Different fighting classes also were using mana, and most of them had gone through training on how to increase their strength and speed with its help.

I suspected that very soon, there would be a number of teachers offering their services for "currency units".

Before I went to bed - at about two in the morning, I had spent... let's see from five in the afternoon to two in the morning: nine whole hours talking, taking notes about training and theory, tricks for using mana and so on. On top of that, I had been practicing my various skillets. I was very tired, but also very happy with the results.

I looked around for the last time - our camp numbered about 200-250 people, there were lots of fires and tents scattered everywhere. Despite the late hour, there were still a lot of fires, and the conversations about the future development and maintenance of the camp did not stop. In fact it was one of the prevailing themes around the campfires. I also had a number of ideas that I shared during the day, but I didn't waste my time defending them too much.

The next morning I was awakened by the voices and movement of people. I was not particularly well rested and decided to invest seven points for a cup of coffee. "This camp is pretty noisy... and bright. Maybe I should pitch my tent a little further out the other way." I had chosen to pitch my tent between the tree shops. I felt somehow drawn and protected by them. The problem was that this was what a lot of other people had chosen too.

I hurried to buy food, arrowheads and some tools related to crossbow shooting, a few more bolts and hurried to the zombie city.

There were already many early risers, and even some who had not slept all night. We found out from them that the zombies get stronger and faster at night, but if you were on the edge of the city, you could find single zombies.

"Apparently at night the competition is much lower and some people were able to hunt lone zombies without being bothered by the crowds of hunters that would come any moment from different camps," I thought.

Then I started hunting, and this time I decided to learn to use my summon better. The zombies had gotten stronger again and my bear was getting injured frequently. I had to come up with and test different strategies and moves, for example I found that the bear could charge in and attack with its acceleration and mass and then move away from the group of zombies and repeat, while I was shooting magical balls of energy and crossbow bolts. These strange maneuvers were a bit odd for its species, but I was able to impose my will. My attempts to get the bear to use weapons proved largely unsuccessful. "Maybe if I improve my mental control significantly.."

Also, I re-tried to reabsorb mana from the zombies and found that if I attacked the zombies' mana while they were still alive, it didn't "taste" quite as bad. Their life force, however, remained just as disgusting.

After hours of trying, I learned to suck the mana out of the zombies better and better, and this way I could shoot an extra mana ball for every two or three zombies. However, this was acting on my concentration in battle and I would have to practice it a lot more.

Towards the end of the day, thousands of zombies lost their lives and we hunters had to go further and further into the city. There were also rumors of other creatures. Some said there were small creatures in the woods resembling goblins and orcs from popular fantasy literature. I remembered that agents of the "central bureaucracy" had encouraged the development of certain themes in the entertainment industry, and perhaps it was normal to see such creatures here. Whether the creatures were taken from our mythology and popular culture or were inserted there was not yet clear.

The other hunters had to rest often or even return to the store, and there were even quite a few wounded. None of them turned into zombies and soon a hospital was set up in the camp and various healers offered treatment for a fee. There were limited products like healing pills and potions in the shop, but they were very expensive. With the cheapest ones starting at as much as 50 currency units.

I was also quite tired and often had to summon new bears. The constant use of mana was proving very tiring, and my arm had been aching since lunchtime from loading the crossbow, despite having practiced for months in the selection room. I could only imagine how much harder it was for the other hunters.

I got home just before dark and hurried to pitch my tent by the tree shops. It was a little sideways this time, and I was going to bed early today. As I'm guessing - would pretty much most of the camp.

When we came back from the city, we were invited to various discussions and even some people insisted that we do this or that. However, I ignored all of them and headed straight for the store. I had a lot of currency units that I couldn't wait to spend!

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I looked at my log and saw that I had killed about 140 zombies today. There was no way to accurately measure time, but assuming I hunted for 10 hours today, that made.. about 14 zombies per hour. Considering how often I had to run away from larger groups or look for lone zombies, eat, rest to replenish my stamina and mana, summon new creatures and so on, that was a decent number if you ask me. I also had currency units left over from yesterday and had a total of 138 currency units! I did notice that the zombies were giving a bit more points today, mostly because they were stronger, and I had to go further into town.

I opened the shop on the appropriate page and purchased a " Magical Elixir for Mana Boosting" for 100 currency units. Limited quantities. I looked at the other potions with desire. Some of them increased general strength, speed, stamina, and there were even some that aided concentration or cognitive ability.

I had learned from my summoning and mana manipulation instructors that mages usually needed a large amount of mana regeneration and control to use their spells frequently. And summoners needed a large amount of mana to put into their summoning rituals. Then, if their animal didn't die quickly, they'd have plenty of time to regenerate their mana.

I opened the cap on the flask and the liquid inside started bubbling. I hesitated for a moment and then picked it up and drank it in one breath.

The reaction was very quick. I became extremely sleepy all of the sudden and only with a great effort of will I managed somehow to get to my tent and lie down. I didn't have time to change or for anything else.

Then the dreams began. There were many and often changed shapes. They felt completely real, but I remembered almost nothing of them. All I knew was that they were related to my new mana senses and how I perceived the mana around me and within me. Eventually the dreams stopped and I fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

During the long hours of the night, the potion had time to make numerous changes in my body, strengthening my core as well as my mana channels and filling me with large amounts of magical energy. This energy was stuck in my body and had nowhere to go. My skin began to turn red and my body temperature rose significantly. My heart was beating at a frantic speed, but the potion was premeditatedly made with a healing component as well. The life force of the herbs in it activated and the warm feeling of the liquid vital energy spread throughout my body. It flowed through my veins and powered by the heart pump, it cycled through my body again and again.

During this time, the mana that had nowhere else to go began to slowly embed itself into my magically conductive channels that I had built up with a lot of hard work and training over the past weeks. The process was quite destructive and painful, but the vital energy of the potion was helping my body regenerate.

If I hadn't been asleep I might have felt my channels undergo a qualitative transformation and could now absorb significantly more energy than before! I probably had about 50% more mana than before! From the description in the shop, I knew that the results of the first potion were the strongest, and any subsequent ones of the same type would significantly reduce its effect until it would finally stop working. I wasn't sure how that was going to work. However, I did know that there were more expensive versions of the various potions, and maybe they would help me increase my power.

The effect of the potion lasted all night and I slept for 10 hours. When I awoke the sun was up and the camp was awake. I felt rested and refreshed, and my body was full of energy, although I still had a mild muscle soreness.

I hurried to the store, where I picked up a portion of packaged food for later, some crossbow bolts and some other small things, and a large breakfast - two sausages with fried eggs and a huge cup of coffee. It was worth a lot of points, but I was hungry as a wolf.

I looked around and found a small clearing where I sat under a tree and wolfed down my food. At that moment several familiar faces from the first day passed by, including Garat Breg.

“Good morning Meridin, I see you are eating quite well.” He greeted me.

“Breakfast is the most important meal.” I replied as the fresh sausage juice ran down my cheeks.

Then Garat and a few other people hurried and got food from the store and joined me. We talked about various topics while we ate, mostly talking about the game, zombie hunting, and our classes.

"Meridin, how did you choose your class?" asked Garat.

I looked at zombie city for a moment and then answered.

"Honestly, I don't think most of us have ever fought for their lives. After all, we live in a peaceful era. That's why I came up with this idea of summoning creatures. That way I can benefit from their instincts and experience as I develop my powers and learn more about this world."

"Really good idea." said a large man who was silently looking at his sword. "I wish I had pulled off something like that too."

"Besides, if you're a summoner, you don't have to rely on your equipment." added another man armed with two short swords. "I have no idea where we're going to find better weapons or how we're going to repair our gear. It's not like there were a lot of blacksmiths and other such craftsmen back on Earth."

I thought again about my choice. I really wasn't going to depend on my gear and I could hunt fully from day one. Honestly, if there were another 100-200 summoners like me, we would have easily conquered this zombie infested city. Furthermore, I thought about how important the various crafters would be to the future of humanity. I had an interest in alchemy, and it would be good to invest more time and effort in that direction.

We chatted some more, and after I finished my breakfast, I said goodbye to the others and hurried to the town.