Stumbling forwards in an attempt to get myself away from the pain, I start reaching for my staff on my belt. After thinking I've got enough distance between me and the creature, I turn around to face it. 'Another slime. I guess I should have taken a good look around before letting my guard down.' Starting up my chant, and directing the flame towards the slime, slowly rolling towards me. I continue blasting it while stepping backwards, matching its pace, so I won't get burned again. After it perishes, looking towards where it died reveals nothing. 'I should take this as a learning experience.' Suddenly my let calf starts stinging again, and looking down at reveals to me a layer of drooping melted skin with multiple holes of varying size with blood and pus leaking out, and though which a layer of muscle tissue can be seen. 'That doesn't look good.'

I start running back to the river I just came from to try and clean my new wound, soon reaching it. I take off the orange jumpsuit that I'm wearing, so as to be able to clean my wound better. Dipping my leg into the slowly flowing water, the water in the surrounding area takes on a slight red tinge before slowly drifting away. The cold of the water makes my teeth grit as a response to the stinging pain I now feel. I reach my hands down into the water and start slowly wiping away the remnants of whatever was eating away at my leg, and as I do so I can feel a slight tingling on my palms as they go a little numb. Slowly the pain starts increasing as time goes on; 'Probably the adrenaline starting to wear off.' After another minute or so of slowly cleaning it, I remove it from the water, and start trying to rip off one of the sleeves on my jumpsuit still lying on the floor, to use as wrapping. After wrapping the entirety of the wound and making it's tight enough, I put back on the jumpsuit, and look back towards that building that looks closer than before.

'"Personal Profile."'

Name: Ryan Mitchel Race: Human Age: 23 Sex: Male Level: 0 Stat Points: 0 Gold: 2 Titles: N/A Stats: HP:80/90 HP Regeneration: 1.1% per 5 Minutes SP:85/120 SP Regeneration: 1.1% per 5 Minutes MP: 34/140 MP Regeneration: 1.5% per 5 Minutes Critical Hit Chance: 0% Physical Resistance: 0.11% Magical Resistance: 0.15% Affliction Resistance: 0.35% Vitality: 9 Stamina: 12 Constitution: 11 Intelligence: 14 Wisdom: 15 Luck: 0 Skills: Stealth Interface Fire Creation Personal Abilities: The Curse of Cronus Afflictions: The Conquerors "Encouragement" Small Acid Burn

'Let's see what this acid burn does. "Identify."'

Small Acid Burn Affliction Rank: E Cuts HP by 10 making it unable to be regenerated. Heals naturally after 36 hours, upon which health can be regenerated as per normal. Using healing items or healing spells can speed up the recovery of this affliction. Time left until healed: 35:59:53

'Well at least there isn't some other crippling effect, like the affliction I got before. Well let's get back to it.', and again I begin traveling down the river, wincing slightly with every step.

***

Once more the shadow of night silently overtakes the forest, and I again look for a place to sleep to no avail, with the only option being the trees. Reminded of what happened the last time I fell asleep, I try and climb as high as I can go in the branches, to make myself less visible from the ground. "This should be good enough.", I mutter, nestling myself into my new bed made up of a couple decently sized branches.

***

A squeal of pain awakes me from my sleep, looking above me I see a couple thin light beams shining down upon me from the gaps between the leaves in the canopy. Blinking the drowsiness out of my eyes, I glance down and see the skeletal remains of a rabbit being slowly dissolved in the body of a slime. 'I think I should be more careful from now on when dealing with slimes.' As I watch it roll away after finished the rabbit, I try and climb down silently. Placing my feet back onto the grass, I get startled by the sound of my stomach growling. 'I think it's time to eat.' Looking around the clearing near the river reveals to me some hoof prints. 'Bingo.'

Following the hoof prints, I come upon a wild hog sniffing the ground. I ready my staff, and start preparing to fire at it. As I steady my ground, I can see one its ears twitch, and it turns around and charges at me, its tusks pointed straight at my stomach. Starting my casting in a panic, I aim directly at its face to try and blind it. As it gets closer and closer, I step to the side to get out of the way, and it continues charging blindly. 'Apparently it worked.' After charging a few more feet it stops, realizing I have moved it starts sniffing around, but I beat it to the punch reengaging my spell and burning it to death before it has a chance to find me. Walking towards its half-burnt corpse I grab it by the hind legs and slowly drag it back to the river. Back at the river I look around for a sharp rock, to cut off some of the meat on the hog to cook, and I soon find one lodged in the mud in the shallow riverbed. Washing it off, reveals a black glassy stone with a jagged edge. 'This should work.', and I soon begin cutting into the hogs flank. After removing some of the meat, and sticking it onto a sharpened stick, I start up a fire with some collected wood and my magic flame, and begin cooking.

***

I begin removing the pork from the fire after it looks to be done and take a bite. 'Wow, this is the best pork I've ever had.' I then start to ravenously devour what is left on the stick and start cooking some more.

After eating a few more pieces and drinking some water from the river, I stand back up. 'Lets keep going.'

***

After five more hours of trekking to the building, with intermittent breaks, it is finally within reach. Walking towards the end of the tree line, the appearance of the building becomes more and more clear. A 3 story tall blackstone castle half embedded into the small mountain behind it, that seems to have worn down by the passing of time. Numerous brick sized holes can be seen in the walls that make up the castle and one of the two turrets on the castle seems to have collapsed, with the rubble from it scattered on the ground below. The castle doorway, a tall set of two copper doors standing 12 feet high, once a strong sign of prestige, now lie on the ground covered in moss.

As I start to walk out from the forest that had housed me for the last 2 days, looking through the half destroyed doorway into the inner courtyard of the castle I can see a couple of small slimes, and a mutated one as well. Ducking back behind one of the trees to avoid being seen by them, I open my personal profile, once again. Looking at my MP and my one spell, I begin calculating how much MP I would need to defeat them all and it becomes obvious that my 140 is not enough. After letting out a sigh I open up my skill tree silently. '"Skill Tree."' I look to the 3 spells that I can learn, Multiple Fire Arrows, Fire Ball, and Fire Shield. 'So a single target spell, a multiple target spell, and a defensive spell. The defensive spell isn't that useful right now, the single target would be better if it was one big enemy, so the multi-target is the one. Alright, "Learn."'

Would you like to learn the Multiple Fire Arrows Skill. Upon the learning of a skill information on how to execute and use the skill will be presented to you for a short period of time. The more you comprehend the higher level the skill starts at; the lowest level is level 1. Be warned all skill acquisitions are final, there is no undoing a purchase. Yes/No

'I didn't want to experience that headache again, but I guess there is no choice. Ah, I better sit down so I don't stumble again and fall.' After sitting down I quietly mutter, "Yes", through my gritted teeth, and once again the enormous amount of information flows into my head for a short time before abruptly disappearing. Then a new window appears before me.

Multiple Fire Arrows Skill Rank: E Skill Level: 2 A fire magic skill that creates fire arrows based on the amount of mana used in the spell.

Creates fire arrows costing 20 mana each and dealing 16 damage. Maximum of three arrows are created for each chant.

I stand back up still massaging my aching temples, and turn back to face the decrepit castle, and I start walking forward. 'Let's get this battle started.'