One night of sleep, many hours, and a stick of jerky later, Agis lay stretched out on the ground. Sweat beads roll off his forehead as he breathes heavily. The small crack in the wall he is in seeming to grow smaller every minute. While in reality it had not changed, Agis felt himself having less space and needed to finally get out and move. Yet he still layed there, staring up at his creation. A small, white-blue ball floating just above him.

--Finally! It only took me two level-ups in mana manipulation before I figured out how to do this. I hope that’s not subpar or something. It doesn’t matter! I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long already! Set forth my new creation! Destroy what lies ahead!

It only took a second, the ball of light shot through the crack and struck the wall on the other side of the tunnel.

*Boom*

A small shockwave erupted through the air and rocks scattered everywhere. Sitting up and looking over to where the mana ball struck, Agis could see a small divot in the wall. It was by no means a large explosion, but it would definitely deal some damage. Agis had a new trick, and after a few more tries, he was comfortable enough to go hunt with it. There was only one problem, he now needed to wait to for his MP to gain again.

--It looks like I can only shoot off maybe 3 or 4 shots of that mana ball before I’m pretty much dried out of mana. That’s about 2 or 3 hunts worth if I do things right. Accounting for a missed shot or two of course. If I’m right, I should be able to hit a monster with a mana ball, then finish it with the spear. I’m not sure though...I’ll wait till I’ve topped off on mana then head out.

Laying back down, he shut his eyes for some rest.

……….

A few hours later Agis is walking down a tunnel not far from where he killed the spider. While the mana veins in the walls have provided a small amount of light, this tunnel seems more lit than normal. The farther Agis walks the brighter the tunnel became. This in itself was a nice release to his eyes, but Agis was growing nervous. It wasn't the light, but all of the sounds coming from up ahead.

“This must be where that creedon has been hiding! He’s shown up twice in town and disappeared without a trace. All of you stay alert for monsters, if you see the creedon, don’t attack. I wish to drag him back to the Bishop!”

Multiple people respond in unison. “Sir Yes Sir!”

Agis could hear the town guards from around the corner. After he killed those two people in town they must have sent a few extras from Averon to start a search party. The light must be from the torches they carry. They most likely talked to the locals and found out where he disappeared on the night of his escape. He could picture the whole thing now.

--Clever bastards. What do I do with you now?

Judging from the footsteps and the voices, there were maybe 5 people. No more than 6. Agis has past experience with the town guard, he knew enough about them to guess that their leader would most likely want to show off his strength and would be in the front. It created a perfect scenario. Blast the guy in the front with magic, and take down the remainder while they are startled. All he had to do was make sure his magic worked.

Agis focused on the mana running through his core, he focused on forming it into a ball. He could see it in his mind, a small sphere of raw mana. He waited until it was the right size, and then held off on making it appear. He instead focused on keeping it ready for use and stepped around the corner. It was still relatively dark, but he could see just fine thanks to the mana veins. The leader of the guards notices Agis walking towards them. The leader shouted out.

“You there, make yourself known!”

Agis didn’t respond.

The leader, slightly taken aback, continued on, “I am the captain of this unit. We are town guards from Averon, tasked with finding the systemless fiend that has plagued our kingdom. Regardless of whether you are him or not, introduce yourself immediately! If not, we will use deadly force!”

There are 6 guards, including their captain. All of them held tight to their sword handles and prepared to strike if needed. They were already nervous to be in the dungeon. The situation before them helped none to calm their nerves.

--So the rank for their leader is a captain? Never really paid much attention to the guard positions, I was too busy always running away from them. Too bad it’s irrelevant now.

An evil grin crept up on Agis’s face as he slowly walked forward. He just needed a few more steps. He needed to be close enough to the guards so that when he killed the captain with the mana ball, he could take out one or two of the guards in the confusion. At least, he was hoping for confusion. There was a chance that guards may not be as dazed as he was hoping for.

“Sir, identify yourself. I will not give you another chance!”

The captain gripped the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it at any moment. He could see the look in Agis’s eye, it just didn’t seem human. It was as if he was looking at a monster. Every bone in his body told him to run. But it was just a human. He was even wearing some farmer clothes that had been tattered and dirtied. Even more so, if he was the systemless fiend they were looking for, than he would be extremely weak. There was no reason to turn in run. They would make themselves look like fools when they could easily handle this situation.

Agis just smiled and replied, “Bye.”

Before the captain could register anything, a white-blue light appeared before the man in the shadows. The next second the light was buried into his chest.

*Boom*

Agis couldn’t help but be in awe of the explosion, ripping apart the captain's chest like it was made of paper. Pieces of leather armor and bones flew everywhere. Blood spewed in all directions. The other 5 guards were distraught. Their minds were frantic as they tried to process what had happened.

Agis took the opportunity and lunged towards the closet guards. With a swipe of his spear, he took two heads clean off. More blood spewed and the heads scattered towards the floor. Before the bodies even fell, his spearhead had already found its way into another guard's heart. He twisted his body, swinging the spearhead to the right, and the guard's body flattened against the tunnel wall.

[You achieved level 4, one skill point awarded]

At this point the two remaining guards returned to their senses and took off in the other direction, screaming for help. Agis knew he couldn’t let them go. If they got back to town then Averon would send stronger people after him. He couldn’t have that, he wasn’t strong enough to handle anything more than this. The only reason he got the captain was because he caught him off guard. If he tried attacking the captain head-on, the other guards would have killed him while they were fighting.

He looked towards the two fleeing guards, but before Agis could take a step after them, the two men were tackled by a gecko. Sending one into the wall, completely unconscious. The other was scream underneath the gecko, trying to get free of it’s clutches. His screaming was cut short as he was bitten in half and swallowed.

--Oh! How convenient!

“Thank you Mr. Gecko! I know you can’t understand me, so I’ll kill you when you finish up with them, ‘kay?”