Hmm. What do you want me to say? I disappeared and then I came back looking half dead.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The time would pass as we travelled, my magic growing stronger and stronger.. Well, really that's a lie. Its not that my magic grew stronger, though it did.

My control grew greater as I gained more experience, the levels almost seeming to accumulate as I learned a little detail more. Each level gave me more control, and each insight gave me experience in the level. Just fiddling around would still give experience at a lesser rate.

More torchlights responding to my whims, the mana cost decreasing slightly.

My experiments were reaching the point where colors no longer bleeding into each other and now I could simply cram multiple colors into one light, each new light was originally a struggle but it began to get easier and easier as I recognized which aspect of the spell was holding me back and how I could modify it. It took me a week to advance from 5 colors to 10, but with a sudden inside I increased that number by another 4 within the day.

Its not just placing colors inside the torchlights, its also positioning and arranging it so that the spell components do not mix. What use is a blotchy light where the colors cannot be controlled?

Of course, every improvement to my spell the Gamer skill would remember it and effortlessly allow me to recast it, one thing I did notice was that it would remember everything I thought was an improvement, even when I made a mistake. Took me a few days to recognize how I messed up, and it took even longer to figure out how to get around it.

While the skill allowed me to cast the torchlights without thinking or controlling it, it just doesn't handle the fine details, such as the colors on the balls. If I want to design the torchlights, I need to focus as I cast the spell, focus as I change the colors. I was more than happy that the Gamer skill would allow me to record patterns, such as a Torchlight that flickers between colors over and over..

I began to get bored though, playing with my torchlights to myself as I studied the workings of my other spells. Casting them over and over, reproducing the feeling and trying to place each component in Torchlight. It was less that I thought I would succeed, and more trying to get something to work.

It reminds me a bit of programming, we have a computer class in school and for a month in the first half of school we explored basic programming, or how to make a dot move about the screen. Everyone who was interested was able to take another class to learn more. I didn't take that class, my dot refused to move after my initial efforts and the computer was linked to the internet with almost no supervision going on.. Go figure. Of course I played games.

Some of my modifications to the torchlights began to get interesting, such as giving off a solidish appearance or creating the illusion of slight shimmer in the air which rippled. They could even appear invisible at one time, but that change wasn't very stable and my other modifications to the spell kept throwing it off. So I ended up removing it, maybe adding it back in later.

I had hidden a Torchlight in a small cropping of rocks, colored a dim orange with red spots floating on the surface, I didn't say anything as I floated behind the group quietly. Observing what happened.

Kira discovered it, yelled to the others she found a "treasure". When she tried to touch it, it turned black and faded.. She was so confused. When the others arrived in response to her call she tried to explain what happened, about the "treasure" but after a look around they couldn't see anything. They believed her, but it looked like it was gone.

She even tried to drag me into it, saying I was flying in the sky. I must've seen it! No sorry, I hadn't.

I did this on multiple occasions, the torchlights will always disappear when she touches it, or when someone else arrives. It got to the point where she looked resigned when she saw one of the torchlights. It got boring after that.

Later she realized I was behind it as she watched me experiment with my torchlights, I'm not quite sure what clued her in but she suddenly yelled and pointed at me. Then she swore, threatened me and dared me to come on down. I wasn't stupid. She wasn't stupid either, or she would've thrown a knife at me. What I really hate about this, what I really despise about myself is if she threw a knife, I'm sure it would kill me.

She had punched me for another prank earlier, broke three ribs, wiped half my health out in an instant. This was a week ago when we were fighting level 50 monsters. We're now fighting level 60 monsters, and my level has only reached 33. This is barely enough to scratch them. Even when I fling my stones out, heavier than a man can carry yet smaller than a fist. It makes them stumble.

It wasn't that I do slow leveling, but I didn't killsteal and unless I get the final hit I don't actually get experience from it. Then the higher the monster levels are, the lower my chances to get the final hit is, and finally I found it would be too awkward to ask them to hold the monsters still as I attempted to finish them off.

So yeah, I no longer joined in on their fights and just stayed out of it, when humiliate myself?

At least Mark was in a similar position, his arrows almost seemed to turn monsters into pincushions before they fall. But hey, I got a nifty achievement at least.

Achievement: Hitting the bossDefeat a monster more than twice your level!

When weaker than your opponent, damage increases by [Level Difference]%

Rob Barnes lv.59 Heroic Ice Mage

Josh Carter lv.58 Heroic Swordsman

Kira Harris lv.57 Heroic Rogue

Mark Nelson lv.54 Heroic Archer

When I leveled up, I ended up sinking my stats into WIS, then when that capped out I started placing them into LUK. What else could I spend them on? DEX? AGI? I would sink them into LUK, but I can't.. AGI it is.

NameJonathan CliffTitlesGamer, Pawn, DemonLevel33 [78%]Health901/901Stamina1016/1016Mana891/891Balance16,828 Coins, 1,000 GoldVIT86STR91END96AGI76DEX39INT99WIS99LUK23

Skills

Gamer lv.11 [23%]

Cooking lv.25 [4%]

Clubs lv.47 [59%]

Shock Resistance lv.29 [14%]

Reading lv.29 [6%]

Storytelling lv.19 [89%]

Meditation lv.92 [77%]

Crafting

Woodworking lv.3 [55%]

Banker lv.16 [68%]

Negotiation lv.6 [37%]

Gravity Mastery lv.71 [19%]

Formless Magic Mastery lv.42 [4%]

Light Mastery lv.73 [9%]

Mana Channelling lv.77 [84%]

Torchlight lv.64 [8%]

Gravity Cloak lv.79 [77%]

Gravity Well lv.10 [38%]

Lightball lv.8 [3%]

Rift Creation lv.1 [0%]

Light Beam lv.51 [5%]

Throwing lv.31 [19%]

Spears lv.14 [6%]

Telekinesis lv.4 [3%]

Acting lv.16 [90%]

Fatigue Lift (Voice) lv.5 [0%]

Calming Hand (Voice) lv.7 [0%]

Crawling Lightning (Voice) lv.8 [0%]

Ignore Limits (Voice) lv.5 [4%]

Vocal Amplification (Voice) lv.6 [0%]

Mana Eruption (Voice) lv.1 [2%]

God's Retribution (Voice) lv.1 [0%]

Summon Sword (Voice) lv.1 [0%]

Summon Spear (Voice) lv.1 [0%]

Summon Bow (Voice) lv.1 [0%]

Summon Arrow (Voice) lv.1 [0%]

Summon Axe (Voice) lv.1 [0%]

Enchant (Voice) lv.6 [4%]

Monsters seemed to become more varied as we travelled, so my progress in the quest was rising rapidly. Heck, we even met a few boss monsters which seemed to be variations of species we met already such as the White Lord which was this huge level 70 wolf we met last week with level 40 wolves running alongside it.

When the White Lord howled, his voice made the air shudder and my bones shake, my head was filled with pain as my ears began to bleed. I couldn't concentrate as windows spammed me with damage messages. I took over 400 health with that one howl.

The others grimaced and covered their ears until it ended, they were barely affected.

I stayed out of that fight, sticking far away and taking potshots at the smaller wolves. I didn't dare attract the White Lord's attention, every time he began to focus on me I stopped hitting his wolves and waited for the others to attract his attention before continuing.

They gained three levels from that fight, I gained a third of a level.

QuestRaces of the Beastlands!DescriptionDiscover and meet all 22 races of the Beastlands!

Races Meet: 20/22

Rewards2000 EXP

Potential to discover a new skill

Potential to receive a new title

When it says "Potential" I don't really believes there's much of a potential. I'm seeing no inspiration from these monsters and have no real desire to copy any of the attacks I had seen. The title I can still see happening as it should be related to the completion of the quest. Perhaps something like 'Explorer' or 'Monster Hunter'.

I don't really like this world, I was made to feel unwelcome then they try to work against me. I did strike back at them I guess, but it doesn't make me feel that satisfied. Just because you had a really bad day and you eat some tasty food doesn't mean the bad day disappears. You just feel better is all.

The beginning of the travels was ok too, but the longer we travel the more I feel useless. The others seem happy, nighttime is spent around a crackling fire with disregard to their surroundings as they cheerfully talk. I sulk to the side, my mind sullenly working on the problems of magic.

They don't keep a watch, I took that duty over as I don't need to sleep. They did question me about it at first, but I explained it off as a characteristic of my magic..

Thousands of torchlights used to illuminate my surroundings when we first started, but soon that began to create problems as the monsters levels rose, and the further we travelled the more problematic it seemed. The lights attract monsters, and when I saw the monsters I could easily kill them. But their levels rise and the number of monsters at night begins to increase. There are some that don't even wake up during the day, picking night time as the time to hunt.

I could kill them, but like I said. That problem began to become bigger and bigger as the number of monsters attracted by my lights began to rise, and their levels became something I couldn't handle.

Eventually I made a new modification to my torchlights, rather than giving off light I could change the light which travelled through it so that it emitted a new wavelength of light. Modifying the wavelengths. I soon had a working night vision spell, but it wasn't really a night vision spell but a torchlight with a special function. Not really worthy of a new spell, I thought so and the gamer skill seemed to think so too.

But hey, just a few of those at night and looking through them I could almost see everything as if it was day. The colors were weird and I had to surround myself in them but it was still pretty good.

However now when I see a moving shape, I know instantly I can't take care of it. The monsters around here all have levels too high for me to take care of so I have to wake up the others to take care of it.. Not only that, they seem to have little difficulty in seeing through the darkness without my aid. I'm more of a alarm than a defense.

The others didn't say it, didn't look at me weirdly or treat me wrong. They still act friendly towards me, sometimes I talked with them. But when we travel, they tend to stick me in the center of the group or place themselves between me and the enemy. I know they talked about me, how to.. Defend me.

Even Mark who uses a bow would stay in front of me.

I used to be stronger than them.

The further we travelled the more I drew into myself, why look at the world and notice the new things when everywhere you go, they escort you. You can't even go for a leak without one of the guys going "Oh hey! I needed to go as well!".

Even at night my usefulness began to decrease, I noticed that the moment I spotted a monster and alarmed the others they would already be moving having sensed the danger at the same time. They didn't even see the monster, they were sleeping. I know they were sleeping.

Do you begin to understand how frustrating this is? How useless I feel?

It brings us to the present, I still had two weeks left in this world and before us lies a mountain. Swarming around the mountain are two armies, both composed of beasts. You can still spot a few humanoid creatures in those armies such as trolls and orcs, but the vast majority are simply bestial monsters.

Their average levels, around 80 I guessed. I couldn't even see the levels of the monsters anymore as they were too high.

My level? 33. A single one of those monsters could destroy me in a single attack, even the howl of the White Lord wiped half my health, he was level 70.

But hey, I saw a new species of monster I hadn't seen before! Two of them from what I could see.

Eight Headed Chimera lv.??

Three Headed Chimera lv.??

One monster to go for my quest, the boss monster I guessed. A dragon? It seems likely.

We made camp out of sight, and they called me over for a meeting.

"You're not coming with us"

That was their meeting.