“If you are not going to keep it running, you must master to get into the flow as soon as you can,” I said Urvi.
“Sounds reasonable to me. Right now, I think I take like ten seconds to get into the flow,” Urvi replied.
“Which is fine if we can see the enemy coming...”
“But not good any other time,” Urvi finished the sentence. “So, how am I going to reduce this time?”
“Practice. I can’t see any skill related to it. My guess is we need to master it ourselves.”
“I wish I knew what exactly to do.”
“You have experienced flow state, right? Try to picture how it feels and see if your body adapts accordingly,” I said.
“You are telling me to make that process automatic as well?” She asked.
“Yes. I am thinking as your reflexes improve...”
“The speed also might improve! That is clever!” Urvi exclaimed.
As the days went by, we got ourselves into a routine. We began the day with light physical exercises, then practiced some magic, first learning to control mana, and then to cast the standard spells. After that, we would venture into the forest where we would be greeted by a new version of treant which we would put under the ground. We reached level 8 pretty fast. Urvi had almost mastered dual wielding, being able to handle the axe and Saber with one hand each, with ease. However, the XP we got from each fight had dried up to a trickle.
When we visited Darin, he explained that the only way to gain a substantial amount of XP in a short enough time would be to battle the mother treant. Unfortunately, it only spawns once every few days and only in the south.
When we faced off the motherfucker for the second time, we thought we were ready. However, things turned out to be very different.
“Damn it! Why is this fucker so much tougher?” Urvi asked, kneeling after getting a solid hit to the stomach.
“The first one must have been lower level,” I theorized.
“Well, what the fuck are we supposed to do now?”
“Grind away my lady!” I suggested.
“Fuck you!” She cursed and got back to hacking and slashing the beast until it was nothing but a pile of forest dust on the floor.
She fell back onto the ground, her arms and feet wide apart, panting for air. She looked at her experience band and saw it grow but stopped just shy of level 9. “How much was that? A good 60%?” Urvi said.
“That is almost three days” worth of cutting down the smaller ones,” I said walking up to her.
She pushed herself up saying, “worth it.” As she picked up her weapons from the forest floor, she asked, “Think you can take on that beast now?”
“I have to or else I will get left behind,” I replied.
“Your spells are way more powerful than mine, especially with the condensing skill you picked. Think you can just blast one to oblivion?”
“You saw how powerful they had become. I don’t think one blast would do it.”
“Then what will you do?”
“I need to learn to dance with magic like the way you do with your sword,” I replied.
***
I took a look at all the skills available in my journal, hoping that maybe one of them would help me increase the efficiency of my mana flow. But none of them seem to fit the criteria.
Urvi began putting more effort into understanding the flow so that she could switch to what we called the activated mode. Both of us realized that the amount of energy it took to raise the well of mana was quite high. This made us wonder if just increasing the mana was the only solution.
It became very clear to me that the only way to achieve magical excellence was through practice and resolve. And so, I created a new routine for myself, focusing heavily on trying to gain as much mana control as possible.
The day began with an hour-long meditation, trying to channel the mana and feel it coursing through every vein in my body. Following that, I would spend another two hours practicing my spells. Right now, I was still focused on the standard set, hoping to get proficient enough to move into the more advanced spells. I also made sure to help Urvi practice her spell casting as well. Then, we ventured into the forest, gaining more experience and items. We would return to the center just before dusk, spend a night of passion every other day, or spend another hour meditating before calling it a day.
***
Slowly but steadily, my casting got better and better, eventually, I was ready to face off against the mother.
Its roar cut through the forest like a blunt axe thrashing a tree stump. Urvi stood back and watched me curiously. This was my first time facing the beast head-on since Urvi took down the first one and I cannot deny that I was nervous.
The mana was coursing through my veins, and I could feel it sparking on my fingertips. It gave me a little confidence as I got into a battle stance, ready to throw down the beast.
A burst of debris shot in my direction which I easily stopped by casting protection. Just as the shield burst, I sprinted forward, trying to get underneath it as it was the best position for me to strike. But the beast was clever enough to avoid it. It lunged forward, swapping places with me instead and forcing me to spin around. I cast a condensed decimation spell at one of its vines, that seemed to be holding it in place. It knocked the beast off balance and to compensate for it, a large tree trunk slammed into the ground just before me.
“Climb it!” Urvi instructed.
Dammit Urvi! I am not as agile as you. I instead cast another decimation spell, destroying the trunk, but by then it had created new veins to hold it in place. The beast spun in the air like a helicopter blade, shooting debris in all directions. Urvi ducked behind a tree for cover while I cast another protection spell to shield myself from the attack.
This was useless. The beast was somehow faster than I was. It also seems to be keeping its distance from me. One decimation should annihilate it. But with it swinging around like this, I can’t aim properly. I needed to come up with something fast.
Two more tree trunks shot up into the air and headed in my direction. I ran towards it, dodging the slow-falling trunks with ease. But just as I got underneath it, it circled around using its vines to smack me away. I slipped underneath the vine just in time and as I laid there facing the belly of the beast up into the air, I took my shot at another decimation spell.
The spell struck it hard, throwing it off balance. “Finish it!” Urvi exclaimed. I pushed myself off the ground, getting back up on my feet. I pointed my finger at the beast that was struggling to recover and let off another decimation spell, this time adding a little more oomph to it. The blast cut through the beast, whose roar echoed through the woods before it came crashing to the ground.
Beast defeated. Levelled up to nine.
Urvi cheered me on while I observed that I used up more than seventy percent of my mana in just this battle. Not very efficient. But it will do.
***
By the time we finally leveled up to ten, well over two weeks had passed since our arrival. While we got accustomed to this place, we were slowly feeling the repetitiveness and boredom set in. So, we ultimately decided that it was time for us to move on.
Before dusk, we decided to spend sometime allocating skill points and stat points. We had not allocated any skill points, except the one in the beginning, or stat points. Each of us had ten skill points and forty-five stat points.
“I can see that the first five stats have increased slightly,” Urvi commented.
They had. “It is from all the training we have been doing.”
Urvi rested her on her left palm and sighed dully. “This looks exhausting…” she said.
“We should have been more proactive in allocating points,” I replied.
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After an hour of thinking and debating, our stats ended up like this.
Karna
Level
Health
Attack
Defense
Speed
Special Attack
Special Defense
10
123
25
22
30
31
27
Strength
Stamina
Dexterity
Recovery
In-grain
10
9
8
9
10
Intelligence
Perception
Charisma
Confidence
Resilience
9
8
8
8
8
Empathy
Faith
Valor
Adoration
Compassion
8
8
8
8
8
Skills
Fortitude (x2)
Condense (x2)
Resolve (x1)
Balance (x2)
Coordination (x2)
Reinforcement (x1)
Sharpen (x1)
Urvashi
Level
Health
Attack
Defense
Speed
Special Attack
Special Defense
10
133
31
21
33
22
22
Strength
Stamina
Dexterity
Recovery
In-grain
11
10
9
9
10
Intelligence
Perception
Charisma
Confidence
Resilience
8
8
9
9
8
Empathy
Faith
Valor
Adoration
Compassion
8
8
8
8
8
Skills
Reinforcement (x2)
Adrenaline (x2)
Fleet Footed (x1)
Coordination (x2)
Dual Wielding (x2)
Balance (x1)
Sharpen (x1)
In the end, we just allocated three points to each stat. Perhaps we were being a little too cautious, but it felt like it was right move.
The very thing we needed to do now was pick a class. Looking at the very first page of our journal, the class was still undetermined. For a moment, I was slightly confused as to how we would pick one. But just by tapping on it, the words on the page vanished and in its place, we found a list of classes available to us.
“Interesting. My list is different from yours,” I said.
“What options have you got?” She asked.
“Mage, Sage, Wizard, Monk, and Cleric.”
Urvi looked at me with a stupid look on her face. “What the hell do any of those mean?”
“Well…” I was about to begin explaining when she suddenly interrupted me.
“Wait. Explain mine first. I got Paladin, Berserker, Hunter, Knight, and Barbarian.”
All her options were melee-focused with each class helping her specialize in specific stats. Paladin was balanced. Berserker ramped up her Attack and Speed. Hunter had Speed and Special Attack. Knight focused on Attack and Defense. Lastly, Barbarian focused on Attack and Special Attack. They also fine-tuned her buffing in special stats as well.
“I am thinking Berserk. What do you say?” She asked.
“Go for Paladin instead. It is a more balanced build and will make it easy to spend your stat points in the future.”
It seemed like I made some sense as she picked it without much debate. As for me, I saw that Wizard made Intelligence and Perception a priority. Plus, I always liked the idea of being a Wizard.
Urvashi – Class Paladin.
Karna – Class Wizard.
The fire was still burning bright. I laid back against the tree trunk while Urvi comfortably rested upon me, with her back resting on my chest and taking in the warmth of my embrace. We both stared into the canopy above, each of us lost in our thoughts.
“How do you think the world outside would be?” She asked.
“I don’t know...” I replied.
Urvi snickered. “You know how many times you have said that since I got here?”
“... I... don’t know?” I replied sarcastically.
“Oh god! How did I ever fall in love with you?” She asked, laughing.
I kissed her on her forehead before saying, “I don’t know what the world has in store for us. But let us continue doing what we have been doing. Making the most of what we got.”
“It is a promise,” Urvi replied.
***
The next day, we trekked to Durin for a final goodbye.
“Durin. We... we are leaving,” Urvi said, with great effort.
“Finally decided to take the first step, huh? Well, good luck on your path,” Durin said.
“You sure you don’t want to come? I am sure we would make a great team,” I asked.
He looked away, thinking quietly for a few seconds. I could see his usually cheerful expression soften. “Every time somebody comes here, they ask me the same question. But I can’t seem to change my answer.”
“It’s alright,” Urvi replied. “You do what you feel like doing. It’s you who decides what to do with your life.”
His lips curled into a shy smile. “Thanks. And as one last thank you...” He reached into his inventory and pulled out an object. “Urvi told me how much you were struggling with the claymore and that you liked swords. So, I thought this might help.” He held the object up for me before I picked it up with great caution.
It was a dagger sheathed in soft fabric. It was about eleven inches long with a gold-plated hilt that had a brilliant shine under the sunlight. The cover itself was made of a soft yellow fabric with small gems woven into the fabric itself. I held onto the cover and unsheathed it, revealing a shining yet dull silver-colored blade hiding inside. Urvi and I marveled at its beauty.
“I... I can’t take this!” I exclaimed.
“You must. It is a parting gift from me,” Durin replied with a smile.
I quietly contemplated for a while, looking at its majestic beauty with wide eyes. “I don’t know how to repay you,” I replied.
“You already did. By being nice to me. You will be surprised how rare that is,” Durin said.
“In that case,” Urvi bent down and kissed him gently on his cheek. “Just another thank you,” she said with a smile.
Durin’s smile widened. “Hope we cross paths again.”
Urvi got back up and walked past me.
“We will, once you are ready to leave,” I said. Just as I turned around to leave, I suddenly remembered something I wanted to ask. “Durin! One more thing! Do you happen to know anything about this… I don’t know how to describe it. We just heard this voice say, destinies linked…”
Durin looked at me puzzled. “No…” His eyes began to wonder. “No. I don’t know anything about it.”
“You sure? You never came across anything like that?” I asked again.
“Perhaps it is a late-game event. I never experienced it myself. You know what might have triggered it?”
I suddenly felt my heart swell. “Well… well…” I stammered like an idiot.
“We heard it when my darling proposed to me,” Urvi said. I turned around to see her eyeing me with a wide grin.
“Oh. In that case, I have no clue. None of the female players proposed to me,” Durin replied.
“Don’t worry dear. You will find your darling soon!” Urvi replied.
Durin’s cheeks turned rosy red.
***
Our journey to the north gate was surprisingly uneventful. We anticipated facing some tough resistance as a final test, but the whole ordeal was pleasant. Treants walked past us peacefully and the chirping of birds seemed to be returning as well. It felt like the forest was humbly waving us goodbye.
The stone arch stood before us, inviting us to come closer. We stood at the edge of the clearing, trying to take one last breath. Suddenly I felt something gnawing on my jacket. I turned back in a snap to find a frightened deer staggering back while staring back at me.
“Oh my god!!” Urvi exclaimed. This time the deer did not run away. She reached out to the deer with her right arms and the deer reciprocated by stretching its neck, sniffing her palm. She touched its black snot before gently caressing its head, all the while having a bright smile on her face.
Suddenly, the deer leapt forward, startling us for a moment, before dashing off through the arc and into the forest beyond. We watched it leave in surprise. However, I got a feeling that it was asking us to leave with it.
“Want to go catch it?” I asked.
“After you,” she replied.
With that, we took a bold step forward as we crossed the arch into the unknown world beyond it.