Once Hazel and Astrid were able to bask in the silence and peace for a little while, they then got to checking their rewards, which was quite a bit. There were two loot boxes before the players; one for Hazel and one for Astrid.
Coincidentally enough, the loot boxes were nicely placed in front of their respective players, making it easy for them to determine whose is whose. Opening their rewards, the pair were relieved by what they saw.
“More health potions and even mana potions,” Hazel said with a wide grin.
“That and we have more food too.”
As usual, the loot boxes were loaded with goodies. Hazel didn’t even wait and immediately reached for a healing potion. Once uncorked, she downed the tiny vial like it was a shot glass. It didn’t take long for the effects to manifest and all of her wounds were instantly healed.
Hazel placed her hand over her wound from the Orc chief, relieved that it was finally closed up. Her magic robe was still ripped and stained with blood, but it wasn’t that bothersome.
“Hey, I managed to level up when we defeated the Orc chief. Did you level up too?”
Astrid nodded. “I did. So, we’re currently both level 13 now.”
“Yep…”
Reaching Level 13 meant that she also received more stat points. Along with the stat points from the challenge, then she should have eight stat points just waiting to be distributed. Not wasting another second, Hazel pulled up her status window.
Status Window
Name: Hazel Thatcher
Race: Human
Level: 13
Class: Mage
Free Points: 8
Attributes:
Strength: 7
Agility: 16
Endurance: 20
Intelligence: 30 (+8)
Wisdom: 21 (+3)
Willpower: 12
Staring at her stats for a moment, Hazel immediately placed her stat points into Intelligence and Wisdom. Two for the former and six for the latter.
While she wanted to increase her agility stat to twenty, she figured that could wait. Although she was aware of her slow reaction speed after fighting the chief, what concerned her even more was her Mana.
Which is why she focused on Wisdom.
The higher the wisdom stat, the higher her mana regeneration rate would be. It would greatly assist her in battle when she was running low on mana. That battle against the chief proved that.
Even though she mostly used her Mana bolt spell in the fight, she quickly reached her limit by rapidly firing the spell. While it was foolish of her to do something like that, she didn’t have much of an option considering the circumstances.
Plus, unlike before Hazel now had a partner to aid her in their battles. However, because they are both rearguards, fighting as a team was still a bit difficult.
“We really need a front-line attacker,” Hazel mumbled.
“You’re not wrong,” Astrid replied, still inspecting her loot box. “Though, I doubt we’ll be able to find another player in this place. Or at least this island. Then again, putting my trust in other players is too risky. They might have an ulterior motive that could cause problems.”
Hazel stared at the dark elf for a moment with a suspicious gaze. “Then what about me?” She asked while pointing at herself. “Do you fear that I have an ulterior motive?”
Astrid paused before turning her gaze toward the mage. “In the beginning…I did. I felt that your so-called partnership was some kind of façade to mask your true objective.”
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Hazel frowned, looking a bit offended. “Ouch.”
“But,” The ranger interjected. “I realized now that I was mistaken. Your partnership was actually genuine. And I apologize for believing that you had sinister plans for me.”
The novice mage scratched her head momentarily, feeling a wave of embarrassment wash over her. “No, you have every right to be suspicious. I don’t know much about your circumstances, but your actions were justified. I guess I was too rash in asking for a partnership from you without knowing.”
Astrid raised her hands while waving them in a dismissing manner. “No, it’s only natural to ask for assistance from others. Especially when you are aware of your weaknesses and know that asking for help would make up for that.”
Before either player could say another word to the other, they paused for a moment, realizing that this conversation would take forever to resolve if they kept doing this.
“Let’s just say that we’re both at fault,” Hazel suggested. “Agreed?”
Astrid nodded firmly. “Agreed.”
Coming to terms with their faults, the pair returned to rummaging through their loot boxes. Despite being an uncommon loot box, there didn’t seem to be much that would give it that rarity. The only thing she had were food and potions. No magic items or anything like before.
Hazel was a bit disappointed, but not completely disheartened by her current reward.
“Hey, what did you get?” The mage asked.
“Nothing but food and potions,” Astrid declared. “At least we’ll have plenty of food supplies while we’re stuck in this place.”
“Yeah, the food is possibly the best thing about these loot boxes, considering that everything else in the dungeon was entirely inedible.”
The player pair laughed for a little bit. It was the first time either of them actually expressed such joy after becoming partners. It was a sign that these two were slowly but surely getting along.
“…It’s difficult.” Astrid blurted out.
“What is?” Hazel asked, a bit confused.
“You asked what it was like being a captain of the Greyvolk legion. Well…it’s difficult to say the least.” The dark elf took a breath before continuing. “I have a lot of responsibilities and jobs. I have to manage a team and carry out missions. I also have to make sure those missions are successful to not put my home at risk. Added with the fact that I’m also the daughter of the Tribal Chief and destined to fill that role in the future…it can be rather overwhelming honestly.”
Hazel took a moment to process her partner’s words. She didn’t know much about leading a team or being the child of a powerful political leader in her home. But hearing how overwhelmed Astrid was with her responsibilities, she understood why the dark elf was so uptight and strict.
She was carrying a major burden. The type of burden that not many people would want themselves. And yet Astrid accepted her fate and was doing everything she could to uphold her duties.
“Is that why you were so hellbent to get things done? So you could return home and protect it?”
Hearing Hazel’s question, the dark elf’s expression darkened. Her eyes narrowed angrily as she took a deep breath to calm her nerves.
“That…and I have some business to take care of.”
Instead of asking further, Hazel kept her mouth shut. Although she was curious, even the novice mage wasn’t foolish enough to prod the topic any further. Not unless she wanted to risk ruining their bonding moment like that.
“Tell me, Hazel…” Astrid said, changing the topic. “Why did you choose to be a mage? Your description said that you were a fanatic regarding magic, but I felt that there was more to it than that.”
Hazel paused, unsure of how to answer. This was the first time anyone had asked her such a question. She was asked countless times about why was she so obsessed with magic, only for her to respond that it was interesting.
But, she was never asked if there was a deeper meaning behind it. A part of her wasn’t certain that there was a deeper meaning. She just liked magic. And honestly, what other reason could she have?
“I just felt…magic was meant for me, I guess? Like it was something I wanted to do. It’s like someone trying to be a soldier because they believed it was their fate or purpose. That was me with magic.”
“You felt that you were meant to be a mage?”
Hazel shrugged. “Something like that. It was a bit of a hassle since magic didn’t exist in my world before the system showed up. But as soon as the system told me that I could be a mage, I just took it. Sure, I second-guessed my decision when I was about to die, but in the end, I chose to be a mage because of one thing; I loved magic.”
While Hazel was uncertain about some things about her life, the one thing she held no doubts about was her fascination and obsession with magic. And that wasn’t going to change any time soon.
“So, what’s our plan right now?” Hazel asked. “Since we completed our challenge, should we leave this island and explore this dungeon?”
“That certainly sounds like a plan,” Astrid nodded with a smile. “We should head back to your hideout and grab your things along with mine.”
“Then let's get going.”
With their bond closer than before, the player pair took their rewards and made their way back to Hazel’s hideout, beginning their preparations to depart from the forest island.