Spotting my first breezestep deer was quite easy as all I had to do was leave my neighborhood and it was standing to the left, between me and the System Shop. It looks like a deer with a greyish-white pelt, pure white feet, and greyish-white antlers atop its head. Silver eyes stare back at me, filled with the desire to end my life.

The deer is about twenty feet down the road, so still alongside where the first house of the street into the neighborhood is. I can't go that way unless I pass by the deer or want to try and loop around. At the same time, I doubt the deer will let me go now that it's set its eyes on me.

"We can work things out, right?" I put my right hand behind my back while I hold my left in front in a friendly gesture. "Perhaps a friendly chat between us can lead us to an agreement?"

A large, greyish-white spell circle begins to form above its body, parallel with the road. Since it's not at the monster's hooves, I'm doubting that's the spell that lets it burst forward. Due to the angle of the spell circle and the fact that it's centered over the deer, it's probably not the thing which shoots bursts of compressed air forward.

That must be what creates the blades of compressed air around it, acting as both an offense and a defense. I do something that's probably pretty stupid and let the deer finish the spell instead of attempting to stop it. It actually takes some time to complete but once it does, the spell circle lowers down, passing through the body of the deer. Once it reaches the ground, the spell circle disappears.

That basically confirms to me that the deer just activated the blades of compressed air as a defense around itself.

"No need to pull up your defenses," I tell the deer. "I don't want to fight if we can avoid it."

Four smaller, greyish-white magic circles start to appear around hooves of the beast. Those are definitely the ones for the burst of speed, though I focus on that less than the number of spell circles that it's creating.

This thing can cast four spells at once while having another one already active. Damn. I'm officially jealous of a deer.

I wait until the spell circles are almost completed, then bring my right hand up in front of my mouth with my palm facing away from me and finish the spell I was casting. While playing around with magic earlier, I discovered that it's possible to delay activating a spell if I cast it up until the point right before completion and hold it. There's a cost in Mana over time to maintain that state but I felt it worth doing that here.

Why? Because it allowed me to have an offensive spell at the ready for when the deer begins its own offense. This way, I can also see the spell circles for the spells that it's casting. If I can learn them, then I can add them to my arsenal.

Before the deer can finish casting its speed-boost spells, I pull my hand away from my mouth and scream.

"KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

For three seconds, I draw that scream out and watch as the deer is pummeled by the shockwave. It's heavy enough to not be thrown back but it does get pushed back a little, hooves scraping against the asphalt of the road. The spells it was casting end, unable to be completed as the monster's mind is rattled by my [Stunning Sound], saving me from having to dodge the deer's charge with its accelerated speed.

As soon as my [Stunning Sound] runs out, I begin casting [Stone Bullet]. Despite being a nasty monster to fight, the deer doesn't seem to have a high enough Mind to deal with my first spell efficiently and is still stunned when the bullet strikes it in the face. A second [Stone Bullet] strikes it in the left eye before it starts to recover and that sends the beast into a scream.

Not wanting to risk things, I begin casting a second [Stunning Sound]. I'm halfway done with it when the deer summons four spell circles in the air in front of its antlers, each of a different size to the others.

"Too slow," I say as my spell circle completes. "KAAAAAAAAAA!"

The spell circles the deer is forming break and fade away as the beast is once again affected by the mental aspect of my spell. If it had chosen to turn and run away after it recovered, I would have let it go just to save Mana and time. Instead, the beast chose to continue attacking.

As soon as my spell runs out, I stop the yell and begin casting another [Stone Bullet]. This one slams into the deer's left eye and pierces deeper than the previous one did, the skin already torn and bone already cracked. A final [Stone Bullet] punches into the deer's head through that same spot, killing it.

You are now a Level 5/50 [Elemental Wizard]. Level is withheld until the potion's effect is ended.

You are now a Level 2/50 [Mind Mage] Level is withheld until the potion's effect is ended.

I don't bother trying to collect the remains of the deer even though I could probably get some decent money out of it. Trying to find Lucas is more important than earning money and would be even if I didn't have a ton of it already.

Nothing else which attacks me as I walk further down the street from the System Shop is strong, just more stoneshot squirrels and magihawks. I pass through a couple of intersections before reaching the clock, a large, ancient clock hanging off the side of a brick building at the third intersection past the System Shop on the other side of it from my neighborhood.

This is "downtown" for our town and is two streets of various, old-fashioned businesses. A gardening shop, a pottery shop, a few restaurants, two barbers, a salon, a donut bakery, and other such things. Nothing chain, all independent. It's not a big or busy downtown despite the town itself having around thirty thousand residents as most of the shopping done around here is in one of the two main business districts, which are elsewhere in town.

The high school where Grandma is gathering everyone she can find is southeast of here so that direction probably isn't the one Lucas ended up in. I'm sure he'd have already been located if he was between here and there.

If his parents and Dakota are looking to the east, then they're probably trying to cover both directly east but also northeast. With just three of them, however, they can't cover too much ground too quickly.

That leaves west, south, and southwest of here for potential directions to search so that I'm not covering the same ground as them.

I really need more information. Maybe I should have asked Grandma where they had already covered and for a more specific location for their current one? Lucas probably couldn't have gone far, though, not with monsters on the prowl.That's probably why they suspect he's dead.

"Dammit."

If I knew Lucas better, I could probably make a guess about where he'd try to go and then go in a different direction. His parents are probably looking on the path of where they think he'd try and go if separated during a monster attack.

Not really knowing which way to start my search, I set off north to begin it. I'll sweep my gaze along this street for a bit, then turn onto another road and start coming back, check down side roads.

I set off at a light jog, taking down any stoneshot squirrels and magihawks which try to mess with me. After passing up five roads on the left (west), I set off down the sixth one until the next intersection, then start making my way south.

Instead of going straight down this road, however, I then take the first road to the east and follow it back to the road I'd come up while looking side to side and going into the yards on the northern part of it. Once I reach the road I originally went down, I turn around and head back to the other, checking out the yards and homes on the southern side of the connecting road.

This is my plan for searching for Lucas even as the day begins to chill further. It's not yet evening but will be soon and I really hope we can find him before then. By searching this way, I can at least maximize how much I'm looking at even if it's slower than what a group could probably manage.

Throughout the search, I repeatedly call for Lucas in case he can hear me and respond. That does attract more monsters, but fortunately, it's only stoneshot squirrels, magihawks, and stonefang snakes.

When I reach downtown again, I set off back west, reaching the intersection that's on this side of the System Shop, then I head north up the street. As I go up it, I shout Lucas's name and search the streets off to the east of it. This road only has five others coming off of it to the east and then none until it reaches a road much further north than the one I'd stopped at on the other one.

Dammit.

That was a long-ass stretch without any roads. Apparently, the one I'd stopped at after reaching downtown doesn't stretch all the way over to the one I'm going up now. I would've needed to go up one or two more roads to reach this one. That might not have been a bad idea, even if it means covering a larger area with less time.

There's been plenty of bodies but no trace of Lucas. He probably is further east of here, then, but I'm sure his parents and Dakota have already looked everywhere nearby.

I turn around and start heading back down and after the long stretch of road without others branching off of it, I cross over one intersection. There's only one property between it and the next on the western side of the street but it has a ton of trees and as I'm searching that property for a sign of Lucas…

"What… the… fuck?"

In the back yard is an archway that seems to be made of two smaller trees, their trunks curved toward each other to form the arch, their branches intertwined. Or maybe it's one tree that's just shaped like an arch? Either way, the "trunks" of the archway seem to be made of branches twisted together rather than being a single solid piece.

The archway is about eight feet at the peak and roughly three and a half feet in width at the base. Some pink and blue flowers grow off of the twisted trunks and the lower branches of its canopy. With a canopy that stretches about eight feet in all directions, there's a covering over the archway and its immediate area, too.

What's extra strange about this is the thick fog swirling within the archway, the fog so dense that I cannot see through it. Without that, it could just be mistaken for a strange growth effect caused by the Mana Flood. Because of that fog, however, I know that this is something more than just a part of nature.

I walk all the way around the archway to examine it and find no real distinguishing features. Nothing which could indicate its purpose, though I do have a suspicion already anyway.

"Is this a Dungeon?" I wonder aloud as I inspect the archway to see if the System has any information on it for me.

Zorvinax Forest Caves Dungeon Type: Standard Rank: 3

Real helpful there, System. I'll probably need to ask at the System Shop for more information on the Dungeon and on Dungeons in general. I don't even know if it's possible to leave one after entering unless I've beaten a Stage or the whole thing.

With what Rank it is, I also doubt that I'd be able to handle it. There's little reason for me to believe that the Ranking is anything less than a difficulty level and we all just gained access to the System. Anyone who goes in there right now would probably die.

More information is definitely needed before I eventry and attempt to look in there for Lucas. Going in completely blind to what Dungeons are in this world would be even more stupid than letting a breezestep deer mostly cast its spells so that I can learn them.

I leave the yard and continue searching my way down the street until I'm back on the one with the System Shop, then I turn and head to the System Shop. It's better to ask for information now in case it's actually safe to check in a Dungeon. If it is, then I'll head in there and see if Lucas maybe ran in by accident while running from a monster.

"Hello, Carter Elm," the golem I approach greets me. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Dungeons," I say. "What determines their Rank?"

"The strength of the monsters within, how difficult they are to defeat, and the comparison of those to a resident," he answers. "A Rank 0 Dungeon is something which a Level 0 person can reasonably expect to take on and defeat, while a Rank 1 Dungeon is something which a Level 1 person can reasonably expect to take on a defeat. The level of ambient Mana within the Dungeon is also higher the higher its Rank. If a person is too far below a Dungeon's Rank, they will be killed just by entering the Dungeon."

"What's the ambient Mana Level for this area?" I ask.

"You currently receive 7.4 Aura's worth of damage for your current stats in this area," the golem states the same number it gave me earlier. "And this area currently has the amount of Mana found within a Rank 3 Dungeon's earliest Stage. However, the majority of monsters here are equal to Rank 0 and Rank 1 monsters. This will change as the world continues to adjust."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Only Rank 0 and Rank 1? I guess that makes a bit of sense, though I doubt the breezestep deer are higher than Rank 0. They'd probably be nearing boss-level for a Rank 0 Dungeon. The fact that there are Rank 1 monsters in the area concerns me, though the fact that I haven't seen any yet suggests that they aren't a problem yet.

"Can you leave a Dungeon at any time?" I ask.

"Once you enter a Stage for a Standard Dungeon," the golem responds. "You can only leave upon completing that Stage."

In other words, Lucas either isn't in there or he is but dead. The monsters in there are too dangerous even before factoring in the levels of ambient Mana it has.

I'm doubting he went in there anyway, since I doubt he could have made it there from where he went after getting separated from his parents. Not alive, not unless he's become a powerful combatant already and that is something I'm doubting.

There wouldn't be a need to look for him if he'd become a powerful enough combatant to make it that far.

"Alright," I say. "Thanks."

I leave the System Shop and make my way back toward the clock. If Lucas wasn't in this direction, then I'm going to check the direction his parents and Dakota are checking. Cover ground they've probably already looked, just in case. Heading south might be a better idea, but my gut is saying to check what's already been checked.

As I near the clock, I spot a breezestep deer with four spell circles forming in front of its antlers – but looking south down the street that runs by the clock. It's attacking someone out of my view. Based on my last fight with one, this thing probably already has its air blades summoned to its defense and whoever it's attacking wasn't able to hurt it yet.

Whether they're appreciative of the help or not, they're getting some. I've got an attack that can end its defenses and I'm going to use it.

I begin casting [Stunning Sound] even though I know it'll be too late to stop that attack and I rush forward. A male voice cries out in pain after the deer's attacks strike them and the deer begins casting the spell again. Whoever it's attacking is definitely not able to keep up with defenses or attacks based on that cry.

"KAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The spell circles fade away as the deer freezes up and I have enough time to get a [Stone Bullet] cast and shot before it even begins to sluggishly recover from the stun.

"That's right, you fucker," I say as the deer begins to look at me. "Come after me, not them."

My second [Stone Bullet] strikes the deer square between its eyes, just barely off of my target of its right eye. Not taking chances, I start summoning a [Stunning Sound] again. Just as I expected to happen, the deer begins casting its blasts two seconds in.

With me having already started the [Stunning Sound] casting, however, it's too late for the monster.

"KAAAAAAAAA!"

I don't let up, striking the wound in the center of the deer's forehead with another [Stone Bullet], followed by another less than three seconds later. Thankfully, that ends the deer's life and I don't need to use up more Mana for this – and can get to the wounded person faster.

Hopefully in time to save their life, whether or not they're the person I hope they are.

You are now a Level 5/50 [Elemental Wizard]. Level is withheld until the potion's effect is ended.

You are now a Level 2/50 [Mind Mage] Level is withheld until the potion's effect is ended.

I don't even look at the deer as it drops to the ground, I just run around the corner to find a blood-covered person on the ground, numerous injuries covering his body. His clothes are torn and stained with blood and when I reach him, he's barely breathing. Sandy-blond hair is soaked with blood and amber eyes look at me without any focus in them.

There's so little time left for him that I'm not even sure what I have on me will help. My healing spell definitely won't as it's far too weak.

"Hey!" I kneel down and pull off my backpack. "Hold on, I've got you. Where is-here!"

I pull out the [Basic Healing Potion] I have in my bag and force the guy into a sitting position with one hand, using my other to force out the cork from the bottle before pushing it to his lips.

"Drink, Lucas," I say. "You've got to drink this if you want to live."

If I hadn't insisted on searching for him, he'd have definitely been killed before meeting up with anyone. That deer would have ended his life without me here and I'm so glad that he's alive. As it is, he might still die.

I don't think he's even registered something is going on and crimson potion is leaking out of his mouth. There's not even much going into his mouth at once as I'm making sure it's a slower flow but even that's too much without him swallowing.

"Come on, man, swallow," I say. "It's a healing potion, it'll help your injuries. Lucas, focus! Drink the potion!"

There's a small gulp from him, then another.

"That's right," I say. "Keep drinking, Lucas. Come on, man, you can do it. Just drink the whole thing, okay?"

The more of it that he drinks, the more focused Lucas's gaze becomes and he eventually reaches up and grabs my hand and the bottle, tipping it up more so he can drink faster. That's a good sign.

"Thanks," Lucas croaks. "I feel like shit."

"Yeah," I say. "You've still got quite a few injuries and that was the only one I brought with me. Do you think you can stand? I have some healing salve and magic, but I don't think it's enough for the injuries you've got."

Not the more severe ones, anyway. I could fix up what are essentially just scratches and bruises now but those aren't important.

"L-let me try."

I help Lucas to his feet and he manages to stand, albeit shakily. He manages to take a few steps but is extremely wobbly. There's not a chance he's walking on his own.

"Here," I wrap an arm around him. "I'll walk with you. We need to get to the System Shop."

"You know where one is?" He asks.

"Yeah," I answer. "It's where the gas station close to my neighborhood used to be. There's at least one other somewhere here since I think Grandma's been there, but I don't know here that one is."

Getting Lucas supported is a bit awkward since I'm 5'8" and he's only barely 5'6" so there's a little bit of a height difference in the wrong direction, but I manage to figure it out. His eyes keep darting around, looking for threats around us. They're not fully focused and I can tell that his head is still fuzzy from the pain and nearly dying, but at least he's alert enough to look around.

"Don't worry," I tell him. "I've been out searching for you for a few hours now and I've only seen two of those. And I only need one hand to cast spells."

"O-okay."

That doesn't stop him from looking around in anxiety, which is understandable. He was just nearly killed by a monster so he's going to have some fears.

The fact that I manage to easily kill the few monsters which do attack us relaxes him a little.

"Where were you trying to go?" I ask Lucas after a couple of minutes of walking.

"T-the high school," he answers. "W-was hoping maybe others were grouping up there."

"They are," I tell him. "My grandma's gathering people there for safety in numbers. She and a few others are handling the protection of others. I haven't been there yet, though – she's tamed a magihawk and is using him to communicate with me. It's how I knew you were missing."

"She told you?"

"I asked if you and your parents were there," I tell him. "She said that you got separated from them at the clock during a breezestep deer attack and had gone east. Your parents and Koda – one of the students at your dad's martial arts studio – were looking for you east of the clock."

"Y-you were concerned about me?"

"I know two people who learn under your dad," I say. "And asked you into bed without knowing this. Kind of feels like fate wants us to be at least friends, and you came off as a pretty good guy when we were talking the other day. So yeah, I was a little bit concerned about you."

"T-thanks," he says. "A-and I guess maybe we can try again later."

"Try what again?"

"S-sex," he answers. "I-I was disappointed we didn't go through with it. I-if you're interested."

Hopefully this isn't just him trying to be nice because I saved him, because I really did feel like he was just too anxious to say he was intimidated by my size and wanted to back out. It's not the first time that's happened to me so I'm always careful about that sort of thing now.

Though him bringing it up now is also a weird situation to do so in.

"We can talk about that later," I tell him. "We're almost to the System Shop."

"That's the System Shop?" Lucas finally notices it.

"Yup," I say. "You got the Quest for going there, right?"

"Y-yeah."

"The [Starter Pack] comes with potions," I tell him. "I'd only brought one with me or I'd have given you more."

"O-oh," he's quiet for a few moments but I can tell that he's thinking about something. "So that's how you had one?"

"Yeah."

"And the salves?"

"No," I answer. "For a fee, you can exchange some stuff from the old world into stuff that won't deteriorate in this one. That came from me exchanging my first-aid kit."

I explain to him what I've learned about the state of the world, the cause of the Mana Flood, the purpose of the System, and the apparently damaging nature of ambient Mana. This explanation finishes as we cross the threshold of the shop, which is just in time and not at all planned. Talking to him about what I've learned was to help distract him and keep him focused, though, so it worked out.

"Those are a little bit creepy," Lucas says when he looks at the golems.

"If they really are here to help us," I tell him. "Then I'm sure we can get used to it."

"Hello, Carter Elm, Lucas Nash," the golem I bring Lucas to says. "How can I help you?"

"They also know our names and can recognize us," I tell Lucas, then look at the golem. "Lucas wants to complete his Quest for visiting a System Shop."

"Is that correct?" The golem looks at Lucas.

"Y-yes," Lucas answers. "I-I want to complete my Quest."

The golem has Lucas go through his choices and while he consults me on the food portion, he picks everything else out pretty fast on his own. I guess he didn't need as much time to think about what he wanted to pick as I did. That, or he's just rushing so he can get healing potions and heal up.

Once Lucas has his [Starter Pack], I lead him over to a bench and have him sit down. He opens up the box and looks through the tokens until he finds the one he wants and pulls it out. Five bottles of red healing potion form on the bench beside him and he picks one up and opens it, then downs the whole thing.

"This is also a safe zone," I tell him. "Hostile monsters can't enter it or attack those within it. Stay here for a second, I want to ask the golem something."

"O-okay," Lucas looks nervous so I decide that I'll try to make this fast.

"Hello, Carter Elm," the golem says when I reach it. "How may I be of service?"

"Regarding the Perk I got information about earlier," I say. "Am I able to ask if that's the only way to obtain it?"

"The majority of Perks can be obtained in multiple ways," he answers. "Regardless of any recommendation. So long as you perform actions which would bring you to the qualification point, you will receive the Perk."

"Okay," I return over to Lucas just in time to see a magihawk with a letter tied to one of its legs flying toward us.

"W-what i-is-"

"Hello, Fea," I say as the magihawk lands on the bench beside Lucas's potions. "Lucas, this is Fea, a magihawk Grandma tamed using familiar magic. He's able to enter the System Shop's area as I guess he's not a hostile monster."

Lucas still warily watches the magihawk as I sit down beside it and remove the letter.

Carter,

The Nashes and Dakota aren't able to locate Lucas or any sign of him and are on their way back to the school now. If you're looking, it's better to start heading back home. The sun will be setting soon and it will be harder to see in the dark. Be safe and be careful.

Lots of love,

Grandma

I pull writing stuff out of my backpack and begin writing a response. Fea showing up now was perfect timing as it means I can let Grandma and the Nashes know I found Lucas. Once I finish writing the letter, I give it a once-over to make sure it's good.

Grandma,

Don't worry, I'm on my way back home now. Actually, I'm at the System Shop near it at the moment with Lucas. I found him on his way to the high school in the hopes that there were people gathering there, like his parents suspected before they got separated. I would have brought him there, except that a breezestep deer was attacking him and he needed healing sooner rather than later and this was closer.

I only had one potion on me and it was restore-from-the-brink-of-death but not heal-all-the-way. He's already downed two potions since removing their token and I think he's going to grab a third.

We'll be heading to my place after this since it's closer and I'll make sure he's safe for the night. I'm not so sure about taking him all the way to the school by myself in the morning, though. Traveling around on my own is one thing but protecting someone else while doing so is another, especially if we're attacked by more than one breezestep deer.

Lots of love,

Carter

"Take this to Grandma for me, okay?" I ask Fea after tying the letter to his leg.

The magihawk gives me a small nod, then takes off flying. Lucas watches as it goes, then opens up another potion and downs it. They're healing him, but his injuries were too severe for just one or two to fix him up.

"Careful with how many you drink," I tell him. "We don't know if there will be an adverse effect to drinking too much potion in a short amount of time."

"If there is one, I'll deal," he says. "I'm still in so much pain and while they're healing me… it's pretty weak for the injuries."

"Yeah," I say. "Just be grateful they aren't crude potions, as I'm fairly certain those are weaker. You good for letting me check the shop?"

"S-sure," he says. "L-let me get up."

I help Lucas to his feet, then he wobbles a bit and walks with me. I go to the back of the shop and access their list. After a minute of scrolling, I find what I was looking for and select it. A twelve-pack of 16oz mason jars that I buy two of for 10 syscre each. They're delivered in a cardboard box like I'd find at a store, but with a twine net holding the jars in place rather than plastic.

"Jars?" Lucas asks.

"Yeah," I answer. "I know you're a bit wobbly, but would you mind carrying them for me, in case I need to cast a spell?"

"Sure," it seems he's calmed down a bit. That's good. "What are they for?"

"Storing things in."

"Would've never guessed."

"Storing leftover food in," I snort. He's feeling good enough to give some sass, which is definitely a good sign. "And successful alchemy experiments. I got a Quest from a god to try and live in my current area for six months rather than go somewhere safer, so I'm sticking to my home and could use some supplies. Come on, let's head there now. It's closer than the school so it'll be safer, and you can join up with your parents there tomorrow."

"Okay."

We head back to the bench where our things are and just as we arrive, Fea flies in. Lucas flinches at his arrival and shifts behind me. Though he's calmed down, he's still on edge from the attack and whatever else he went through after separating from his parents earlier.

"Hey, Fea," I accept the letter from the bird and open it up.

Carter,

His parents are relieved to know that he's alive. They asked me to let him know that they love him and are happy to know he's alive and safe now and that he needs to rest up.

Lots of Love,

Grandma

I show Lucas the letter and after reading it, he asks if he can write something back so I let him. Once he's done, he asks me to tie it to Fea's leg for him, still clearly unnerved by the magihawk.

"Come on," I say once Fea's taken flight. "Let's pack up our stuff and head to the house."