her get it off and together we beat it to death. I hear the same scream and see Ten poking at a snake on the ground. It's obviously dead by now but he keeps smashing a stick into it over and over again...

He looks up to see us staring at him. There's just an awkward silence for a few seconds before Jarvis's voice cuts through the atmosphere and we get back into it.

Half of the snakes that crawled out of the bushes attacked the front along with the goblins. As a result, Jarvis and Bell are both close to death, while Jade is just barely hanging on. Me and Ten rip off the snakes wrapped around their legs, while Skye assists the front with her arrows.

A few moments later, all of the goblins and snakes are dead. We regroup and gather the corpses in a pile. Bell and I pass around potions to everyone, completely depleting my stocks of health potions. By the way, it turns out that Bell has the same quality potions as me. When I asked him about it, he shrugged and said that they were the same as the potions in the NPC-owned shops. He said that most of the crafters (including him) think that in order to get better quality potions you have to use different materials.

The snakes turned out to be a monster called a Bush Viper, which drops its skin and a mana stone. Only a few of them dropped the stones, though, since the rocks turned out to be in their heads. The rest of them just gave mana stone powder which no one else really wanted, so I took it in a spare glass vial I had. Jade said that they also should have dropped fangs, but they were probably removed in the patch since they were pretty hard to dodge or see when they were made into weapons.

---Wait, this one dropped a fang!

One of the snakes disappears, leaving behind a roll of snakeskin, some powder, and a clear, almost translucent, fang.

Bush Viper Fang(UC): +3 ATK. Slight chance to deal poison damage. Treat with caution, as it is sharp yet fragile.

"Oh, they nerfed it. It used to have a durability of 8, but now it's at a 3. Plus it gave more ATK." says Jade.

"Anyway, let's head back. Since we ran into these guys, that means that we've gotten too far in." Jarvis says.

As we walk back towards the beginning, Jarvis spies another group of goblins, pushing us down. He puts a finger to his lips and gestures at Skye, who nocks an arrow to her bow.

Unfortunately, one of the goblins happens to notice us and lobs something at us.

"Shit, run!" Jarvis accidentally jostles Skye, causing her to hit a tree instead. After a few seconds, a bush a few meters away explodes, catching the surrounding grass on fire.

Was that a bomb? So it throws Molotovs at us. Great.

The remaining goblins rush at us, claws and sticks at the ready. In the spur of the moment, Jarvis grabs me, bringing me up to the front while Bell heads to the back. I punch one of the charging goblins in the face, kicking it down on the ground while swinging with my staff at another. They grab at me, scratching me, but I push them back and stab at their guts.

I hear another explosion, as well as a burning smell. It smells horrible. And then come the screams. It sounds like... I don't fucking know. It sounds like a demented dying something as it burns. Which is basically what it looks like.

The goblin that was throwing shit at us is now on fire. It's screaming really loud, so loud I can't concentrate. I guess whatever it was working on exploded and did that to them.

"Now's our chance! Get that little shit!" yells Jade, shoving her sword into the eyes of a goblin, causing grey matter to splatter everywhere.

I step on one of the fallen goblins until its head turns into an unrecognizable mess. An arrow hits the neck of another goblin, causing it to fall the ground and cease movement. Jarvis cuts the throats of the remaining two, leaving just the bomber goblin.

One final stab and the monsters are all dead for good. On the bad side, we still have 17- wait what the fuck?

Gained Title: Monster Hunter I(C): +2 END, +2 VIT, +2 AGI Monster Hunter I(C): Kill an Elite monster.

---Hey, did you guys get a title?

"Yeah, I did, it's called Monster Hunter I," answers Jarvis.

I get a nod from both Skye and Jade. On the other hand, Bell and Ten have confused looks on their faces.

"Wait, there are titles? And why did you guys get one but I didn't?" asks Bell.

"Hey, I didn't get one either," says Ten.

---It says you had to kill an Elite monster, which I'm guessing that thing was. I gesture to the smoldering corpse.

Examine gives me this:

Goblin Bomber(Elite) Corpse Examine has become Lvl 4

Nice, another level!

"Was it because we didn't deal damage to it? Or is it something else?" asks Ten, his fist underneath his chin.

"I guess so. Besides, it only gave me 2 points in ATK. It's not that good," Jade responds.

Jarvis nods but I cut in.

---Wait, hold on. You only got 2 points?

"Yeah, didn't you?"

---I got 2 points in END, VIT, and AGI.

"What? Is this a bug or something?" asks Jade.

"Actually, I also got something different," states Skye.

Our attention turns to her as she says that she got the END and VIT points, but instead of AGI she got DEX.

"So it's not a bug...maybe there's another factor. Can you two show us your statuses?" asks Jarvis.

---How do you show your status?

"Just say 'show status' and then who you want to show it to," he responds.

I comply, bringing up my status, right after Skye.

Status

Name: Daru

Lvl 1

Class: Mage

EXP: 95/200

Titles: Monster Hunter I

HP: 21/28

MP: 28/28

ATK: 8 (+1)

INT: 8 (+2)

DEX: 7

END: 7

DEF: 9 (+3)

VIT: 7

AGI: 8 (+1)

WIS: 8

LUCK: 10

SP: 5

"Hold on, let me do some math here... can you show Ten as well? He's good with things like these." says Jarvis, concentrating on the blue screens.

I do it again, this time for Ten. After a few seconds, he whispers into Jarvis's ear, whose eyes light up.

"Okay, so according to Ten, it gave points to your weakest stats. In my case, my stats were more or less the same so only ATK was given points. For you two cases," pointing at Skye and me, "you both had low HP so your END and VIT went up, and Daru had low AGI while Skye had low DEX."

"So basically titles try to even out your stats?" asks Skye.

"Looks like it," he responds. "Anyway, let's start dis- oh, never mind. Let's divide up the loot then," he says.

Bell has already started dividing up the loot for us, starting with the normal mobs while leaving the bomber corpse in the center. Each of us receives 2 F-Rank Mana Stones. Bell finally gets to the bomber corpse, which dissolves, leaving behind a weird-looking rock, a mana stone, and a pair of gloves.

Armite Ore(UC): Explosive in nature, this ore will cause a small explosion if damaged. Treat it with caution. Bomber's Leather Gloves(C): +3 DEX, +1 AGI, +2 DEF. Though crudely made, these gloves will reduce damage from explosives by 10% as well as increase throwing distance by 10%. They need to be repaired as well as washed. Durability: 5

Oh, I can see Durability now. I guess that's useful? I mean, it's kinda obvious these gloves are pretty worn out, especially since that bomb went off while that goblin was still holding it.

"So, who wants it? I don't need any of these drops."

"Me neither."

"Can I take the gloves? It would be useful to have some more DEX," says Skye.

"Anyone else want the gloves?" asks Jarvis. No one answers, and Skye puts them on but takes them off right away.

"They feel really sweaty..."

"Alright. So Bell, do you want the bomb?"

"Why are you asking me?" Bell looks up from organizing his stuff, putting empty potions in the front pockets, and the mana stones in the back.

"Because you're the only crafter."

"Yeah, but I don't need that. Besides, I already have too many things." Even with space previously taken up by potions, his bag is still full. One wrong step and he'd lose everything, not to mention that he'd be dead.

"Okay, guess I'll take it then." Ten says, breaking his silence. He picks up the rock and stows it away in his left pocket.

I wonder what he's gonna use it for. I feel like he's gonna kill someone with it...

"Anyway, let's get moving. We still need to kill 15 goblins for the quest."

We pack up the loot and keep going, steadily moving closer towards the front of the forest. After hunting down a few more goblins, this comes up:

Learned Stealth(C) Lvl 1 Stealth(C) Lvl 1: Increases the ability to hide with level. Does not work while moving.

Seems kinda useless, but at least I get free stat points. This would be useful if I was a sniper, but I don't have any ranged attacks, and I don't plan on learning archery any time soon.

Oh yeah, I also got this:

Learned Sneak Attack(C) Lvl 1 Sneak Attack(C) Lvl 1: Increases damage dealt to enemies unaware of an attack with level.

I guess these skills go together. And are also skills a mage probably should not have. Well, it's not like anyone will think I'm a mage at this point. Hahaha...

Welp, back to killing goblins.

Andddd we're done.

I got 30 CZ from that so I'm slightly less broke now. I also got Bell, Jade, and Ten added to my friends' list. And oh yeah, a level in Close Combat Mastery and Gathering. There were some new plants that I picked up in the forest.

And now, I'm gonna cook some food and make some more potions. I took some of the sticks the goblins were holding and fashioned them into wooden skewers by using rocks. I then cut up a piece of wabbit meat into cubes, cut lines into them, sprinkle salt and pepper on them, and skewer them on the skewers. Now I just gotta wait for them to cook. I take two sticks and shove them in the ground, splitting them on the ends with my dismantling knife to create "borders" where my skewers can be placed.

In the meantime, I'm going to get my potion crap ready. I've got some new plants that I got from the forest: Azel Fern, Kokore Cone, and Badara leaves. I get out the pot and mortar and pestle and finish cooking. The meat exudes a nice smell and is slightly black in color from the pepper, but is mostly pink.

Cooking has become Lvl 2!

The meat's got a smoky taste and is very tender. It's also very lean, which I'm guessing is characteristic of wabbit meat. Unless the GMs are trying to fuck with people that don't know what rabbits taste like.

Once I finish the meal, I clean off the sticks and board with water and stick them back into my pack. Now it's time to do the potions.

Alright, so if I remember correctly, the ratio of ingredient to water was too small. So this time, I'll try making regular health potions with a few trials. I did 2 stalks of Heartgrass and around half a pot of water for the first potions, so I'll increase the stalks and decrease the water slowly.

Trial number 1: 3 stalks of Heartgrass and half a pot of water minus one handful. I don't have any measuring tools so this is the best I got.

I chop up the Heartgrass finely on the board, leaving a few scratches, before transferring to the mortar and pestle and crushing it up. I then place it in the pot and slowly boil it, stirring with one of the skewers.

There's slightly less steam this time, and the color is a darker but still light green.

Low Quality Health Potion(C): Increases HP by 15%.

Only 1%, huh? Let's try 4 stalks next.

I cut and crush the 4 stalks, place it in water, and it explodes.

Fuck. This. Game.

Potion-Making has become Lvl 3! Stealth has become Lvl 2!

I decided to try and activate Stealth while I was doing this just to see if I could level it faster. Looks like it works.

Now I only have 2 stalks left. I guess I'll try making a pill now.

I cut and crush up the 2 stalks and fill the pot with just enough water to cover it. I take it off the heat and get in there with my hands, forming a paste. It's kind of wet and not sticky, so I put it over the heat a little and keep working on it, making sure not to burn myself.

Eventually, it forms a little ball. Which just falls apart.

Heartgrass Mush(C): Mushed Heartgrass in the form of a ball. Inedible.

So, I fucked up. What did I do- oh I remember now. It said something about a stabilizer, which I'm guessing is like eggs or something. But the ingredients for the pill were just Heartgrass and water, so it can't have been that. Maybe there's something else...

Would it be mana? I mean, most RPG books and shit say that you gotta use mana for making potions...

But how do I use mana? Do I have to imagine something like "Ki Blast" or some shit?

I hold my hand palm side up and push up on an imaginary ceiling. Nothing happens.

I try again. Still nothing.

And again. Is there any change on my status page?

Status

Name: Daru

Lvl 2

Class: Mage

EXP: 95/200

Titles: Monster Hunter I

HP: 28/28

MP: 20/28

ATK: 9 (+1)

INT: 8 (+2)

DEX: 7

END: 7

DEF: 9 (+3)

VIT: 7

AGI: 9 (+1)

WIS: 8

LUCK: 10

SP: 5

Oh, there is! Why can't I see it then? Also, before I forget again, I'm going to use up my SP and put 2 points in DEX, 2 in END, and the last one in VIT.

Learned Mana Manipulation(SR) Lvl 1

What the fuck. Did I do something I wasn't supposed to do yet? It's not even showing me the description. What does SR even mean again? Is it Super Rare or something else?

Author's Note: Whoops, made him OP again. Oh well.

Whatever, maybe I'll be able to see it this time!

So I try again. And this time, if you squint really closely, you can see a tiny ass wisp of smoke coming out of my hand. And now I'm out of mana.

I guess I'll do some pill making after I get some more research done. I wonder if my brother will know more about this?