"Hey kid" The elder chef suddenly called out to Earth with his usual hardened expression

"What is it?" Earth looked at his Uncle while preparing his bag for the next visit in the orc village

"Where are you going with that book-reading girl? You're not going to that forest again, are you?" Uncle glared at him

His habit of going small adventures with Plina in the "forest where people get lost" finally caught the elder man's attention

Earth froze to his fear as Uncle waited for an answer

"SHIIIITT! If he finds out that I've been killing monsters to get stronger, he'll definitely scold me and won't let me go again!" Earth internally panicked

He took one deep breath to ease her mind, "Calm down, Earth! Just say something convincing!"

"Uhhhh... no?" He stupidly answered

Uncle's expression twitched to Earth's reply

"You think I'm stupid? You think I would figure out that you've been fighting monsters in that damn forest just to level up?" Uncle "smiled" at him with a dark aura surrounding the elder man

Earth shook in terror as the elder man glared at him with a threatening look on his face

"I'm sorry! I just want to get stronger to achieve my goal! Please don't kill me!" Earth bowed in front of the elder man while apologizing continuously

Uncle let out an annoyed sigh

"Look, Earth. There's a reason why it's called the Lost Forest in the first place"

"I can't let my only idiotic chef getting melted by a slime. That's bad for business. You hear me, boy?" Uncle said in a threatening way

Earth nodded furiously, "Y-Yes sir!" He nervously said. Even he leveled up a million times, the fear of Uncle will still remain

The elder man gave a small chuckle and strongly patted the boy's back, causing Earth to wince in pain

"But I know you're one stubborn little bastard and you'll still go to your little quest anyway! So here's the deal..."

"I'm going to let you play in the forest, but in return, you have to collect rare ingredients from that forest. Sounds simple enough, right?" The elder man suggested

"Huh? It's that all? You're not punishing me or something?" He replied confusingly

Earth has no trouble gathering ingredients. In fact, he's trying to get rid off them because it's filling up his space

"What are you talking about? The higher the level you are, the more you can work harder for me. It's a win-win scenario" Uncle grinned at him with a wicked smile. He's already imagining giving Earth more work

"S-Sure..." Earth smiled nervously

Uncle is scary

"Now go on, before I change my mind!" He ushered Earth

"Thanks, Uncle!" Earth replied as he exited the restaurant

Earth smiled as he ran towards the library. At least Uncle allowed him to reach his goals on becoming strong enough to become a hero as he wanted

Even he's going to use his leveled up strength for hard labor in the restaurant

-o-o-o-

Inside the village's library, Plina has already made a fortress of books around her desk

It's a pretty common sight for the daily patrons of the library. But today seem a little different

Plina has been reading non-stop about the history of spell crafting and any kind of information that is related to magic. Grinding her skills to even more ridiculous levels

*****

[ skill has leveled up!]

Reading LV 51 ---> 52

[ skill has leveled up!]

Memorization LV 36 ---> 37]

*****

She even figured out the Earth element to add to her magic, increasing her whole arsenal

All she needs is the Dark element then she can finish that quest that would give her the ability to wield the 2nd tier of magic

×××××

"2nd Tier Upgrade!"

Requirement 1: Master all basic elements (5/6 elements mastered)

Requirement 2: [COMPLETE]

Requirement 3: [COMPLETE]

Requirement 4: Perform a [2nd Tier] spell

Completion Reward: Ability to read 2nd tier magic. Unlock Ice, Lightning, Metal, Nature, Void and Mind Elements

×××××

Plina's mind drifted towards Umo, the orc girl who wanted to learn magic

It reminds her of when she wanted to learn magic to help Earth for his adventures

Full of optimism and curiosity. No matter what angle she views it, that's definitely the mind of a magic-user

(Miss Plina!)

"Calling me Miss even if I wasn't married" Plina pondered

"Married... Marriage..." Her mind suddenly imagined Earth in a groom outfit

Plina's face immediately turned red as she shut the book she been reading and covered her face in embarrassment

"W-What are you imagining, you idiot! Earth would never like someone like me! He's too busy becoming a hero!" Plina mentally scolded herself

"Plina"

"Ah!" The librarian jumped at the sound of a familiar voice

"Plina what are you doing?" Earth asked as he looked at the red-faced girl

"Earth?! N-Nothing in particular! Just reading books like usual!" Plina nervously replied

"You sure? You're quite bright red there. Are you sick?" Earth drew closer and placed his hand to her forehead, causing Plina to blush more

"It's nothing! I'm fine! No need to get worried!" Plina slapped Earth's hand away from her forehead in embarrassment

"Hm? Is that so? Can I ask you something? The chef asked

"Huh? What is it?" Plina questioned

"Do you know any good shops to sell stuff?"

-o-o-o-

"How much would I get if I sell this?" Earth haggled to a merchant

"Hmm...This boar leather is still fresh, I would say about 20 copper gilts" the merchant

"How about these?" He presented various slime cores

"Pure blue tint and a rare red variant. 50 copper gilts are probably the value" the merchant examined the crystalized slime

"And these?" Earth grabbed a handful of Treant branches

"Woah! Where did you get this? This really good quality! I would say, you fetch a price of 10 silver gilts per branch"

"Hm... that much?" Earth said to himself, placing his hand to his chin thinking

He opened his and took every material he has ever gathered while defeating monsters in the Lost Forest in front of the merchant

"I like to sell all this please!" Earth presented the merchant with a mountain of monster drops

The merchant awed in amazement, "A-All of this?" He questioned

"Yup! All of it!" Earth smiled

The merchant gave the gilts to Earth as he took the items off his hands

The chef walked towards Plina with a heavy bag of coins

"Look Plina! We finally have money!" He said

Their grand total of selling all those monster drops were 17 gold, 45 silver, and 72 copper coins

Gilts are the national currency of Fantasia. 1 copper gilt is equal to 1 gilt. 1 silver gilt is equal to 10 gilts, 1 gold gilt is equal to 100 gilts, and 1 platinum gilt is equal 1000 gilts

"So what are we going to do with all that money?" Plina asked. Earth grinned in response

"What else? To buy everything we need!" Earth said cheerfully

-o-o-o-

Earth bought various ingredients to make food other than sandwiches for the orc village

Plina bought a lot of crystals, books for Umo to learn magic and a few generic magic materials for fixing the Well Rune

In the end, they still have 5 gold, 11 silver, and 52 copper coins to spare. Who knew monster drops would be so valuable?

They packed everything and started their trek towards the Lost Forest

"Hey, Earth. I was wondering. Why do monsters attack humans?" Plina suddenly asked

"Huh? What do you mean?" He responded

"I mean, I used to think Orcs are nothing more than mindless beasts that attack humans"

"But after meeting Umo and the village, they seem like normal people. People that wanted to live, have aspirations and had a family to protect" she asked deeply

"Which begs the question..."

"Can humans trust monsters?" Plina asked with a serious tone

Earth thought about it too. And as Plina said, he used to think monsters are just mindless creatures. Creatures that humans need to be exterminated

But if they can think and listen to humans. They could have a possible coexistence between the 2 races. But that highly unlikely to his opinion

Earth sighed, "Maybe. I mean, sure. The orcs didn't kill us at first sight and let us help their village. But they still have instincts to kill humans. So I can't really decide if we can trust them"

"I see..." Plina was a bit down to his opinion

"For now, let's just try to be nice to them. After all, we're still aiming to be heroes. And a hero doesn't take a blind eye towards those in need. Whether they're humans or monsters. Are you with me?" Earth let out a hand for Plina

Plina smiled in return, "Yeah, I'm with you" she grabbed his hand in agreement, as they continued to walk towards their destination

-o-o-o-

They finally saw the orc village in view. The orcs were a bit cautious to them but decided to ignore them and let them enter the village

"You came back" Grak said as he looked at the humans

"Yeah, what do you expect?" Earth tried to joke

"Expect human warn human king and raze orc village" Grak said grimly

Earth froze a bit, "Well, we didn't. So what else can we help today?" He replied

Grak looked at humans with a surprised face for a second before turning into his usual stoic face

"Can human still cook more food?" He orc asked

Earth let out his grin, "You damn well I can!"

With the extra ingredients he brought, Earth was able to make more food with different varieties. The amount of food he made as akin to a feast than a normal meal

And orcs happily ate with the good food that the chef made. It gave Earth a smile to his face to be able to help these orcs

Of course, it also made him stronger due to the food he consumed with his skill

[ skill has leveled up!]

Cooking LV 25 ---> 26

☆MASTERY UP☆ ×12

*****

[Spice-Flavor Cleaver] ☆Mastered☆ (Clive)

Effects:

[+20 AGI +10 MP]

{Infuse more Spice flavors to unlock more effects}

Mastery (100/100)

Mastery Bonus:

*****

*****

[Spice-Flavor Kitchen Knife] ☆Mastered☆ (Knive)

Effects:

[-10% Debuff Effects, +10% Buff Effects]

{Infuse more Spice flavors to unlock more effects}

Mastery (100/100)

Mastery Bonus:

*****

*****

[Herb-Flavor Cleaver] ☆Mastered☆ (Clive)

Effects:

[+10% Potion Effects, +5% ATK for Nature-Type Skills]

{Infuse more Herb flavors to unlock more effects}

Mastery (100/100)

Mastery Bonus:

*****

*****

[Herb-Flavor Kitchen Knife] ☆Mastered☆ (Knive)

Effects:

[+20 MP, +5 MAG]

{Infuse more Herb flavors to unlock more effects}

Mastery (100/100)

Mastery Bonus:

****

*****

[Meat-Flavor Cleaver] ☆Mastered☆ (Clive)

Effects:

[+15 STR, +30 HP, +15% damage towards Beast-type]

{Infuse more Meat flavors to unlock more effects}

Mastery (142/300)

Mastery Bonus:

*****

*****

[Meat-Flavor Kitchen Knife] ☆Mastered☆ (Knive)

Effects:

[+20 STR, +10% ATK Beast-Type Skills]

{Infuse more Meat flavors to unlock more effects}

Mastery (102/300)

Mastery Bonus:

****

*****

[Bone-Flavor Cleaver] ☆Mastered☆ (Clive)

Effects:

[+10 STR, +25 DEF]

{Infuse more Bone flavors to unlock more effects}

Mastery (100/100)

Mastery Bonus:

*****

*****

[Bone-Flavor Kitchen Knife] ☆Mastered☆ (Knive)

Effects:

[+20 DEF, +10% ATK towards Undead-type]

{Infuse more Bone flavors to unlock more effects}

Mastery (100/100)

Mastery Bonus:

****

*****

[Milk-Flavor Cleaver] ☆Mastered☆ (Clive)

Effects:

[+10 HP, +5 DEF]

{Infuse more Milk flavors to unlock more effects}

Mastery (100/100)

Mastery Bonus:

****

*****

[Milk-Flavor Kitchen Knife] ☆Mastered☆ (Knive)

Effects:

[+10 DEF, +10 HP]

{Infuse more Milk flavors to unlock more effects}

Mastery (100/100)

Mastery Bonus:

*****

*****

[Fruit-Flavor Cleaver] ☆Mastered☆ (Clive)

Effects:

[+10 MP]

{Infuse more Fruit flavors to unlock more effects}

Mastery (100/100)

Mastery Bonus:

****

*****

[Fruit-Flavor Kitchen Knife] ☆Mastered☆ (Knive)

Effects:

[+10 HP]

{Infuse more Fruit flavors to unlock more effects}

Mastery (100/100)

Mastery Bonus:

****

[New Skills Acquired]

- Grants the user a short boost in all of the stats by +5%. Lasts 30 seconds

- Create a small projectile that explodes on impact and releases stinging spices. Inflicts Stun. Cost 25 MP. Range: 1 meter

- Slightly lessens debuff effects by 50%. This skill cannot completely remove a status effect. Costs 50 MP

- Passively increases the effects of a potion by 50%

- Causes the objects around the user to knockback while running. Costs 40 MP

- The user's muscles have more mass. Grants +1 STR and +5 HP when leveling up

- Passively fix or heal bones when broken

- Makes the user's bones harder to break. Permanently increases DEF by 10%

- The bones of the user are more stable. Permanently increases DEF by 5%

- The user's bones are harder than usual. Grants +1 DEF when leveling up

- Release a sweet-smelling scent that attracts nearby monsters. Costs 15 MP

- The user's body is more mana rich and has more energy. Grants +1 AGI, +1 MAG, +5 MP when leveling up

[, , , and skills are detected. Fusing...]

[ and skills are detected. Fusing...]

[, , and skills are detected. Fusing...]

[9 skills has been fused due to their similarities]

[New Fused Skills Created]

- The user's body is well fed and more resistant to diseases. Grants a permanent +5 to STR, AGI, DEF, MAG, and +10 HP and MP when leveling up. Greatly increases the stamina of the user. Also grants skill

- Dash towards an object with a great amount of force. Knocks back targets while using this skill. Temporarily boost the user's AGI by 150% and STR by 50% for 15 seconds. Costs 75 MP

- The user's bones are now hard as iron and can regenerate faster the normal. Passively increases DEF by 20%

New Skill Granted

- The user's body is more resistant to plagues and sickness. +5% chance to remove disease when afflicted

[ has leveled up]

Flavor Mastery LV 3 ---> 5

*****

Now that's how to get overpowered

The skill would take care of his defense and would definitely boost his stats when leveling up

And all of that for just a cup of milk and few bones? Now that's just downright insane

"Earth, why are you smiling like that?" Plina asked, clearly disturbed at his creepy grin he's making

"Heh, you see dear Plina..." Earth let the librarian take a look at his stats. Plina widen her eyes in shock

"EHH?!! WHAT THE HECK ARE THOSE SKILLS?! THAT'S CHEATING! THAT'S WAY TOO POWERFUL!" Plina yelled at him in disbelief

"Hu hu. Spending money to help the innocent while getting stronger? A truly win-win scenario!" Earth boasted more

"In fact..." he grabbed a few spare coins from his inventory

"Wait... Earth... You're not serious, are you?" Plina started to get nervous about what her friend is planning. She already knew what his stupid idea is

"You bet I'm serious!" Earth said before swallowing all the coins in his hand and infusing them all to his blades

****

[Copper-Flavor Cleaver] (Clive)

Effects:

[+5 STR, +5 DEF]

{Infuse more Copper flavors to unlock more effects}

Mastery (32/100)

****

****

[Copper-Flavor Kitchen Knife] (Knive)

Effects:

[+5 DEF, +10% ATK for Lightning-type skills]

{Infuse more Copper flavors to unlock more effects}

Mastery (20/100)

****

****

[Silver-Flavor Cleaver] (Clive)

Effects:

[+25 STR, +15% Holy Damage]

{Infuse more Silver flavors to unlock more effects}

Mastery (22/100)

****

****

[Silver-Flavor Kitchen Knife] (Knive)

Effects:

[+15 DEF, +25% ATK towards Undead and Lycan-type]

{Infuse more Silver flavors to unlock more effects}

Mastery (32/100)

****

****

[Gold-Flavor Cleaver] (Clive)

Effects:

[+30 MAG, +50 MP]

{Infuse more Gold flavors to unlock effects}

Mastery (2/100)

****

****

[Gold-Flavor Kitchen Knife] (Knive)

Effects:

[+25 MAG, +50% Enchantment Boost]

{Infuse more Gold flavors to unlock more effects}

Mastery (5/100)

****

☆MASTERY UP☆ ×2

*****

[Money-Flavor Cleaver] ☆Mastered☆ (Clive)

Effects:

[+10% chance higher gilt gain when selling]

{Infuse more Money flavors to unlock more effects}

Mastery (100/100)

Mastery Bonus:

****

*****

[Money-Flavor Kitchen Knife] ☆Mastered☆ (Knive)

Effects:

[+15% higher quality item encounter rate]

{Infuse more Money flavors to unlock more effects}

Mastery (100/100)

Mastery Bonus:

****

****

New Skills Acquired

- Store money in small space magic. Money Limit: 99 platinum gilts

- Passively increases the value of items in the user's inventory by 2%

****

"See? Just as pl-HMPH!!!" Earth cut of mid-sentence by a sudden pain in his stomach

[You have consumed large amounts of metals. Your body is polluted by things that shouldn't be in there]

[(Poison: Metal): Losing 2HP per second for 10 minutes, +200% more damage taken from Lightning-type attacks]

[+2 damage] (183/185 HP) Earth

[+2 damage] (181/185 HP) Earth

[+2 damage] (179/185 HP) Earth

"Just as planned? Eh, hero?" Plina gave him a I-told-you-so look

"Still! It's still worth it! The Silver-Flavor has a massive boost to my attack!" He said proudly

"Are you going to be fine? That poison doesn't sound so good" Plina said with worry

"Don't mind me! I have a lot of new skills gained from mastering all those flavors that may help with this" Earth clenched his stomach as he switched to his Spice-Flavor Knife

*****

[Spice-Flavor Kitchen Knife] ☆Mastered☆ (Knive)

Effects:

[-10% Debuff Effects, +10% Buff Effects]

{Infuse more Spice flavors to unlock more effects}

Mastery (100/100)

Mastery Bonus:

*****

"" He chanted his newly acquired skill, as he glowed a green aura

[(Poison: Metal): Losing 1HP per second for 1 minute and 33 seconds, +50% more damage taken from Lightning-type attacks]

"There. That should lessen the effects, even for a little bit" He said

Plina gave out sigh at her friend's stupidity, "Okay, while you try to recover to your attempt, I'll be heading to the Well Rune" Plina said as she started to head to that location

"Have fun, Miss Plina" Earth still had a gall to tease her

The librarian flinched at his reply, "P-Please don't call me that" she shyly said

-o-o-o-

The librarian finally reached the Well Rune. It's still broken like she left it. But when she looked around, the little orc girl wasn't found

"Umo? Are you here?" Plina quietly called out

(Huh? Oh! You're back, Miss Plina!)

The familiar silver-haired orc girl came out the bushes in a comical manner

"Um, w-were you waiting for me in the bushes all this t-time?" Plina asked

(N-No?)

"I-I see" Plina sweatdropped at Umo's nervous reply

It's better not ask why she was there in the first place

Plina cleared her throat. "Well then, let's go to somewhere spacious and let's get started to your first magic lesson, Umo" the librarian said

(Understood, Miss Plina!)

The orc girl saluted, it kinda looked silly to be honest

They found a bit of a dirt patch near the Well Rune, as both of them seated in a cross-legged position, facing each other

Plina silently used to the orc girl

+++++

"Umo" LV 1 (20/100 EXP)

HP: 75

MP: 15

STR: 4

AGI: 8

MAG: 2

DEF: 3

Skills

GIFT: Curious

"A young orc girl who is curious about magic. She doesn't like fighting though, unlike most of her race"

+++++

"Her stats aren't really stellar but I could at least make do and train her up to increase her MAG and MP" Plina thought

"Now, before I start teaching you the basics of magic, I'm going to clarify you a bit" Plina began

"What your about learn is something that isn't normal magic casting by human standards" Plina elaborated, causing Umo to tilt her head in confusion

"So, I need you to promise that you need to keep this kind of magic a secret until a more suitable time arrives, okay?" The older girl asked. The orc girl's face turned more confused at Plina's request

(You seem bit confusing but I promise that I'll keep this a secret if you say so, Miss Plina)

"Plus, an orc capable of magic-wielding magic would cause an uproar if the adventurer's guild found out" the librarian thought

If they find out that either her or Umo that they can use magic by just drawing, they'll definitely be killed

Plina nodded to the girl's response, as she grabbed one of her magic books from her

"Good. Now what I'm going to teach you is called [Scripting Magic] or Reading Magic. Magic depends on what you write and can make spells of your own. It is based on your current understanding of the language of magic" She explained

Plina held out one of her magic books and flipped it to one the pages

"{Bookmark: Page 7: }" she chanted as a small shard of stone shot out the magic circle

Umo looked in awe as she saw her first-ever encounter of magic

(So cool! That rock just came out of nowhere! How did you that?)

The little girl bounced in anticipation. Plina looked at her with a smile

"She's too precious!" Plina praised inside her mind. She's really weak to anything that looks cute. And boy, Umo is goddamn cute!

"Now, now. Settle down first. I'll start to explain how it works..." Plina looked around and grabbed a nearby stick

"First, you need some kind of tool to make a magic circle. Any item would do, but long and thin items work best" the librarian explained as she dipped the tip of the stick in one her inks

+++++

[Terra Ink]

Element: Earth

"A special kind of ink laced with the element of Earth"

+++++

"There. This should be enough" Plina looked at the stick

+++++

[Makeshift Terra Ink Wand]

Element: Element

DUR: 23

ATK: 2

MAG: 4

"A crude creation made from a stick dipped in magical ink"

+++++

"Here you go" Plina gave her the wand. Umo looked in awe

(Can I do magic with this stick?!)

The orc girl asked in glee. Plina could only smile at the girl's innocence

"Well, you have to understand a magic circle to perform a spell" Plina said as she gave her one of her books

"Try memorizing the spell I used earlier. . Then concentrate and draw the magic circle using your mana" the librarian instructed

Umo looked at the book with intensity. And lifted her wand in the air and closed her eyes in concentration

Plina watched as similar symbols began to form in front of Umo. She smiled in response

"Looks like she's able to do it as I predicted," Plina thought as Umo kept concentrating

Unlike her, Umo is not tied to classes as humans do. This means she can form magic circles without the aid of magic books like Plina usually do

This also gives Umo an advantage over her

While Plina is able to perform any kind of magic as long as she memorized it, she can't level it up as skills do

But Umo isn't tied to those restrictions. Thus giving her the full potential of [Scripting Magic]

"But here comes the hard part..." Plina thought as she saw Umo complete the magic circle

"Now, chant the spell in human speak, Umo. " Plina instructed

Umo nodded in response, "" the orc girl tried to pronounce in a broken human language

The magic circle buzzed and failed, as it shattered into a million pieces

(Uwah! I failed!)

Umo said in disappointment as Plina tried to encourage the girl

"Well, that was expected. Magic need to chanted in human language correctly in order to work" Plina thought

"Don't let it bother you, Umo. You can always try again" Plina said

(Understood Miss Plina! I'll keep on trying until I do it right!)

The orc girl said in determination, Plina smiled in response

"Alright, you keep practicing on that spell, while I keep fixing the Well Rune, okay" The human patted the orc girl's head, as Umo nodded in response

Plina began to work on the Well Rune when suddenly, a notification appeared

+++++

[Due to taking an apprentice under your wing, you have gained the art of teaching]

[New Skill Acquired]

[]

- Enables the user to teach or pass down skills to someone else. Increase EXP and Skill growth of your apprentice/student by 10%

+++++

"Huh? This is a skill as well?" Plina wondered

She looked at Umo (who failed chanting again) with interest

"I guess, its fine if it helps her" Plina said to herself as she continued to fix the Well Rune

-o-o-o-

Somewhere at the edge of the village, Earth is cleaning his tools to the nearby stream

He just finished cooking food for the entire village.

Earth finally notices Grak walking towards him and watching him clean

"Grak thanks you. If there something you want orc village do, will do" The orc suddenly said as he bowed in front Earth

"Well, I guess you're welcome then?" Earth replied, kinda awkward to see a giant orc bowing in front of him

The orcs were kinda hostile to him at first but he understands where they're coming from. To see, one of the creatures pillage your homeland over and over again and suddenly they offered help?

Yeah, Earth would act same too

"And there's no need for a reward. We did say we came to help, right?" Earth smiled at the orc

"Then Grak ask again... Why you want to help orc village? Humans kill monsters, monsters kill humans" The orc asked

"Well... it because I wanted to a hero. And to me at least, a hero always helps when someone is in need of help. Is there really something wrong with that?" Earth beamed a cocky smile

The orc was silent to his response. Earth was truly genuine to his aspirations to become a hero

This wasn't just something he wants to do... this is something he NEEDS to do

"Well! I better start cooking again! I'm going make something that would blow your tastebuds out!" The chef grabbed his cleaned tools from the stream

"Human"

"What is it-"

*SHING*

"DON'T MOVE" Grak suddenly pointed a sword towards Earth's neck. The boy immediately froze in place, as Grak's sword threatens to cut his neck in one swift swipe

"W-Wha.. What the hell?" Earth said in disbelief

-o-o-o-

(Miss Plina, I did it!)

Umo celebrated as a small shard of rock appeared at the tip of her wand

"Congratulations, Umo! Now try chant again" Plina said

Umo took a deep breath and point her wand towards a tree, as familiar magic circles began to appear at the tip of her wand

"" Umo chanted as a small shard of rock flew and pierced the tree with enough force to burrow against the trunk

"She already learned it?" Plina stood in awe as Umo casted a perfect spell in just a few hours

It would normally take a day or 2 for Plina to master a spell. Hell, even , her first spell, took a whole night without sleep just to cast it

"Is it because of her GIFT?" Plina quietly chanted to the orc girl

+++++

"Umo" LV 1 (20/100 EXP)

HP: 75

MP: 15

STR: 4

AGI: 8

MAG: 2

DEF: 3

Affinity

Earth: 1%

Skills

GIFT: Curious

"A young orc girl who is curious to magic. She doesn't like fighting though, unlike most of her race"

+++++

×××××

GIFT: Curious

- "I want to learn more of this world!". The user is mind yearns to learn more and more information. Increase skill growth by +10000%

×××××

Plina's eyes almost popped out in surprise as she stared the ridiculous GIFT that Umo has

"+10000%?! Why does she have that kind of GIFT?!" Plina internally panicked

"That means, any skill I teach to her will instantly level up with just one use" the librarian starting to understand the ramifications of this GIFT

To able to master any spells instantly is extremely concerning, especially if that person is a monster like Umo

"I need to be very careful what I teach her. I might create something... that is more of a monster" Plina thought as she continues to fix the Well Rune while she let Umo practice more

Plina finally deciphered the last symbol on the rune, as it glowed blue

×××××

[Well Rune]

Convert: Mana

To: Water

Until: Full

×××××

The rune started to produce clean water by sucking up the mana from the environment. It wasted no time to fill the whole reservoir and flowed to the dry canals, slowly hydrating the fields

×××××

{Hidden Requirements Discovered}

{"Rune Engineering"}

Requirement 1: Scan a missing rune-based device [COMPLETE]

Requirement 2: Fully Decipher a rune [COMPLETE]

Requirement 3: Make a fully functioning rune [COMPLETE]

Completion Reward: and

×××××

Plina smiled as she watched the Well slowly fill the dry fields with life-giving water

"It was hard but I finally fixed it" she said to herself while watching the rune create water

She opened up her status and checked the 2 newly acquired skills she got

×××××

- Words that dictate magic. The user can now create runes with different varying effects. Current Limit: 1

- Who knew a couple of scribbles with magic would be so effective? Increase rune MP capacity by 10% and Magic Output by 15%

×××××

"This would be handy in the right circumstances" Plina said as she started to write her findings

Meanwhile, Umo watched in awe as the Well Rune was fixed by Plina

The little orc girl was glad that she met Plina. She was kind and taught her magic even though she's a monster

She was glad

...

Unknowingly to Plina, Umo pointed her wand towards the librarian's direction

"" Umo casted

Plina paused and quickly turned around

"Umo? What are yo-"

*STAB*

[+147 damage] (23/160 HP) Plina

-o-o-o-

Back at the orc village, Earth was still held up Grak by knifepoint

"DON'T MOVE" Grak suddenly pointed a sword towards Earth's neck. The boy immediately froze in place, as Grak's sword threatens to cut his neck in one swift swipe

"W-Wha.. What the hell?" Earth said in disbelief

"If human move, human will die" Grak threatened

Earth gritted his teeth in frustration as he eyed the blade near his neck. His hand close to his blades, yet still far to reach it

"Damn it, I miscalculated. I didn't think that they would- No. I always knew that they could have been using us from the start" Earth thought

They may act nice and behave as people do. But in the end, they're still monsters. Monsters that attack and kill humans. And that fact will still remain, no matter what

"Was I wrong to trust them?" Earth wondered as tried to think out a plan to get out of this situation

But his thinking was cut out short by Grak's sword moving into the kill. Earth looked in terror as the blade came closer

*SLASH*

*ROAR*

Earth immediately stumbled forward as Grak's blade sliced the bear-like monster behind him

The orc lends out a hand towards Earth, "Are you okay human?"

He looked in shock as he watched the bear that about to killed him stumbled with its blade wound caused by Grak

"Yeah, I'm fine" the chef replied

It turns out that Grak was aiming for the bear behind him. Any sudden movements would have easily angered the beast

"So he wasn't trying to kill me" Earth sighed as he took Grak's hand

Earth looked at the bear-like monster and quickly activated his skill

+++++

"Mist Bear" LV 21

HP: 510

MP: 65

STR: 25

AGI: 15

MAG: 35

DEF: 5

{Extremely aggressive bears that are extremely adept to hiding and striking any unfortunate creatures that may encounter them}

Skills:

+++++

"Mist bears has been attacking orc tribe for a couple of days" Grak explained

"Orcs would have defeated bears but the orcs are too few to defeat all bears" The orc continued

The Mist Bear fur started to produce a lot of fog as it roared in anger

"Hey, Grak. Mind if I assist you on this?" Earth said as he switched into his Silver-flavor blades

"Only if human doesn't get in the way" Grak said as he tightens his grip on the large sword

"Right! Let's do this! " Earth boosted forward with his blades ready for a stab

-o-o-o-

Back at the Well Rune, Plina was holding her bleeding shoulder as tried to make the distance between her and the Mist Bear in front of her

(Miss Plina! I'm sorry that I failed to kill it!)

Umo apologized as her hands trembled with a wand ready to cast

"If she didn't cast , I would have been decapitated instantly" Plina eyed the shard of rock lodged in the Mist Bear that Umo casted

She can remember earlier the sound of a spiked rock casted by Umo whizzing by her side and hitting the bear behind her, which caused the bear to tilt, giving Plina a chance to dodge

While she did get hit by the bear, it was certainly better than getting your head cut off by bear claws

Plina silently used to the bear with Umo behind her

+++++

"Mist Bear" LV 20

HP: 492

MP: 60

STR: 22

AGI: 15

MAG: 31

DEF: 5

{Extremely aggressive bears that are extremely adept to hiding and striking any unfortunate creatures that may encounter them}

Skills:

+++++

This was definitely not good for Plina. Not only she has to defend against a monster that has a higher level than her, but Earth was also way too far for help

"Should I run? Maybe I could reach Earth before the Mist Bear could catch up" Plina thought

But she looked at the scared Umo beside her. And that gave her the answer she needs

"No, I already swore that I would be hero, not a damsel in distress" Plina said to herself

Was she scared?

Of course, she is

But that doesn't mean she's running away that easily... Not anymore

"Umo, stay behind me" Plina said to the orc girl as she grabbed on her magic books on her

(Huh? W-What are you planning, Miss Plina?)

The librarian remembered Earth's strategies in kind of situations

"Probably, something stupid" Plina grinned at Umo

"" Plina shouted the spell as multiple blades of light shoot forward towards the Mist Bear