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Evangeline
This time, she awoke to the gentle touch of sunlight. After easing the stiffness in her limbs, she peered out of her window, greeted by the sight of a sunny day with noticeably warmer weather.
Despite the improved conditions, the rags she wore were insufficient against the lingering chill. "Finding new clothes" now topped her to-do list, just below the task of experimenting with her newfound skills.
Stepping out of her shelter, she approached the nearest tree, placing a hand on its bark and closing her eyes. Circulating mana towards her hand, she cast [Essence Infusion], feeling the tree absorb her energy greedily.
Awkwardly standing there for three minutes, a green leaf eventually fell onto her head. Glancing up, she noticed the once-grey tree now vibrant and revitalized. `Well, that's a good start, but how much did it cost?` she wondered, checking her mana.
Mana: 1273 / 1450 (+73)
`250 mana consumed to regenerate a tree, that's not too shabby. Let's see what happens if I keep feeding mana to it.` she pondered, placing her hand back on the tree and repeating the process. This time, the tree appeared to be protesting her forced revitalization.
She focused on the top, as nothing was happening on the bark's side. After a minute, small flowers started growing among the leaves, and about five minutes later, the first fruit appeared. `An apple tree? The fruit's shape... definitely looks like a Gala, like those I usually have as dessert during breakfast back on Earth.`
Eager to see what would happen next, she first checked her mana again to ensure she had enough energy to try something else.
Mana: 1023 / 1450 (+73)
"Definitely enough," and without hesitation, she pushed more mana into the Apple tree. She didn't hold back this time. The whole tree shuddered, its bark started shimmering and bloating. As if in panic, many of the newly formed apples fell to the ground, immediately replaced by others.
The tree was using its fruit-making ability to expel as much excess mana turned into life force as it could. Sweating a bit, she stopped. A dozen apples lay here and there under the tree. She picked one up, took the nearest sharp-looking rock, and opened it. The inside matched, down to the smallest details, to an apple from Earth. She took a bite, and...
Bliss. Pure, melting, sugary goodness. Juicy and fresh, the apple was so delicious she couldn't hold back a moan of pleasure.
"Tight, tight, tight! That's some good shit!" she swore, stomping the ground with a mouth full of apple bits. In one experiment, she solved another issue: food. It was a temporary fix, though. She knew a diet of only apples was not sustainable; she needed to find a way to diversify her food sources.
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After devouring more than half of the fallen apples, she gathered the remaining ones and took them back to her shack. Energized and ready, she ventured out again, heading towards another desolate-looking tree. This one's form appeared menacing, adorned with numerous thorns and an ominous aura. "This will do for a practice target," she thought.
She first verified that her mana was sufficiently high. Then, stepping back a bit, hand placed in front of her, eyes fixated on the target, she assembled a considerable amount of mana toward the palm of her hand. With a shout, "[Displace]!", she released the spell.
A resounding snap filled the air, and a chunk of the tree, the size of a fist, dislodged itself. The fist-shaped sphere of dry bark and wood fully distanced itself from the main body, causing the tree to slowly topple to the ground. The impact was loud enough to startle a nearby murder of crows, making them fly away in panic.
"This... is... AWESOME!" she shouted, laughing heartily. To confirm that the skill wasn't a one-use spell, she nervously checked her mana levels.
Mana 573 / 1450 (+73)
"200 mana?!" she exclaimed. Unsure of how to feel about the cost, she found herself torn. On one hand, the skill had its uses, but on the other, it consumed almost as much mana as rejuvenating an entire tree. Opting for optimism, she decided to accept it as it was. After all, she had no one else to compare herself with.
Approaching the felled tree, she noticed the wood was exceptionally dry, making it excellent fuel for a fire. Channelling her inner survivalist, she gathered some rocks, arranged them in a circle near the well, and tossed in a handful of sticks.
Taking inspiration from Bear Grylls, she struck two rocks together. It took thirty minutes, but eventually, the first spark ignited one of the sticks. Soon, warmth enveloped her as she successfully created a nice and cozy fireplace.
After enjoying the warmth of the fire for a while, she decided to test out her passive skill, [Photosynthesis] now that the sun was high in the sky. Closing her eyes, she assumed a meditative stance, basking in the sunlight and soaking in the heat from the fire. She began counting. After reaching 1800, approximately thirty minutes of sunbathing, she revisited her mana levels.
Mana: 723 / 1450 (+73)
She quickly devised a plan. When the spider approached her bonfire, she casted [Displace] on its head. The attack was so effective that the entire chunk of the arachnid’s head was plucked from its body, leaving a small puddle of blood and a very dead giant wolf spider.
She wanted to celebrate her first victory, but her head was aching and she felt lightheaded. `What is going on? ` she thought, her mind cloudy. She immediately checked her stats.
[Novice Space mage] levelled up to LVL 6!
You levelled up to LVL 6!
New base stat points available!
Evangeline, Woodlands High Elf youth (Fae touched) LVL 6
Age: 80
Health: 125 / 150 (+8)
Mana: 123 / 1450 (+73)
`Looks like I’ve spent too much mana, too quickly. [Displace]’s cost is higher on living beings huh? `
Being in such a weakened state, she went back into her shelter.
You have slain [Adult Wolf Spider] LVL 20
“Holy fuck” she muttered, seeing that her target was way stronger than her and she still managed to crush it that easily. Well, a costly kind of easily.